In 1996, I observed some significant differences between the attitudes of people in Christchurch and those of people in a multicultural city, Melbourne, in Australia, where I lived for about nine years before coming to New Zealand. At that time it seemed that many Christchurch residents were unaccustomed to contact with foreigners and were strongly influenced by British culture. However, significant changes in relation to ethnic and cultural issues have occurred in the city during over the last eight years. Although the number of Asian tourists, students and migrants dropped due to 9/11 and the SARS epidemic, the figures for Asian migrants are still dramatically higher compared with those of the 1980's. In addition, refugees have come from African countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia. as well as from some Asian countries. In 1981, according to the Press, the local newspaper in Christchurch, out of every 40 residents in Christchurch, 38 were "Pakeha" (this means European New Zealanders in the Maori language), 1 person was Maori and 1 either a Pacific Islander or a Chinese or an Indian. At present 35 out of every 40 residents are "Pakeha", 3 are Maori and the remaining 2 are Asians. There are now also numerous Asian restaurants and shops, and it is possible to meet people with a variety of ethnic backgrounds in the city. However, some serious racial and ethnic conflicts between Asian migrants and local New Zealanders have occurred in this city recently. In order to solve such ethnic conflicts, on 4 May 2004 Christchurch's Mayor, Garry Moore, organised a public hearing, inviting a previous Minister of Immigration, councillors and representatives from ethnic groups in Christchurch. However, about 2000 people demonstrated against racism on 8 May 2004. Racial issues in Christchurch have now become an important matter of public interest in New Zealand, and a number of articles about these issues appeared in May, 2004. The Press also conducted a telephone survey of the opinions of 500 Christchurch residents and 300 Auckland residents in relation to racial and ethnic issues in both cities and New Zealand in general. The survey showed that Auckland residents seemed to be more accustomed to cultural diversity than those in Christchurch. On 1 June 2004 Prime Minister, Helen Clark held a community forum in Christchurch, and presented some significant policies on ethnic issues to representatives of ethnic groups in New Zealand. The New Zealand Government has now begun to make a serious effort to tackle ethnic and multicultural issues in the same way as the Australian government did in the 1980's.

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