Mark Mitchell is calling on migrants to not despair in the face of hate and intolerance, but has warned of the risk of global conflicts “washing up” on Kiwi shores.
At a conference of community leaders in Auckland on Saturday – cheerfully titled ‘United Against Headwinds’ – the minister for ethnic communities took a rather reflective turn.
“There’s a need for conversation around tolerance and peace,” he told a gathering of at least 250 guests who had turned up for the day-long event at Aotea Centre.
The ghost of Brian Tamaki hung heavy in the room like fog on a winter morning. Just last week, the leader of far-right Destiny Church led a march through central Auckland bemoaning what he believes is a takeover of New Zealand by migrants.
“He is trying to incite provocation. Don’t play into that,” Mitchell pointed out, with the disclaimer that it won’t be the government’s job alone to tackle such hate.
“We can’t outsource responsibility to an institution or individual…It comes down to individuals,” he said, suggesting social cohesion is the society’s collective responsibility.
Ethnic leaders have often called on the government to reign in far-right protests and utterances they feel transgress the realm of free speech – highlighting the need for calling hate speech for what it is.
Mitchell refused to get drawn into the touchy topic when The Indian Weekender asked him if Destiny Church’s flag-tearing, sloganeering protest last week wasn’t intimidatory enough to warrant police action.
“Well, that is an operational matter for the police…I think it's totally unacceptable. But it's for the police to decide whether or not they have crossed the line into criminality. And I trust them to be able to do that,” he said.
Saturday’s conference in Auckland was about mustering migrant leaders for a united front against intolerance and hate. The conversation often swung between hope and hesitation, straddling belief and doubt in equal measure.
A senior official at the ministry for ethnic communities, which organised the event, said it was the first time a full-day conference was devoted to social cohesion with such intent.
Despite the urgency Mitchell tried to ensure the optics weren’t sombre, but rather hopeful. He took a (rather long) beat when asked if New Zealand was becoming less tolerant.
“No,” he said, before wrapping it up with: “Of course, I am very focused on making sure that we don't go backwards as a country. I think that we should be very proud that we're actually in a pretty good space when you look globally at some of the issues other countries face internally.”
Even though he highlighted the need for individual responsibility, Mitchell said it was “very fair” for migrant communities to expect the government to do something about intolerance.
“I think a government has got a leading role without a doubt, but it's not the only leading role. It's all of society. And that's exactly what this event today is about…getting all of our ethnic groups and leaders together so that we can all discuss so that we can all lead and we can all work together to make sure that we strengthen our social cohesion and New Zealand.