w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I F A C E B O O K P A G E M i g r a n t N e w s N Z I email : migrantnews @ xtra . co . nz I m o b : 0 2 7 4 9 5 8 4 7 7 P a g e 0 5
Politicians campaign to Asian Kiwis for voter engagement
By Lee Seabrook-Suckling , Asian Media Centre
The COVID- 19 lockdowns in New Zealand have thrown a spanner in the works for face-to-face political campaigning . How are Asian New Zealand politicians reaching their audiences ? Asia Media Centre reports on the challenges and opportunities on voter engagement in our Asian Kiwi communities , complimenting new research about how Asian Kiwis plan to vote in October .
AUCKLAND - New Zealand offers new migrants a democratic opportunity unique in the Western world . Unlike Australia or the United States – which require citizenship for voting rights – migrants here are legally enfranchised to vote after just one year of permanent resident status .
There are 707,598 Asian New Zealanders residing in this country , according to the 2018 Census ( though a lack of reporting shows it ’ s not known how many of these Kiwis are eligible to vote , nor a registered to – the Electoral Commission doesn ’ t collect data on ethnicity except for those identifying as Maori ).
With the General Election set for less than a months ’ time , Asian New Zealand politicians are actively campaigning for votes within their communities . A scarcity of community events due to COVID-19 has put a spanner in the works of physical campaigning , but National list MP Melissa Lee is using technology to her advantage .
In her Mt Albert electorate , she decided on a unique tactic just before New Zealand ’ s Level 4 lockdown in March 2020 . “ One of things I did is walked around Mt Albert and engaged with ethnic shop owners to get their
Paulo Garcia , National MP and the first Member of Parliament in New Zealand of Filipino descent ( pictured in the centre of the photo )
information and create a WeChat group ,” Lee explains .
This enabled her to stay abreast of her electorate ’ s needs and concerns and actively keep in touch with them for the months New Zealand was in full lockdown mode .
“ For business owners there were a lot of COVID questions and confusion . A lot of worries with their essential business status ; who was and who wasn ’ t ‘ essential ’”. Social media chat apps came in very useful , Lee says , though , “ it ’ s not really active campaigning along party lines ”, she notes . Physically campaigning in the form of door knocking , town hall-style events , shopping mall visits and community and cultural festivals , are a mainstay for reaching ethnic minority communities . “ There is never a weekend free ,” Lee adds .
Auckland councillor Paul Young , an independent , hosted 22 seminars in 2019 . The August 2020 Level 3 lockdown in Auckland has kiboshed such opportunities .
“ I had 3-5 seminars planned in Auckland , but they ’ re all on hold ,” Young says . “ I had a Zoom community meeting last weekend , but it ’ s not the same . With digital life , it ’ s not the same as face-to-face .”
When it comes to Asian Kiwis and voting in elections , language plays an integral part .
Young , born in Taiwan , says , “ English is not my first language , and for me , that ’ s a disadvantage ” on the campaign trail amongst all New Zealanders . “ So , I use my other languages as an advantage .”
“ I speak most of the Chinese languages ; Mandarin , Cantonese , some Japanese , a little Korean …” Being able to communicate with voters in their native tongue helps break down a barrier in getting first-generation migrants to vote .
This is consistent with findings about the Chinese New Zealand community in a 2017 Victoria University study , which found respondents believed “ the onus should be on government and political parties to communicate with immigrant communities in their own language and , importantly , via key community channels , such as churches and community leaders .”
Yet are non- English native languages in Asian Kiwi communities the only roadblock in campaigning ? The 2017 Victoria University study suggests not . While there is usually trust in the New Zealand political system amongst migrants , factors from their home countries change their opinions on just how valuable their vote is .
There ’ s scepticism about whether an individual ’ s vote actually makes a difference ; it is suggested this is a learned experience whereby elections might not have always been meaningful in a migrant ’ s home country .
Paulo Garcia , National MP and the first Member of Parliament in New Zealand of Filipino descent , says first-generation Filipinos move to New Zealand with an egalitarian notion of the way their new home functions democratically . However , “ they have an ingrained ‘ my vote doesn ’ t count , what does it matter ?’ mentality ,” he explains .
“ It has to be a re-education ,” he says , which is why with first generation Asian Kiwis , he doesn ’ t necessarily campaign along the National party ’ s political lines . “ It ’ s more elementary than that . It ’ s convincing them that their vote counts . That they should be enrolled . ( For that reason ) I haven ’ t been campaigning to them with party messages ( and ) party values . They have to get over the hurdle of thinking their vote doesn ’ t matter first .”
Young has the same experience . Naturally , he wants his constituency to vote for him , but he ’ s more focussed on getting them to vote – period .
Labour MPs at Romy Udanga ’ s campaign launch event in Takapuna .
“ Most important is the going out to vote for Asian migrants ,” Young says . “ Maybe they don ’ t have election experience . They ’ ve never voted before . This is the reason I promote voting .”
Polling data suggests Asian New Zealanders have become more and more active in the last few years as grassroots political campaigning reaches wide audiences .
Auckland-based firm Trace Research released new data on 25 August 2020 finding 78 percent of ethnic Chinese New Zealanders voted in the 2017 election , putting the group on par with overall national voter turnout ( 79 per cent in 2017 ).
This follows a trend from Trace ’ s previous poll data from 2017 , which looked at the 2014 election turnout and found similar levels of voting by Chinese Kiwis to all other Kiwi ethnic groups .
What is driving this ? Andrew Zhu , the poll ’ s author , says ethnic media is encouraging political literacy and this is having a positive effect on voter turnout amongst Chinese New Zealanders , which are the most populous Asian Kiwi group .
“ There are more than 30 Chinese media outlets in NZ by June 2020 , and every one of them publishes ( sponsored or nonsponsored by political parties ) news about elections , political issues and educates Chinese voters to vote etc .,” he says .
“ Language barriers for past non-voters have been gradually removed , so the current high voter turnout among ethnic Chinese New Zealanders at a national level is not a surprise for me ”, he adds .
Non-Chinese Asian ethnic groups have smaller , but growing , sources of local media . As news outlets grow in budget , popularity , and reach ( particularly for Indian and Filipino New Zealanders , which are the second- and third-most-populous Asian communities in New Zealand , respectively ), it ’ s likely that Asian Kiwi political engagement will only continue to trend upwards .
- Asia Media Centre
Now - three Filipino community newspapers
www . filipinonews . nz
www . pinoynzlife . nz
www . filipino . kiwi