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Recent Migrants Took Part In A Massive Aussie Survey And New Zealanders Aren't Happy

Maybe lay off the fish and chip jokes.
Fifty percent of New Zealand migrants surveyed felt discriminated against.
Getty Images/Flickr RF
Fifty percent of New Zealand migrants surveyed felt discriminated against.

New Zealanders starting a new life in Australia are among the least happy migrants, according to a new study, with 50 percent of those surveyed experiencing racism or discrimination.

The new study, released on Wednesday by the Scanlon Foundation -- alongside the Australian Multicultural Foundation and Monash University -- surveyed more than 10,000 migrants and Australian-born citizens on life down under.

Among the most dissatisfied were New Zealanders holding special category visas who didn't feel accepted as permanent residents, according to Professor Andrew Markus who led the study.

"New Zealanders who come here can come by their passport, but the consequence of that is there are some benefits that they don't get," Professor Markus told The Huffington Post Australia.

"There's probably 200,000 New Zealanders on these visas, which means they can't get any help from Centrelink, it's hard for kids going to university to get HECS, they don't get the vote.

"So for them discrimination is institutional discrimination, not race prejudice."

Seventy five percent of Muslim Australians have a strong sense of belonging in the country. However, Muslim women in Australia reported feeling discriminated against 50 percent more than Muslim men in the country.

I suspect most Australians don't understand that the place most Muslim Australians were born is in Australia, by a very large margin.Professor Andrew Markus

Professor Markus told HuffPost Australia more than 50 percent of Australians surveyed are supportive of the current immigration intake or believe the intake could be increased. However, 18 percent thought immigration levels were too high.

"So in some ways you've got quite a degree of division," Professor Markus said.

"I suspect most Australians don't understand that the place most Muslim Australians were born is in Australia, by a very large margin.

"There's about 180,000 Muslim Australians born in Australia. The next nation-born group is about 40,000."

Indigenous Australians and some African groups arriving by humanitarian visas also experienced high levels of discrimination. More than three in four South Sudanese migrants reported discrimination ranging from physical attacks to property damage.

Interestingly, the first five to ten years were the most positive for migrants, with many developing distrust towards the federal government after a decade.

When asked what they like most about Australia, the most common answer from migrants arriving on the humanitarian program was 'democracy and freedom'.

"That choice is stronger than amongst the Australian born," Professor Markus said.

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