The changing face of New Zealand´s population and national identity

Arvind Zodgekar, University of Wellington

Immigration is a major and continuous issue in many countries around the world in the 1990s and New Zealand is no exception. During the past decade or so there has been a heightened concern about immigration and immigrants identity in New Zealand. During the 1980s and 1990s a number of factors emerged in New Zealand to raise a new questions about the immigration. The acknowledged presence of settled immigrant population, the arrival of large number of immigrants from non-traditional sources and the admission of significant number of refugees and asylum seekers from third world countries, have been among the most significant factors that have fuelled controversies about immigration and immigrant identity. This article seeks to trace the changing composition of immigrants and its impact on the changing face of New Zealand population and its implications for immigrant identity.