In perhaps my final word on the subject of multiculturalism, it has after all been a year to the day since I snuck on into Public Address with a post on the subject, is to have a little talk about good old New Zealand biculturalism. When discussing biculturalism, it seems to have become customary to evoke images of either: the blending of the two cultures in a Hobson-esque affirmation of the marriage of peoples, or, the assumption of Maoritanga by the mainstream and the 'browning' of the settler peoples.
The cynical truth of the matter, and in my most humble of opinions, New Zealand biculturalism is neither. Instead, "biculturalism" is largely a means to manage the issue of incorporating Maori governance into the mainstream. Sure, on another level it's also a sociologist's dream, but in a political sense (if that's not an oxymoron), when you put biculturalism into practice it ends up being about finding ways to have a minority manage it's own affairs.
The last time I waxed lyrical about this subject, I argued that biculturalism was a far less paternalistic way to manage a minority than was Australian multiculturalism. My perspective is of course that of 'Whitey', thanks Tze Ming, but my out is that my arguments tend to be about the way white people assume, and not about how minorities should or shouldn't act. I was pulled up on my arguments at a seminar up at Vic Uni the other week for example.
What really complicates the issue and generates the most points of difference between us here in the Antipodes is that Australia is very much intent on an exclusive, majority-focussed nation-building. Migrants come to Australia, and assimilate into the mainstream. And the system works pretty well, despite the current Government's unusually hard line to towards migrants and refugees. Godzone shares this concern, but has since the 1970s adopted a different tack towards indigenes.
To a politics geek like me who gets excited about these things is what sets New Zealand apart, and that's the emphasis on a non-standard nation-building. Once again, in my humble opinion, most policy-makers and commentators probably don't realise it, but New Zealand nation-building is unique. And unique in a good way.
Biculturalism doesn't argue that New Zealand is 'two-nations'. Sure, you can interpret it that way, but it's a bit like the two-yolker, 'New Zealand' is the shell, and inside you have two separate but increasingly similar cultures that are also nations. Pesky, academics perspective? Absolutely. But I have about 100k words you're welcome to read if you've got the time or inclination. And not all of them are crap even!
What my argument centres on is the way in which these two cultures interact along the interface between them. In the past, the mainstream has dominated, but many bicultural arguments since the 1970s have argued that the minority gets to call the shots on what happens inside their society. Yes, this society is also part of the mainstream, and many majority members participate in it, but the key is that the minority gets authority over itself. Sounds banal, but Maori get to put the brakes on mainstream people that want an undue influence over everything happening New Zealand-wide.
In the world of politics, this is a very important concession by a majority, and I don't know another nation-state that does it in the way New Zealand does.
I will concede that having this type of arrangement does complicate politics, and society in general. But it does it in a way that works to benefit both groups. Sure, it does act to co-opt the minority into governance in the interests of the country as a whole, but it's their country too, after all. And that's the final key, Maori get to share the country in more than a abstract sense. All too often indigenes are referred to as 'our [insert minority here]'. So it's our Aboriginals and your Maori.
And that is patronising in the extreme. Instead, the current framework of biculturalism, as interpreted by yours truly, allows for all parties to stake a claim in belonging and owning the ongoing project of New Zealand nationalism. And it's something we can genuinely be proud of, if we keep it on the right track.
So thanks to all you readers over the past year, I hope I've provided entertainment and thought alike, before I did this blog I was convinced my life was a little boring, but now... now I'm not so sure.