The Poll Tax and Chinese New Zealanders

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa

Gong Hey Fat Choi

Gon She Fah Chai

Good Evening – it’s a pleasure to be here.

I bring with me the warm greetings of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Ethnic Affairs, who are both at a function right now in the Grand Hall of Parliament to celebrate Chinese New Year.

In February 2002 the Prime Minister delivered the government’s apology for the Chinese poll tax.

That apology recognised past wrongs, and marked a new beginning for relations between Chinese New Zealanders and the government.

The Prime Minister has tonight announced a $5 million reconciliation package, which we hope will go some way towards acknowledging this chapter in our history.

With this initiative I am sure that the positive journey of understanding and change that has begun will continue in earnest.

All of you here have your own particular interest in and connections to, the poll tax issue – for many of you it is an issue of deep personal significance. Some of you are descended from poll tax payers, one or two of you can even recall paying the tax, and some of you have a strong academic interest in the issue.

I want to thank all those who have attended meetings and contributed to discussions about the reconciliation package.

It is a privilege to be here with you all this evening, as we celebrate not only the opening of this exhibition but also the achievement of a new milestone in addressing this historic issue.

The exhibition we are here to launch is one of the initiatives that flowed from the Apology. It was created by the National Library of New Zealand as a means of acknowledging and exploring the poll tax issue.

What’s fantastic is that the exhibition was intended as a one-off “in-house” exhibition for the National Library in Wellington.

Strong interest from the Chinese community and many other Aucklanders has resulted in it travelling to Auckland.

Many of you have been closely involved in the poll tax issue before, during and after the Apology. I know that it must bring particular satisfaction to see this exhibition make it to Auckland.

As an Aucklander and Auckland Central MP, I am thrilled that this exhibition has made it here. I know that it made a big impact in Wellington – with Chinese and non-Chinese New Zealanders. I was particularly struck by the comment of one descendant of a poll tax payer: “I wish my parents had lived to see this”.

Not many of those who paid the tax have been able to witness the change in attitude that has occurred since the 1880s – but we are lucky to have one of the original poll tax payers with us tonight – Eric Wong Ming. Eric, it is wonderful to have you here and to hear you speak of your experiences. Like this exhibition, your words help to bring the issue alive.

We have made a huge commitment to defining and strengthening New Zealanders’ perceptions of our own cultural identity. That identity is reflected through the stories we tell the world about ourselves, through music and song, through visual art and crafts, through the symbols of our history and our heritage. It is told through exhibitions like this one.

The fact that we are all here this evening reflects our interest in this issue and our recognition that the stories of the past can play an important role in understanding the past, and creating the future.

I’m proud to be part of a government that has listened to Chinese New Zealanders’ concerns on this issue and has worked hard to take meaningful steps towards reconciliation, in partnership with the Chinese community.

While it would be simplistic to suggest that the poll tax story has a happy ending, I think it is fair to say that a much more positive chapter has begun. That chapter continues with initiatives like this exhibition, and the historic reconciliation package announced by the Prime Minister tonight.

To the National Library and Nigel Murphy who created this exhibition last year – congratulations. And to Auckland City Libraries and the Auckland Chinese community, who together recognised the significance and potential of this exhibition and worked hard to bring it to Auckland, thank you.

It is great to see the library taking a strong interest in an exhibition of importance to its community, and pulling out all the stops to make sure that exhibition is made accessible to the community.

I am sure that this exhibition will provide people of all ages and walks of life, with a fascinating view into this issue, which is not only significant to Chinese New Zealanders but also forms an important, if regrettable, part of this country’s history.

I’d like to close by repeating the Chinese Proverb that describes the thinking behind this exhibition so well: “history can be a lesson for the future”. I hope so.

It is my absolute pleasure to be here with you this evening and to officially declare this exhibition “A Barbarous Measure: the poll tax and Chinese New Zealanders” open.