May 2013 edition of Public Sphere | The Salvation Army

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May 2013 edition of Public Sphere

Latest news and comment from the Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit.

> download the May 2013 edition of the Public Sphere newsletter (PDF, 217KB)

EDITORIAL

My wife works in Grey Lynn, Auckland. Sometimes I drop her off to work when her moody and ancient car is playing up. As I drive through Grey Lynn and Ponsonby, I often think about the vibrant and thriving Pacific communities that were once firmly established in these inner city Auckland suburbs, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.  Most of these Pacific families are no longer in these suburbs, squeezed out by exorbitant rents, biased landlords, and irresistible gentrification forces. They’ve been replaced by high-income earning, mainly European professionals.

Fast forward to 2013 and Pacific people are now firmly ingrained in the fabric of New Zealand society. New Zealanders love Pasifika contribution to our national sports teams, cultural and arts arenas and religious systems. The Pacific contributions to politics, academia, business, media and science are continually growing but are not always as evident. But in terms of the social and economic development of Pacific people in New Zealand, progress has been painfully slow.