Culture and Identity

OUTCOMES

Cultural diversity is fostered. People have the right to express different cultural values and practices and to pass cultural traditions on to future generations. Our national identity reflects the values and aspirations of Māori, European, Pacific peoples and other groups and communities.

INTRODUCTION

Culture and identity are about understanding the history and cultural traditions that have shaped us and about continuing to endorse cultural practices and explorations. New Zealand society is culturally diverse, and becoming more so through changing immigration patterns. There is an indigenous Māori population and a large well-established European population. There are families of Pacific peoples who have lived here for many generations as well as more recent immigrants from the Pacific. Some New Zealanders of Asian origin are from families who travelled here in the 1800s and more Asian people have arrived here in recent years along with other groups.

One of the indicators of the well-being of our society is the approach we take to the cultural diversity of the population and the value placed on exploring our cultural traditions. The way we are presented through the main avenues for cultural engagement (the media, the cinema, publications, art forms and exhibitions) demonstrates our engagement with diversity and our cultural confidence. Aspects of some of these are measurable and these potential indicators are included in this chapter.

People need the skills and opportunities to express their cultural values and practices and to pass these on to future generations should they want to. A good example is that full participation in Māori society relies on competence in Maori language. As well as being integral to the expression of Māori culture, Māori is not only an official language but is unique to New Zealand, and part of our identity in the wider world. How we nurture the Māori language within New Zealand and the opportunities provided for people to maintain their own languages are among the ways we support New Zealand's culture and identity.

Positive engagement with cultural practice, artistic pursuits and respect for cultural diversity are important aspects of a healthy society. How well we understand and tolerate others' needs to celebrate their culture is directly linked to how safe our society feels for its members and is an indicator of whether or not we respect human rights and are free of discrimination.

KEY POINTS

• Participation in culture and arts activities helps to define who we are as New Zealanders and allows us to express and maintain a sense of identity. A high proportion of New Zealanders participate in arts and cultural activities with some of the most popular being reading and listening to music. Overall, women participate more than men, and younger people more than older people. Māori and Pacific peoples take part in more activities, on average, than other groups.
• The proportion of Māori language speakers gives some indication of the health of Māori language. One in four Māori, and a very small proportion of others, are fluent enough to hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. Older Māori are more likely to be able to converse in Māori than younger people, and figure prominently among fluent speakers.
• Māori medium and Pacific medium models of education have been developed by Māori and Pacific peoples. There was an increase in the proportion of Māori school students who receive some of their education in the Māori language during the 1990s. In 2001, 1,613 children were receiving their education in a Pacific language. For almost three-quarters of them, that language was Samoan.
• Local content on New Zealand television is programmes, usually New Zealand made, that reflect our culture and identity. Local content has increased as a proportion of prime time television over the past decade. News and current affairs make up the largest portion of local content programming, followed by information and sports programmes. Māori programmes made up six per cent of local content.

SUMMARY

Culture and identity are linked. They include the knowledge of our own cultural traditions, and the ability to engage with contemporary cultural practices, along with respect for and acceptance of other cultural traditions.

New Zealanders have high levels of participation in arts and cultural activities. Many participate in arts, heritage and cultural activities, although available data does not show whether this involvement has changed over time.

Māori language is a cornerstone of Māori culture. The proportion of Māori speakers has declined over the last century. One in four Māori are able to hold a conversation in Māori, with a much smaller proportion regarding themselves as fluent speakers.

Local content on New Zealand television has increased over the past decade. However, a high proportion is made up of news, current affairs, information and sports programmes. There is little Māori content.

These indicators suggest that New Zealanders are interested in their culture and identity, and that Māori and Pacific peoples in particular seek ways to express and develop their culture.

The indicators in this chapter are not all ideal and require further discussion. Future reports could include indicators such as employment in the cultural sector as well as local content on radio and in cinema as well as on television.

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Participation in cultural and arts activities

DEFINITION

The proportion of the adult population who participated in an arts or cultural activity over the course of a year, and the average number of different types of arts activity in which they took part, as measured by the 1997-98 survey of arts participation.

RELEVANCE

Arts and cultural activities are an integral part of our lives and help to define who we are as New Zealanders. People participate in the arts for a wide variety of reasons: for enjoyment and entertainment; for personal growth and development; as a means of expression; to learn new skills and meet new people; to pass on cultural traditions; and to earn an income.

CURRENT LEVEL (NO TREND DATA AVAILABLE)

Over the 1997-98 year, 93 per cent of New Zealanders (2.37 million adults) took part in arts and cultural activities, with an average of five different types of art and cultural activities each. The most popular types of arts activities were reading, and listening to music. Other arts in the top 10 activities were knitting, story telling, design arts and singing.

About one in eight New Zealand adults took part in specifically Māori arts and cultural activities, and more than half were non-Māori. The most common activities were waiata, karakia, te reo and kapa haka.

Source: Creative New Zealand 1999

One in 20 adults participated in Pacific arts and cultural activities and more than half were from other cultural groups.

GENDER AND AGE DIFFERENCES

Overall, women were more likely to participate in arts and cultural activities than men (97 per cent compared with 90 per cent). Of those who did not take part, women were more likely than men to say that disability, lack of money or lack of knowledge or skills was the reason, while men were more likely to say they were not interested or would rather play sport.

Young people aged 18-24 years had higher levels of participation in arts and cultural activities than people over 25 (97 per cent compared with 93 per cent). Young people of any ethnic group were more likely than older people to take part in Māori and Pacific arts and cultural activities. People aged 25-44 were most likely to say they did not have time to participate in these activities, while those aged 60 and over were most likely to give disability as the reason for their lack of participation.

ETHNIC DIFFERENCES

Participation in general arts activities was similar for all ethnic groups (over 90 per cent), but Māori and Pacific peoples took part in more activities, on average, than other groups.

Over the 1997/98 year, nearly half of Māori (45 per cent) took part in at least one Māori arts or cultural activity. Māori women and those aged 45-59 had the highest level of participation (50 per cent). The key reasons for taking part were enjoyment, and to maintain and pass on skills and traditions. Māori were more likely than other groups to be involved in arts and cultural activities as a student or teacher. Five per cent of Māori earned income through arts participation, compared to six per cent of all adults.

A similar proportion of Pacific peoples took part in Pacific arts and cultural activities (46 per cent). Again, women and older people were the most likely to take part, though young people also had relatively high levels. The most common reason for participating was as a leisure activity.

Reading was one of the top three activities for all cultural groups, but was slightly less popular among Māori and Pacific peoples. Māori and Pacific peoples were more likely than other groups to take part in cultural and arts activities with family or whanau.

Table CI1.1: Proportion of Māori and Pacific adults participating in Māori and Pacific arts and cultural activities, by gender and age group, 1997-98

	Men	Women	18-24 years	25-44 years	45-59 years	60+ years
Māori in Māori arts and cultural activities	38	50	48	42	50	40
Pacific peoples in Pacific arts and cultural activities	38	54	50	45	35	70

Source: Creative New Zealand 1999, Tables 2.4, 2.5

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Māori language speakers

DEFINITION

The number of Māori who reported in the 1996 Census that they could hold a conversation about everyday things in Māori, as a proportion of the Māori population.

RELEVANCE

As a central component of Māori culture, Māori language is an important aspect of participation and identity. The Māori language forms part of the broader cultural identity and heritage of New Zealand and in1987 was granted the status of an official language of New Zealand .

CURRENT LEVEL (NO TREND DATA AVAILABLE)

The 2001 Census showed that one-quarter of all Māori (25 percent or 130,482 Māori) and 28 percent of Māori aged 15 and over (or 91,809) stated that they could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. Māori accounted for 81 percent of the total number of Māori language speakers (160,500).

Information on the fluency of Māori speakers is available from the survey of the health of the Māori language, conducted in 2001. The survey showed that more people could understand Māori (59 percent of Māori aged 15 years and over, or 190,209) than speak it (42 percent, or 136,600). While 42 percent could speak some Māori, in terms of proficiency, nine percent could speak Māori "well" or "very well", 11 percent could speak Māori "fairly well", and 22 percent could speak Māori but "not very well". Of those who could understand Māori, 15 percent could understand Māori "well" or "very well", 18 percent could understand Māori "fairly well", and 25 percent could understand Māori but "not very well".

Source: Statistics New Zealand 2001 Census

The proportion of Māori who were fluent Māori speakers declined markedly over the last century, particularly following the rapid urbanisation of the Māori population in the 1950s and 1960s. The first national Māori language survey in 1973 estimated that the proportion of fluent speakers had fallen to 18 per cent.

ETHNIC DIFFERENCES

The 2001 Census showed that 4.5 percent of the total population could hold a conversation in Māori. After Māori, Pacific peoples had the highest proportion who could speak Māori (5.8 percent), followed by Europeans (1.7 percent) and Asians (0.8 percent).

AGE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES

Older Māori are considerably more likely than younger Māori to be able to converse about everyday things in Māori. In the 2001 census, more than half of Māori aged 65 and over (54 percent) reported having conversational fluency in the Māori language, compared with less than one quarter (24 percent) of Māori under 40. The 5-14 year age group had the lowest proportion of Māori speakers (23 percent).

Gender differences in the proportion of Māori language speakers were also apparent. From age 40 years onwards, males were more likely than females to be Māori language speakers, while at younger ages (below 20 years) a higher proportion of females than males could speak Māori.

Among non-Māori, the proportion of Māori language speakers was higher at the younger ages. Females were also more likely to be Māori language speakers than males.

Table CI2.1: Proportion of Māori speakers in the Māori population, by age and gender, 2001

	Age Group (years)
	0-4	5-14	15-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-64	65+	Total
Male %	14.6	21.2	22.3	23.8	24.0	27.6	38.1	48.9	55.3	24.6
Female %	15.1	24.4	27.7	23.6	23.5	26.1	34.5	46.5	53.5	25.7
Total %	14.8	22.7	25.0	23.7	23.8	26.8	36.3	47.7	54.3	25.2

Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2001 Census

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES

Māori who live in areas with a high proportion of Māori residents are the most likely to be Māori language speakers. Regions with higher than average proportions of Māori with conversational Māori skills were Gisborne (35 percent), Bay of Plenty (32 percent), Northland (30 percent), Waikato (28 percent) and Hawkes Bay (27 percent).

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Māori and Pacific children receiving Māori medium and Pacific medium education

DEFINITION

The proportion of Māori and Pacific children enrolled in early childhood education programmes or schools, who are receiving Māori medium or Pacific medium education in which all or some curriculum subjects are taught in their respective languages.

RELEVANCE

Knowledge of language is an important prerequisite for participating in one's culture and maintaining cultural identity. Māori and Pacific communities have initiated language programmes to develop the language skills of their young people.

CURRENT LEVEL AND TRENDS

In July 2001, the 9,743 Māori children enrolled in kohanga reo (Māori "language nests") made up 31 percent of all Māori enrolments in early childhood education. Although Māori children's participation in early childhood education has continued to rise over time, the share of enrolments in kōhanga reo has declined from 49 percent in 1993. However, the proportion of Māori in services with less than 50 percent Māori medium has been rising. When all pre-school Māori medium education programmes are taken into account, the majority of Māori children enrolled in early childhood education attend centres that provide at least some Māori medium experience.

The 4,539 Pacific children enrolled in Pacific language nests in July 2001 accounted for 42 percent of all Pacific enrolments in early childhood education at that time, down from 48 percent in 1992.

Source: Ministry of Education. Changes in counting methods affect the comparability of kōhanga reo data before and after 1998, and Māori medium data before and after 1999.

In 2001, 17 percent of Māori school students (25,580) were involved in Māori medium education. The number of mainstream schools offering Māori medium education increased significantly following the introduction in 1989 of targeted funding to promote the Māori language. By 1999, 19 percent of Māori students (26,852) were receiving some of their education in the Māori language, a substantial increase from 13 percent (16,051) in 1992.

Kura kaupapa Māori are schools in which Māori language, culture and values predominate and in which the principal language of instruction is Māori. Over the decade to 2001, the number of kura kaupapa Māori grew from 13 to 59. Over the same period, the number of Māori enrolments in kura kaupapa Māori increased tenfold, from 507 in 1992 to 5,010. In 2001, 3 percent of all Māori students were enrolled in kura kaupapa Māori.

Table CI3.1: Proportion of Māori students in Māori medium education

	Some Māori medium education		More than 50% Māori medium education
1996	23,222	16.8	14,398	10.4
1997	24,432	17.3	15,277	10.8
1998	25,642	17.8	15,766	10.9
1999	26,852	18.6	16,119	11.1
2000	26,357	17.9	16,524	11.2
2001	25,580	17.1	16,460	11.0

Source: Ministry of Education, School Statistics time series to 1 July 2001, Table 17 (revised data).

A total of 1,613 children (3 percent of all Pacific students) were involved in Pacific medium education programmes in July 2001. This represents an increase from 1,370 enrolled in 2000. Almost three-quarters (73 percent) were receiving instruction in Samoan.

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES

Involvement in Māori medium education is particularly high in the Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, and Hawkes Bay regions, where almost three in 10 students are receiving some school instruction in Māori. Other regions with high levels of involvement are Northland and Manawatu/Whanganui. A similar pattern holds for kōhanga reo enrolments.

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Local content programming on New Zealand television

DEFINITION

The number of hours of local content screened on New Zealand television channels during prime time, as a proportion of the total prime time schedule, between 1988 and 1999. Local content is generally defined as material that is both predominantly made in New Zealand and reflective of New Zealand identity and culture.

RELEVANCE

Television plays a dominant role in our lives. Ninety eight per cent of New Zealand households have at least one television set. For many people, television is a major source of news, information and entertainment and strongly influences their sense of local and national identity. A local content measure reflects the extent to which we see our culture reflected through this medium.

CURRENT LEVEL AND TRENDS

In 2001, local content on the three main television channels comprised 37.2 percent of the prime time schedule, a slight increase from 36.5 percent in 2000. The proportion of local content rose from 24 percent in 1988 to a peak of 42 percent in 1994, before dropping to 35 percent in 1995.

Source: New Zealand on Air, www.nzonair.govt.nz
Note: These figures are for local content on TV One, TV2, and TV3 only.

Since 1988, other free-to-air broadcasters (including TV4, MTV and a number of regional channels) as well as pay-television channels Sky (satellite) and Saturn (cable) have joined the three national television channels. There is little information as yet about whether this will increase the proportion of local content on television.

Table CI4.1: Percentage share of local content by programme type

Programme type	1988	1990	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
News, current affairs	26	23	21	24	26	28	30	30	33
Information	10	5	8	17	20	24	19	17	21
Sports	24	39	31	21	15	16	16	20	13
Entertainment	14	12	9	6	9	7	8	7	9
Children's	15	13	15	15	14	10	10	10	8
Drama/comedy	2	1	7	7	6	6	6	6	6
Maori	6	3	3	4	5	4	5	6	6
Documentaries	2	3	5	5	5	5	5	4	4
Children's drama	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total NZ content hours	2,112	4,249	5,018	5,066	5,601	6,296	6,143	6,185	6,190

Source: New Zealand On Air

Three programme types account for two-thirds of local content hours: news and current affairs (33 percent); information programmes (21 percent); and sports (13 percent). Sports coverage dropped in 2001 largely because of the lack of major international sporting events during the year.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

International comparisons are difficult due to inconsistencies in measurement approaches by different countries. Available figures suggest that while local content on New Zealand television is steadily increasing, it accounts for less than a quarter of total transmission time, compared to Canada (60 per cent), Norway (56 per cent), Finland (55 per cent), Australia (55 per cent) and Ireland (41 per cent).

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