The author here seems a bit too quick to describe isolated incidents as typical of NZ society. Yes, there is a large of people with racist views but this is quickly changing - at least superficially, as people realise it is (at least) not socially acceptable to air their racist views.

Also, on the Kiwi/Iwi billboards - only "mild criticism form the national media"? I remember that the discussion of these billboards raged for weeks in the national media and was quite heated.

It's easy to ascribe a national character to a few examples. I wonder if the author spent any length of time in other cities around NZ. Christchurch has a reputations as quite a racist city, compared to, say, Wellington (a city roughly the same size).

I think there's a lot of emphasis here on a few incidents. All the things listed have been terrible, yes, but have also been met with public outcry - just not perhaps the sort you'd see on the 6 o'clock news. The media here is notoriously average at covering actual news and actual public opinion - Paul Henry just got given another show, in fact, and Mediaworks seem to not be reacting at all to the mass outcry happening on social media right now about it.

New Zealand is like any other place, I think, there are pockets of bigotry, and depending on where you are in the country, who you're talking to, and about what, those pockets can seem pretty large. A lot of the older community are very set in their ways. But youth here - well, some of them - are really progressive and open to talking about issues, something that's really important. There's a strong community of New Zealanders on twitter, for example, who readily critique and attack both the media and the public for displayed bigotry.

The recent Roast Busters scandal is a good example. There are complete and utter idiots in the public who are standing in support of these gang-rapists and making jokes, poking fun at the survivors. There are people in the media who are doing the same thing and perpetuating a horrible culture. But there are probably more (though I have to admit to an echo chamber sort of thing here because I obviously surround myself with these people) in support of the survivors, talking about the issue and how it's been handled by the media, police, and public. Radio shows have had ads pulled because of things that have been said, those hosts have been suspended, and a lot of companies that used to advertise with them have since donated a lot of money to rape crisis centres.

I can't tell if what it's like here is better or worse than the UK or anywhere else, because here is the only place I've lived long enough to be able to tell. But I know that personally, the amount of people that are supportive and kind and so far from bigoted far outweigh the bigotry that does exist. I deal with it on the streets on pretty much a weekly basis, and it's harrowing, but the other people - the good sorts, the decent human beings and better - far outweigh all that.