How should discrimination be addressed in New Zealand?
"Discrimination" means that you are treated worse or more unfairly than others in the same or similar circumstances. Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, not to mention New Zealand is also a river and lake full of immigrants, discrimination occurs all the time, everywhere, but according to the section on anti-discrimination contained in the New Zealand Human Rights Act (1993), not all discrimination is illegal;
However, if the cause of discrimination is due to your race, country of origin, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, etc., then there is no doubt that this is illegal.
If you believe you are discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand. If you are unable to resolve the issue with the help of the Committee, you may file a complaint with the Human Rights Review Tribunal in New Zealand. New Zealand's Human Rights Review Tribunal, like the courts, can make orders to the other party (the infringer) to correct an injustice or incident that has occurred to you. In some cases, the court may require the infringer who discriminates against you to compensate you in the form of money for your civil damages.
In addition to the illegality of discrimination in many cases (e.g. race, immigration, colour, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) mentioned above, New Zealand's anti-discrimination law specifically prohibits sexual and racial harassment and "incitement to racial disharmony".
As a Chinese who has lived in New Zealand for a long time and is more or less likely to encounter things that make you feel unfairly treated, you must find out if your experience involves "discrimination" before you formally file a complaint or lawsuit against the infringer. If you think you've been treated unfairly, there are a few key questions you need to answer to determine if what the other person is doing is illegal:
1. Why are they doing this?
Do they do this because of what is explicitly covered by anti-discrimination laws such as your country of origin, color, sex, religion, etc.?
2. When and where did their discrimination take place?
When did discrimination occur and where did it occur? For example, would you like to apply for an apartment in downtown Auckland and be told that "foreigners are not allowed to rent"?
3. What's the result?
Are you disadvantaged or treated unfairly because of what happened? For example, because you are Chinese, the landlord rented the house to someone who offered it at a reasonable price because "because you are Chinese".
4. Are you mistaken for being discriminated against because of special exceptions?
Are you being treated unfairly for special reasons? For example, if the landlord may also be living in the apartment, you may be rejected for some reason (not race, country of origin, etc.).
====
After all four points, you can first file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission if you can still conclude that you have been subjected to a situation described as "discriminated" as expressly stated in the New Zealand Human Rights Act.
Direct or indirect discrimination is not allowed (illegal).
Is discrimination usually "naked"? No, in New Zealand, because you're a woman or a fat person, you earn less than a man or a well-sized person doing the same job, which is less common. In most cases, discrimination is indirect. For example, persons with disabilities need to use wheelchairs to get to work, but there are no elevators in buildings that prevent persons with disabilities from going upstairs, which is indirect discrimination against persons with disabilities.
In another example, you're unemployed and the bank doesn't give you a credit card (it's not discrimination because you don't have the ability to pay back). However, because you don't have a credit card, the power company refuses to accept you as their customer, which is indirect discrimination (discrimination against the unemployed).
However, if the cause of discrimination is due to your race, country of origin, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, etc., then there is no doubt that this is illegal.
If you believe you are discriminated against, you can file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand. If you are unable to resolve the issue with the help of the Committee, you may file a complaint with the Human Rights Review Tribunal in New Zealand. New Zealand's Human Rights Review Tribunal, like the courts, can make orders to the other party (the infringer) to correct an injustice or incident that has occurred to you. In some cases, the court may require the infringer who discriminates against you to compensate you in the form of money for your civil damages.
In addition to the illegality of discrimination in many cases (e.g. race, immigration, colour, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) mentioned above, New Zealand's anti-discrimination law specifically prohibits sexual and racial harassment and "incitement to racial disharmony".
As a Chinese who has lived in New Zealand for a long time and is more or less likely to encounter things that make you feel unfairly treated, you must find out if your experience involves "discrimination" before you formally file a complaint or lawsuit against the infringer. If you think you've been treated unfairly, there are a few key questions you need to answer to determine if what the other person is doing is illegal:
1. Why are they doing this?
Do they do this because of what is explicitly covered by anti-discrimination laws such as your country of origin, color, sex, religion, etc.?
2. When and where did their discrimination take place?
When did discrimination occur and where did it occur? For example, would you like to apply for an apartment in downtown Auckland and be told that "foreigners are not allowed to rent"?
3. What's the result?
Are you disadvantaged or treated unfairly because of what happened? For example, because you are Chinese, the landlord rented the house to someone who offered it at a reasonable price because "because you are Chinese".
4. Are you mistaken for being discriminated against because of special exceptions?
Are you being treated unfairly for special reasons? For example, if the landlord may also be living in the apartment, you may be rejected for some reason (not race, country of origin, etc.).
====
After all four points, you can first file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission if you can still conclude that you have been subjected to a situation described as "discriminated" as expressly stated in the New Zealand Human Rights Act.
Direct or indirect discrimination is not allowed (illegal).
Is discrimination usually "naked"? No, in New Zealand, because you're a woman or a fat person, you earn less than a man or a well-sized person doing the same job, which is less common. In most cases, discrimination is indirect. For example, persons with disabilities need to use wheelchairs to get to work, but there are no elevators in buildings that prevent persons with disabilities from going upstairs, which is indirect discrimination against persons with disabilities.
In another example, you're unemployed and the bank doesn't give you a credit card (it's not discrimination because you don't have the ability to pay back). However, because you don't have a credit card, the power company refuses to accept you as their customer, which is indirect discrimination (discrimination against the unemployed).
