"As Archbishop for the diocese, I do not support the placement of that sign. It should not have been put there," he said.

"A church should not be politicised this way. A church should be a safe space for everyone, a place where everyone feels welcome without being confronted with politicised material that some could find unwelcoming or offensive."

RNZ published a photograph which appears to show the message board had been vandalised.

Masterton Mayor Lyn Patterson said the church did not seem to have been aware of the controversy surrounding the All Lives Matter slogan.

Patterson said she had not heard much from the community about the message.

"I haven't had any phone calls around it but I would understand and certainly appreciate why people might feel strongly about the signage."

"Lots of people have individual views on it."

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said it would be "provocative" to post the phrase on a public noticeboard.

"The statement is politically loaded and has been used to justify ignoring racial disparities, such as the over-representation of African American communities in police shootings," Foon said.

"The phrase is therefore associated with racial division and intolerance."

"People have the right to freedom of expression. However, it is equally important for people to be thoughtful about how they express themselves, including how their expression impacts others."

Source

• Supplied David McLoughlin
  Communications Adviser, NZ Catholic Bishops
  Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa
• rnz.co.nz
• Image: rnz.co.nz Amber Craig

The schedule of Term 1 of the classes was announced earlier in January that offers several regional, and national language classes along with sessions on different world religions and their contribution towards the diversity people live in. Read more

Cultural separation is remarkably high in super-diverse Auckland says Dr Toeolesulssulu Damon Salesa in an 11 minute interview with Newsroom.

Salesa is Associate Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland.

He says residential separation in Auckland is not far behind what you would find in South Africa or parts of the American South.

It is now not uncommon to find south Aucklanders who have never been into the city or crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge he says.

And conversely, there are Pakeha residents of the North Shore and Remuera who have never been to Otara or Mangere.

"People are going to make personal and political decisions based on a really slanted, and not accurate, experience. It is one of Auckland's great problems." he says.

The most segregated population is actually European New Zealanders in Auckland.

"These people have no window or vision on the rest of Auckland…. the city many European New Zealanders live in is not diverse at all," Salsa says.

Salesa was the first person of Pacific Island descent to become a Rhodes scholar to Oxford.

Earlier in 2012, his book Racial Crossings: Race, Intermarriage, and the Victorian British Empire won the coveted international Ernest Scott prize.

Damon is the husband of Labour MP Jenny Salesa.

Source

• newsroom.co.nz
• auckland.ac.nz
• facebook.com
• Image: hrc.co.nz

The cross has been removed leaving a stark pole.

The cross has traditionally been erected and illuminated on the summit of Puketapapa-Mt Roskill for short periods at Easter and Christmas prior to the Auckland Council amalgamation.

Since the Super City was established in 2010, because of an oversight, it had remained in place without authorisation.

The chair of the Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority, Paul Majurey, said discussions between Auckland Council officers, working on behalf of the authority, church leaders and the Puketapapa Local Board have been amicable.

"Staff met with the forum of church ministers and the local board to help facilitate local discussions, update them on the changes in ownership and discuss the future process for the cross."

"Those discussions culminated in the removal of the cross on Tuesday," Majurey said.

Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority, which represents Auckland iwi, was set up last year to govern 14 of Auckland's maunga.

Several changes have been implemented since it was formed.

Cars have been banned from driving up Maungawhau-Mt Eden, the mountains have been made alcohol and smoke-free and a bowls club evicted from its patch on Otahuhu-Mt Richmond.

The sites hold significant spiritual and historical value for Maori and they say the changes are designed to encourage Aucklanders to respect them.

Albert-Eden-Roskill councillor Christine Fletcher says this is an important opportunity for all involved to show tolerance.

"We need to be respectful of all the many and varied cultures and practices of the diverse community, including the Christian community which I consider myself a part of."

The cross references the history of the suburb.

While the area is now known for its ethnic diversity, Mt Roskill was once dubbed the "Bible belt".

The Maunga Authority has agreed to receive and consider an application to erect the cross for future events.

Meanwhile the cross has been put in safe storage.

Source

• radio.nz.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

His father had migrated to New Zealand from China in the late 30s and ran a fruit shop with Barry's grandfather. He brought his wife and an infant Barry over from Hong Kong in the 1950s.

They rejected Sue out of fear for their grandchildren. What would Asian-Jewish-European children look like? And where would they fit in?

Sue's Jewish grandfather had fled Europe before World War II to the corner of earth farthest from Hitler's Germany. She understood what it meant to be different.

She liked all the things that made Barry Chinese: the language, the food and the culture.

"I had awareness of difference, so it was shocking to be road-blocked with our relationship like that. It was about cultural difference," Sue said.

Then, one day, before the couple left for their OE, Barry's mother told him that when they returned they would accept Sue into the family.

But with more than 10 per cent of New Zealand identifying with more than one ethnic group, the grandparents were right. Sue and Barry's children have had to negotiate difficult issues of identity growing up in New Zealand.

Their eldest daughter, Nicky, who is "very obviously Eurasian", has struggled with her ethnic identity.

"She has never managed to not be Chinese. She has wanted to be white, but she can't get away from looking and feeling Chinese," said Barry.

Nicky is engaged to the son of Taiwanese migrants.

Sue and Barry's youngest son, Richard, has taken a very traditional Chinese girlfriend - a real surprise to his parents.

"It speaks of the era that a 21-year-old grew up in and what was his playing field at primary school and his immersion with other cultures," Sue said. Continue reading

Sources

• Simon Day in The Dominion Post
• Image: Stuff

Simon Day is a reporter for Fairfax NZ