Patti, an ex-resident now living in Redmond, Washington, has written to
NZine asking if I would write about changes in New Zealand since she left
in 1980. She is returning for a family wedding in November and wants to
know whether she will experience culture shock.
A request like this has some very interesting results. The first was that
I found it quite difficult to remember just when some of the recent changes
did take place. That sent me to the library to check my facts.
The second result is that since this request I've never been stuck for a
conversation topic!
The third result is an abundance of material on changes which will appear
in a two-part article. Part one will cover general social change and part
two some of the changes resulting from Government policy since 1980.
More cosmopolitan attitudes
With many more immigrants entering the country we are moving from a
bicultural to a multicultural society. There are many more Polynesian and
Asian people living and studying here than in 1980. Refugees, from Somalia
in particular, have added to the cultural mix. Language schools have
sprung up like mushrooms, catering for new immigrants and for people who
come to study at our schools, colleges and universities to improve their
English and to study other subjects, especially business topics.
A number of overseas businesses have set up in New Zealand or opened
branches. Australian businesses have expanded into branches in New Zealand
since the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations and Trade
Agreement (CER) in 1983. It stated that by 1990 there would be a totally
free-trade environment. Duty free goods must have 50% Australian or New
Zealand content.
Our daughter who has lived in Canada and America for thirteen years
recently returned and was struck by the number of American businesses which
had opened in New Zealand.
Kiwis' strongest impressions - eating and shopping
Most Kiwis think that Patti will be surprised by the changes in our eating
patterns. Far more people eat out, and the number of small and large
eating places has grown enormously. There are large establishments like
McDonalds and Pizza Hut, and a rapidly increasing number of pizza delivery
services. Wine bars have sprung up all over the cities and the suburbs,
many with cafe dining.
Ethnic restaurants offering menus from Asia, Mexico and the Mediterranean
have opened in many places. Numerous outlets for takeaway foods are open
along the main roads, in food halls and shopping centres. Food is
available at all hours of the day and night.
One correspondent summed it up when he wrote that we are probably
developing a 'unique South Pacific cuisine'.
Shopping opening hours
Since 1989 there has been shopping on both Saturdays and Sundays and on
most public holidays, except Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and
the morning of Anzac Day. Sunday shopping was introduced at the end of
1989. Two private members' bills aimed at changing the remaining
restrictions, especially for garden centres, have been defeated, the
second gaining more support than the first, so possibly even these
restrictions will be eased soon.
Wide selection of goods
With the lifting of import restrictions in 1988 and the reduction of the
tariffs designed to protect local industries there is a much wider variety
of goods in the shops. There are fewer New Zealand-made clothes and most
shops stock a lot of clothing made in Asia, especially China. A number of
manufacturing companies have moved offshore because the wages in New
Zealand made it impossible for them to remain competitive.
Clothing shops
Many of the large drapery shops have closed and instead a large number of
boutiques have opened offering specialised merchandise. There are chains
of shops where inexpensive imported clothes can be bought for adults and
children. For an overview of the changes in the New Zealand clothing
market you could read my article on
Moretons Menswear,
Business of the
Month for June. Casual wear has replaced formal clothes for most
occasions. Comfort and easy care are most important.
Corner dairies and greengrocers
The corner dairies seem to be a dying race. Those that survive have
increased the range of goods and services to attract custom - a wide range
of magazines or even photocopying services.
Greengrocers still survive selling a great selection of fruit and
vegetables, usually at prices cheaper than the supermarkets.
Service stations
Petrol stations, now more appropriately called service stations, offer much
more than petrol. They sell a wide range of goods, including food, and
sometimes have tables and chairs for people to eat meals. Many are open
twenty four hours a day. Among other services they provide clean
toilets!
Advertising and mail order
There are more mail order catalogues and other unsolicited mail sent to
households and goods sold by infomercials on television. Junk mail fills
the letter boxes of houses without a 'No junk mail' notice. More and more
competitions and special discounts are offered to encourage consumers to
buy.
Bread and cigarettes
Patti asks about the cost of bread and cigarettes. In the supermarket
where I shop a loaf of bread is around $2.00 and cigarettes are around
$6.00 for twenty. Packets of ten are about to be phased out to make it
more difficult for young people to afford to buy them.
GST
In October 1986 the government introduced the Goods and Services Tax
charged on almost everything you buy or contract for. The first rate was
10%, with an increase in July, 1989 to 12.5%
Entertainment
Kiwis have followed the world wide trend with restored popularity of cinema
going, and multiplex cinemas have opened in the larger cities. The success
of the New Zealand film, 'The Piano', winning three Oscars further increased
Kiwis' interest in the film industry.
Gambling is on the increase. The old Golden Kiwi lottery is gone. Lotto
was introduced in 1987 and Lotto counters are in all the shopping
centres.
In 1990 the government granted limited licensing of casinos, and the first
was built in Christchurch in 1994. In 1996 the Auckland casino opened
and at the beginning of August this year the Sky Tower was opened - the
highest tower in the Southern Hemisphere.
Newspapers and magazines
The daily papers now have some coloured illustrations. Sunday papers are
popular. The evening papers are a dying race.
The New Zealand Woman's Weekly has changed markedly. Now, like so many
other women's magazines, it is sensationalist with main articles about the
love lives of movie stars and royalty or others who have featured in the
news of the month.
Radio and Television
Broadcasting which had been government controlled was deregulated in 1988,
and licences were offered for tender. There are now numerous radio
stations, most competing for the advertising dollar. The National
Programme and the Concert Programme are free of advertising - so far!
Patti asked if we still have only two TV channels. The answer is an
emphatic NO. Television New Zealand operates two channels, but TV3
and TV4 offer competing programmes and are privately owned.
Smaller channels offer
specialised programmes aimed at different age groups or providing horse
racing news or programmes of local interest. Most viewers are unhappy with
the increasing advertising - up to fifteen minutes each hour.
Sky TV offers a range of programmes including CNN, and sport, news, films,
and documentaries continuously shown on three UHF Channels.
Sky subscribers pay a connection fee and monthly subscriptions. Cable TV
is increasing by the day.
Motorways
Motorways are still found mainly close to the cities. The city of Auckland
extends a long way further north and south. It is possible to travel from
north of Albany for an hour to south of Pohino on a motorway which
continues to lengthen, with an alternative offered to the main motorway
over part of the route. This does not mean that there is no traffic
congestion. At peak hours in the morning and in the evening until 7 p.m.
the cars travel bumper to bumper on the northern outlets, the congestion
largely a result of bottlenecks caused by the Harbour Bridge.
In the other main cities there has been little change in motorways.
The North Shore - Patti asked whether Devonport had changed.
One Auckland correspondent, Kaye, told me that Devonport people like to
believe that there have been no major changes since 1980. In a way this is
true because the older houses have been retained and renovated. It has
become in her view an arty scene, trendy to visit at the weekend and
popular with tourists. There are a number of art studios, cafes and
interesting shops, including secondhand book stores. The prices of property
there have greatly increased. There is a new ferry terminal in a nautical
style which in her view does not blend well with the other architecture of
"the village".
Joe, former resident of the North Shore, has just returned there on
holiday and gave these impressions.
Devonport is still the same, yet different. The only remaining North
Shore ferries still ply between Devonport and the city, but the pier has
become a shopping arcade. Strenuous efforts have been made to retain the
architectural character of the township by avoiding the entry of high rise
apartment blocks, but one concession to modernity is a supermarket with the
usual acres of parking.
The ancient fire station remains, though its functions are now performed by
a modern version discreetly placed along the road to Narrows Neck. The
vista from Mt Victoria is little changed in its magnificence, save for the
obtrusive sky tower in the city, icon or obscenity depending on your
viewpoint. Nor does a massive "Sharp" advertising sign on top of Auckland
Hospital add to the aesthetics. Nevertheless Devonport still has character
which is deliberately fostered.
Another correspondent, Val, writes of the North Shore:
The North Shore is expanding very fast with a new sports stadium,
University, factories, housing developments, new roading near here as well
as sewage problems, water pollution and overcrowding on the motorway, but
we still like living here! A huge shopping centre, motorway extension and
fun park are on the drawing board. We have three super markets near here at
Browns Bay. All three have their own bakery and one, Foodtown, has a bank
and a cafe as well. Auckland's sky line has certainly changed. I quite
like the tower because I can find the city from anywhere.
"A Quarter Acre Half Gallon Pavlova Paradise"
Some readers may remember this as the title of a book by Austin Mitchell
giving his views of New Zealand some years ago. Now for many sections the
quarter acre has become an eighth of an acre or less, and the popularity of
beer has declined as the amount of wine drunk has increased. Even pavlovas
are not served as often.
Read Part 2
for further recent changes in New Zealand.
People Making Changes Main Page
