Another source of information is Longitudinal Immigrant Survey: NZ, which shows that voter enrolments among Indians and South Koreans is high (91 per cent and 87 per cent respectively), and compares well with British migrants (93 per cent). Chinese are lower at 77 per cent. But casting a vote is another matter with little over half of Chinese and Koreans voting, while two-thirds of Indians vote. Only 55 per cent of British immigrants bothered voting.
All of this suggests we need to make sure immigrants, particularly recent arrivals, are encouraged to participate. This is underlined by the fact that New Zealand is virtually alone in allowing those who have been granted permanent residency the right to vote, as long as certain voter eligibility requirements have been met.
Citizenship is not required.
The responsibility lies with a number of organisations and communities. The Electoral Commission has an important role to play in encouraging immigrants to vote. It has, in the past, run workshops for Kiwi Asians and provided information in a range of languages. But given the above statistics, there is obviously more to be done.
Are political parties doing their bit? Most are aware that the immigrant and minority ethnic vote is - and will - make a difference, especially in Auckland. Candidate selections, the use of ethnic/immigrant media and participating in community events all indicate that political parties are taking a much greater interest in these communities. Whether it is adequate is another matter.
And what about the media as a forum for discussing political matters that are of interest to these communities - and in a way that engages them? One of the difficulties here is that there has been a proliferation of media that serve the interests of immigrants, so that there has been a fragmentation between mainstream and sidestream (immigrant/ethnic) media. Questions need to be asked about what the effect has been on voter interest and participation. My view is that some media do a great job but others do little to provide a forum, or they sometimes misrepresent issues and political viewpoints.
What about the communities themselves? They, too, have a responsibility to inform themselves and to become involved. There are signs that some communities are active. Manying Ip has talked about the Taiwanese immigrants who began to mobilise in the 1996 general election and went on to organise pre-election rallies and seminars - and to seek candidacy.
Given the significance of immigrants and immigration to New Zealand, it is critical that those involved in politics help encourage their participation in the political process - as voters, as commentators and as candidates. Whatever cynicism there is about voting, it is still at the heart of the democratic process.
Paul Spoonley is pro vice-chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University and the project leader for a research programme looking at the future population shape of New Zealand.
