Background

On 11 June 2007 the New Zealand Press Council upheld three complaints against the article 'Asian Angst: Is it time to send some back?', declaring that the December 2006 cover article of iconic New Zealand magazine North & South was discriminatory and inaccurate. North & South was obliged to publish the substance of the Press Council's decision.

The article contained a litany of crimes and other displeasing behaviours committed or imputed to have been committed by East or Southeast Asians in New Zealand, warning of a "gathering crime tide" and stating that "the Asian menace has been steadily creeping up on us." The Press Council noted: "At the heart of the article was the use of figures which said that in 2001 Asians made up 6.6 per cent of the population but were responsible for just 1.7 per cent of all criminal convictions. It went on to say: "However, according to Statistics New Zealand national apprehension figures from 1996 to 2005, total offenses committed by Asiatics (not including Indian) aged 17 to 50 rose 53 per cent from 1791 to 2751."" This failed to take into account that group's rise in population by over 100% during that time.  National crime statistics showed that for East and Southeast Asians (the frame of reference for the article's use of the term 'Asian') crime rates had dropped as their populations had grown, bestowing upon them the lowest crime rate of any ethnic category in the country. 

The article was widely decried as racist and inaccurate, and was the subject of three complaints to the Press Council spanning the different sectors concerned: a group complaint mostly comprised of prominent members of diverse Asian communities, a complaint from the Asia:NZ Foundation, and a complaint from the Head of Massey University School of Journalism.

'Asian Angst' was written by journalist Deborah Coddington, a former Member of Parliament for the political party Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT). North & South is an award-winning news and current affairs magazine described by its publisher ACP Media as the magazine for "Thinking New Zealand".

The most significantly controversial anti-Asian article published previously in New Zealand was the 'Inv-Asian' article of 16 April 1993, printed in the Suburban Newspapers Auckland syndicate. At that time, Chinese community advocates pursued their complaints through media responses and meetings with the publisher. A member of the public, Trevor Snowden, complained independently to the New Zealand Press Council in 1993 about the 'Inv-Asian' article, but his complaint was only partially upheld. Some of those involved in the 'Inv-Asian' advocacy effort, such as Associate-Professor Manying Ip, were also involved in the 2007 'Asian Angst' complaint.