Migrant labour in New Zealand : the political economy of Maori and Pacific Island labour migration

Abstract

This thesis analyses the causes, patterns and consequences of mass labour migrations of Maori and Pacific Islanders within and to New Zealand after 1945. There are two central themes to this analysis. Firstly, it is argued that such migrations should be viewed as outcomes of the forces creating uneven economic development between the migrants' regions or countries of origin and destination. It is shown that pools of surplus Maori and Pacific Island labour were created as a result of the effects of the nineteenth century expansion of capitalism on pre-capitalist economies. It is then argued that the incorporation of this surplus labour via migration after 1945 arose from patterns of capital accumulation which created excess labour demand in urban secondary industries. Special consideration is given to the role of the state in adjusting migration flows to fluctuating levels of labour demand. Secondly, it is argued that an understanding of the incorporation of Maori and Pacific Island workers via labour migration should be central to any consideration of the social and economic position of these groups today. To this end it is demonstrated that Maori and Pacific Island workers have remained concentrated in the type of jobs for which they were initially recruited as migrant labour. It is argued that this position is reproduced as a result of the combined effects of class, racism, ethnocentrism and relations with the state, and that these have all been influenced in crucial respects by the labour migration process.