Positive Social Effects:

Everyone in Tonga is aware of the ‘good’ social effects of migration to New Zealand. Wherever one goes, people point to new, durable houses built from funds remitted by Tongans working, legally or illegally, in New Zealand. A tremendous influx of funds, estimated to have been as much as $800,000 from New Zealand alone in 1973, has gone direct to the people of Tonga instead of the usual Government-to-Government aid schemes, and ordinary people have had opportunities for relatively high-paying employment never open to them before. This has given them a chance to improve their position,
give support to relatives, and give more generously to the work of their churches. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, reports that for the first time many parents have been able to pay their school fees, which has made a better educational service possible. Ordinary Tongan people have earned this money by their own labour, and this has very different implications than the receipt of handouts in ‘aid’ from self-righteous foreign Governments.

Negative Social Effects:

At the same time, thoughtful people are pointing out that there are also serious drawbacks to the present scheme operating with New Zealand – and one of the most serious is that Tonga people derive little from their experience except money – there page 8 is little evidence of any positive broadening effect from their stay abroad. People do not come back with useful skills, training or ideas, (and how could they over such short periods when they have to work maximum hours?), and even the money they earn is rarely used productively.

For a start, a great deal of money is lost in the post. Many Tongans, unacquainted with the intricacies of Exchange Control Regulations and the banking system, simply send New Zealand bank notes through the mail. Any handler of mail from New Zealand to Tonga will soon be aware of this and a considerable number of remittances do go missing. Even though many Tongans are aware of the illegality of sending money through the Post, it is often regarded as preferable to going to a bank in New Zealand and filling in all the necessary forms – or having to take precious time off work to do this. If money does get lost, of course, nothing can be done, since it was illegal to post it in this manner in the first place. Furthermore, as the Tongan Minister of Finance pointed out last year (Tonga Chronicle, 28th December, 1973):–

“A limitation on the amount of currency notes which may be cleared in any one period is set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand as a measure of control and if this amount is exceeded, delays in clearance and possibly enforced refusal to accept currency notes may result. Many complaints are made by persons expecting money from relations overseas when the cash does not arrive. It can only be assumed that in such cases the mail has been tampered with after posting and recovery is impossible.” Further, often when people leave for New Zealand their allotments are neglected, and it may take as much as four or five months to bring their land back into production. In the meantime, many rely on local market food, and also on imported New Zealand produce, which may seriously erode savings originally intended for some durable or productive purpose.

There are also immediate social effects which are causing concern in Tonga, although the extent of these may only become fully apparent at a later date. Church leaders note an increase in the break-up of families, and divorce statistics for 1972 show a more than 100% increase in decrees nisi granted by the Court, although figures for 1964–1968 were as high and higher than the 1972 figure. However, divorce statistics may not be an accurate indicator, and Church leaders, given the status and following of the Churches in Tonga, would be in a position to guauge the break-up of marriages which may not end in immediate divorce. It could be too early for the effects of emigration on family life to find expression in the relevant statistics.

One of the causes of family break-up is seen as the uncertainty attached with over-
staying in New Zealand under the three month permit system. This is said to be a factor
in married Tongan migrants seeking a relationship with New Zealand women to obtain hiding and protection as well as company. Temporary separation of husband and wife seems to be more of an accepted fact in Tonga, and the extended family pattern helps to alleviate any possible strain for the wife and children, but at the same time extended separation is not seen as desirable and may have serious negative effects. A longer, definite period of stay would do much to alleviate this.

Beyond this, there is the effect of a stay in New Zealand on the attitudes and values of the migrants. The experience of “highly-paid” work in New Zealand appears to have a strong unsettling effect, and many people returning from New Zealand immediately seek opportunities to go to Australia or the United States. Returning migrants consequently show a disinclination to work when they return, and despite the high level of unem- page 9 polyment and underemployment (see table p39), it is already becoming difficult to obtain workers for the weeding and hoeing of banaa plantations for example. There is an increasing danger that Tonga and its people may come to rely completely on income from migrant labour at the expense of local resources and local development.

This is not to argue that emigration from Tonga to New Zealand should stop – on the contrary, a halt in this process now would make the situation in Tonga worse than it was before the present migration began. There is no looking back. An irreversible process has started, and the only thing that can be done is to guide this process in
a direction which will provide a positive contribution to Tongan development.