New Zealand

Since the 1970s, immigration increased from various Pacific Islands (including Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, and Fiji), and after the 1980s more Asians came to New Zealand from many countries. A family plays baseball in Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand. Two-parent families are the most prevalent in New Zealand, but they make up less than half of all families. MICHAEL POLE/CORBIS Cultural variations remain evident in family structure and practices, and as well as in socioeconomic status. In contemporary New Zealand, two major variations in family structure remain, based on who is considered to be part of the family unit, who is most worthy of loyalty, and how resources will be divided (Fleming 1997). Pakeha (New Zealanders with European origins) tend to organize their families around the married couple and their children sharing the same household. Maori and to an even greater extent Pacific Island peoples (who together comprise about 20% of the population) are more likely than Pakeha to retain extended family ties. For example, the 1996 census indicates that 12.2 percent of Maori and 37 percent of New Zealand Samoans (the largest Pacific group) live in extended family households, compared to 4.3 percent of all New Zealanders.

Family structure also affects perceptions of obligations and priorities and the allocation of financial resources. For Pakeha, family money and household money are essentially the same, and money tends to flow from males to females and from parents to children (Fleming 1997). Paying household bills is given priority over other expenses, such as assistance to relatives or community donations. For Maori couples, the boundaries of the family economy could stretch to include other kin such as cousins and married siblings. For Pacific Island couples, extended family demands often take precedence over household bills and individual needs.

Two-parent families are the most prevalent in New Zealand, yet they accounted for only 45 percent of all families in the 1996 census. Couples without children living in the household comprised 37.3 percent, and one-parent families comprised 17.7 percent of all families. Living with other families or individuals was more prevalent among lone parents, as about one-third of one-parent families shared a household with others. Furthermore, about one-third of Maori lived in one-parent families in 1996 compared to only 12.3 percent of non-Maori New Zealanders. Jackson and Pool (1996) note that Maori family demography differs from Pakeha, which has important policy implications. Maori tend to bear children at an earlier age, and to have higher fertility rates, higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and lower life expectancy than Pakeha.

In the 1996 census, 6 percent of New Zealanders identified themselves as "Pacific Islands" ethnicity. Meleisea and Schoeffel (1998) suggest that the term is problematic because it ignores the cultural specificity and identities of these groups. The Samoan community comprises half of the Pacific Island population in New Zealand. Census data show a youthful population with a high birth rate. Shared households containing three or more generations are a common feature. Furthermore, about 37 percent of all Samoan children lived in families with no parent employed, which reflects the high poverty rates of many Pacific Island families.

About four-fifths of New Zealanders are of European origin. Increasingly, however, immigrants from Asian countries are bringing new family forms that include overtly patriarchal families and arranged marriages. Yet new immigrants often have fewer children, reducing their fertility to improve their economic status and accommodate wives' employment.