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Will's Word is Pacific Mornings host William Terite's daily opinion piece on the latest news happening here and around the Pacific.

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Opinion

Why is NZ becoming more divided than ever?

Pacific Mornings' host William Terite says the rising number of hate crimes points to a deeper issue in NZ society that needs addressing.

New figures by Police show that almost three-quarters of hate crime offences reported in New Zealand since 2020 are motivated by race or ethnicity — which is just wild and insanely cruel.

It paint’s a disturbing picture of the society we currently live in doesn’t it? A society perhaps seems driven by division and hate.

To put it into context for you, over 19,000 hate motivated offences were reported between January 2020 and June this year. Well over 14,000 of these were racially or ethnically motivated.

Isn’t it sad there are Kiwis out there that are facing hostility and prejudice for simply being who they are?

This country likes to think that it champions diversity – but with stats like these you have to question the society we live in right now.

Race and ethnic relations at least from my perspective are incredibly divisive in this country at the moment — it seems you can’t go a week without seeing race or ethnicity mentioned in news stories.

So what’s to blame for this apparent rise in race and ethnic division? That’s the question — and what can be done before it spirals out of control even further?

That’s Will’s Word.