Colonial hangover

Tragically 27 asylum seekers drowned in the English Channel while seeking sanctuary in the United Kingdom, a destination sought also by anxious citizens of Hong Kong. Many others are targeting further Western democracies, Canada, Australia, NZ, USA, all with a common thread, former British colonies.

British colonisation has been often judged by some academics and politicians as a possible cause of our economic disparity, the prior culprit ‘‘Rogernomics’’.

So often we seek a scapegoat for our social problems, colonisation is not one of them.

P.J.Edmondson, Tauranga

Dr Raymond Richards Senior Lecturer in History University of Waikato