TVNZ Breakfast presenter Paul Henry had more in common with the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, than he might have realised when he popped his ill-conceived question about who might be in line for the special role of Queen's representative.

Henry queried the Prime Minister in clear reference to the Governor-General's South Asian ethnicity if he was "going to choose a New Zealander who looks and sounds more like a New Zealander this time?"

What Henry overlooked was the fact that the Governor-General was born in Auckland and is a New Zealander by birth.

And despite the 16-year age difference between the two, one formative childhood feature they share is that the New Zealand that both experienced in their early years is a very different place today.

Without delving into the significant changes in demographics that have occurred over the past 30 years, it is enough to say that immigration and emigration have altered New Zealand's ethnic landscape in obvious ways.

That change brought on by travel, globalisation and trans-nationalism is both irreversible and inevitable, even in a country as remote as ours.

Satyanand, who is a personal friend and colleague from his previous role as deputy chairman of the Asia New Zealand Foundation before he was appointed Governor-General, is in his own way representative of a trend that began many generations ago when the first Asian and other migrants arrived to put down roots in this oceanic nation.

As TVNZ's star breakfast show host, Henry has an unenviable record of courting controversy, but instead of adding to the brickbats flying in his direction I want to acknowledge that he has inadvertently done the country a favour by raising the question of who is a New Zealander in the 21st century.

When the Asia New Zealand Foundation produced its 2006 Asia Knowledge Working Group report Preparing for a Future with Asia, one of the main findings was that despite the Asian population approaching the 10 per cent threshold, there appeared to be an evident reluctance to recognise Asians as New Zealanders.

"In general, New Zealand's identity is seen as comprising European and Maori/Pacific influences. Despite our substantial Asian population and our location within the Asia Pacific region, most New Zealanders do not recognise an Asian component in our national identity. Minority cultures other than those of Maori and Pacific nations are seen as separate from the mainstream," the report stated.

But Henry's comments and the resultant fallout demonstrate that a watershed moment in the national discourse on what it means to be a New Zealander has arrived.

The Henry moment could also be a turning point in how our public television broadcaster recasts its fairly mono-cultural view of the public that it serves.

Henry's outburst appears to have crossed an invisible line that indicates a major shift in public opinion has occurred in recent years.

Another hint of the change came in the way TVNZ's initial defensive assertion, in a rushed and poorly executed piece of media spin that its audience "tell us over and over again that one of the things they love about Paul Henry is that he's prepared to say the things we quietly think but are scared to say out loud", backfired.

Faced with 600 complaints to date and furious criticism on social media platforms Twitter and Facebook, TVNZ appears genuinely caught off- guard that large sections of the New Zealand public are clearly saying that Henry's comments were unacceptable and representative of an outdated mindset.

Just as the 2007 Asian Angst article in North & South was influential in helping to shape the way the print media reported and reflected New Zealand's ethnic minorities, the Henry saga could well be similarly influential in the way our public broadcaster now realises it has got some work to do to catch up with New Zealand's demographic changes.

The challenge has also been laid down for our public broadcaster to tackle any kind of an institutional culture that gives licence to one of its most prized presenters to express a kind of bigotry that an increasing number of New Zealanders now feel should be consigned to the waste-paper bin of history.

Public opinion shows there is now greater recognition that the newer migrants from Asia and other parts of the world including the Pacific, South America, the Middle East and Africa, are part of a continuum that creates ordinary New Zealanders of all races as well as those as distinguished as the current Governor-General.

All of this is encouraging and heartening evidence that this country is maturing in its attitudes on race, ethnicity and identity.

Let's hope TVNZ learns a valuable lesson from the Henry debacle.

To do so it will need to open its eyes to the social reality that has been evident for quite a number of years now, just outside the doors of its Victoria St West offices in Auckland.

Up to now there's been an evident contrast to the ethnic diversity seen in our schools and communities and the stark lack of diverse faces and voices featured in the daily menu of news and current affairs.

In light of the Henry moment, here's hoping the sharp lesson dished out by the public backlash will give impetus to changing the way this public media institution has failed up to now to reflect the multi-ethnic reality that is so much in evidence throughout New Zealand.

And for this, we have Paul Henry to thank.

Philip Burdon is chairman of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. He is a former National MP and Cabinet minister and, as trade minister, helped build New Zealand's relationships with Asian partners.

ENDS

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