New Zealand stop doing this to me, or am I just a worry wart

Question

Hey. I'm a 15 year old kiwi who now lives in Australia (on the Gold Coast). I LOVE New Zealand. I think it has so many perfect things. I'm proud of the scenery, friendly people and yummy food!

I have this thing in my head, that I should be proud to tell people I'm a kiwi and boast about how good my country is! But unfortnunitly there is this thing deep down in me that actually, weirdly makes me sad.

I'm talking about New Zealand's crime problem. Does it have one? I know it does but the question is, is it as bad as Australia's?

I have become obsessed with checking the New Zealand herald everyday and checking the Australian news too to compare the two countries in crime.

NZ appears to have lots of crime, but then again so does Aus. But when there is crime in Aus, I brush it off. When it happens in NZ it actually makes me sad. Say, if there was a murder in Aus (say in Perth) I would just not worry about it. If however some guy was stabbed to death in, lets say, Rotorua, I would get very sad and it would ruin my pride for my country,

On Monday, in Christchurch a dairy owner shot at robbers with a gun (some type of harmless enough gun). Today, a man was stabbed in Centrel Auckland. Also today, a women was held at gunpoint in a dairy in Palmerston North (my home town!). Everyone of these incidents have shocked me. It makes me disgraced to be a kiwi. And yet, in Australia a man was stabbed in Kingaroy ( a small QLD country town), a girl was beaten up in a brawl in Adeladie, and a man was put in a coma after a road rage incident in Perth. I have just read that a man was stabbed in Palm Beach (a suburb of the Gold Coast) over night. I have also read about lots of unprovocked glassing attacks on the Gold Coast.

And yet, None of these incidents in Australia, even in my own city, make me feel bad. And yet, when it hapens in NZ, i get upset.

How do I stop this problem? How can I still be proud to be a kiwi? People will say to me just know your country is great, but I'm not sure whether or not I want to be proud of coming from a country where you can't go out at night (unlike here on the Gold Coast).

Any suggestions? Reassurances of people who perhaps think nz is safer?

Anything please!

Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

Wow! you know more than I do,and I've lived here for 43years.But I tell you one thing to set your mind at ease.There is a crime committed here every four minutes.And you won't read about all of them.What's your problem? There are over 4 million people here,and like all countries we have crime.I think your far to occupied with whats wrong with New Zealand.There are lots of good people here doing great things.

If you can't be proud of been a Kiwi,then don't bother.We won't mind.

Answer 2

still not over your concern eh?

well you don't really make a very good point by saying you are aware that there's just as much crime in Australia as there is in NZ and providing us with those examples then saying that doesn't worry you but stories of crime that occur in NZ do...???

statistically NZ is a safer nation than Australia

going out after dark anywhere in the world requires people to be cautious, I've never heard a kiwi say to me "i can't go out after dark" that's ludicrous, i feel perfectly safe walking around the block to the dairy/ the neighborhood shops in the dark and i'm a girl! would i walk around the city centre, amongst drunk lunatics on my own in the wee small hours of the morning, well possibly not but again thats just common sense. I used to bike home from the video store i worked at, at 11pm at night and i never felt unsafe.

i think you need to get over it, or stop reading so many newspapers, no offence

Answer 3

You are dead right.

NZ has become a very bad and dangerous place to live.

Every day there are rapes, serious assalts and murders.

Just look on www.yahoo.co.nz and every day there is a great list of heinous crimes.

If you don't have to come to NZ visit a safer country like Australia.

At least they have laws and appropriate consequences.

A concerned Kiwi

Answer 4

NZ media is to blame for this, yes NZ has crime but so does every other nation on the planet. Im kiwi living in sydney, and i will always feel safer in NZ. i think its that NZ doesnt have much other news to report on apart from crime and they seem to think that it gives good ratings. Not to say that it shouldnt be reported but if they could put a little bit more variety into their news it would be better.

There are break and enters every day in aus & nz. Nz is such a tiny country that little things end up being HUGE. I would have no problem walking down the street of my home town (hawera) in the middle of the night but wouldnt dream of doing it here in sydney. NZ is definitely safer than alot of countries out there, its just being reported on more and more intensely  

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_World_...

You have this.

EDIT- No it's real. We had a lecture at University on it. I've been meaning to tell you, but you've blocked me on all your other accounts.

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