The comment was made this week by Prof Liam McIlvanney, director of the University of Otago's Scottish studies programme.
Scottish voting trends are also likely to be highlighted at a free public debate, titled ''Small nations in a big world: Scottish independence from a New Zealand perspective'', to be held in Dunedin tomorrow.
Prof McIlvanney will chair the 7pm debate, to be held in Coronation Hall, Maori Hill, and is co convener of Alba Otago, a Scottish pro independence group organising the event.
Speakers are Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran; Prof Andrew Geddis, Otago University Law Faculty; Aaron Hawkins, a Green councillor on the Dunedin City Council; Carol Jess, co convener of Alba Otago; and Liam Kernaghan, of Southern Young Nats.
Prof McIlvanney said some people had initially believed any talk of independence had ended when the ''No'' vote won the Scottish independence referendum by about 55% to 45%, last September.
Senior Labour Party figures had joined leading Conservatives in campaigning against independence at the referendum. This sparked a strong voter backlash against Labour in Scotland.
Opinion polls suggested the Scottish National Party (SNP) could win up to 57 of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats, giving the SNP the likely overall balance of power after the general election on May 7.
This meant the Scottish independence movement was ''far from over''.
Polls suggested Labour and the Conservatives could gain a similar number of British parliamentary seats, which could result in Labour governing with SNP support.
Many people in Dunedin, the ''Edinburgh of the South'', were interested in Scottish nationalism, he said.
The growing trend towards further self government in Scotland was also being accompanied by growing interest within Scotland in the ''Scottish diaspora''- people born in Scotland, who had since settled abroad, including in Dunedin, he said.
