OBLIGATIONS OF MAORIS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25226, 3 July 1947, Page 8

OBLIGATIONS OF MAORIS

QUESTIONS ASKED BY MR HOLLAND REPLY BY MR NASH (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, July 2. Maoris, in seeking equality with the pakeha, should also accept the obligation everyone else accepted, said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) in the House of Representatives to-night. Quoting unpaid hospital rates as one example of what he meant, Mr Holland also ’•eierred to the special advantages and protection given the Maori people, and was especially critical of Maori members’ voting for electoral boundary changes which affected Europeans while they had one constituency—Southern Maori—with only 1155 voters.

Objection to Mr Holland’s remarks was taken by the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash), who followed him in the debate. The four Maori members had been elected by a clear mandate of their people, Mr Nash said, and the attitude of the Leader of the Opposition could only be regarded as a slight on the Maori race. He trusted that other members of the Opposition would take the opportunity later in the debate to make amends for the remarks of their leader.

Mr Holland said a great many Maoris had voted for Labour because of what they hoped to get, and they could not be blamed for that.

Question of Equality “I want to ask the xviaori people whether they really mean what they say when they say they are fighting for equality with pakeha,’’ said Mr Holland. Mr Holland said that if Maoris accepted hospital benefits they should be prepared to pay hospital rates. In the Bay of Islands, from 1941 to 1943, hqspital rates had been levied to a total value of £18,988 for those three years. Yet a total of only £32 had been paid and the remainder was still' owing. The report of a commission had indicated that these figures were indicative of the present trend. There had once been a time when Maori representatives in the House voted and interested themselves only on matters of interest to their own race, but members could remember that in the last session their vote had teen mobilised ta put through conditions they were not prepared to accept themselves. Although they bad voted for a common level for European seats they had not supported such a plan for the Maori seats. “That’s%ot equality,” Mr Holland said. “That is not one vote one value.” “Entitled to More Than Four Seats” Mr Nash said it was regrettable that anyone should endeavour to divide the House between Maoris and pakeha members as Mr Holland had done by his references to 38 European members on each side, plus four Maori members. The Maoris on a population basis were entitled to more than four seats. *Both races were equal citizens of the country and to suggest that the Maoris, because of differences in the law of land ownership and tenure, should not enjoy full social security benefits was unfair. The suggestion would never have been made in the days when Sir Apirana Ngata and Sir Peter Buck were in the House.

Mr Nash agreed that Maoris ought to'pay taxation according to their responsibilities and ability to pay.