Progress By Maoris In Welfare State

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29864, 3 July 1962, Page 16

Progress By Maoris In Welfare State

Some persons considered the welfare State to be detrimental to the Maori—his progress, standard and character—but had it not been for the welfare State, the Maori would still be 100 years behind Western civilisation, said the Rev. Kingi Ihaka. Maori Missioner for the Wellington pastorate and a former clerk in the Department of Maori Affairs, in one of a series of lunch-hour addresses to students at the University of Canterbury. Mr Ihaka said the establish, ment of complete unity and true equality was a prime objective for mankind today. In few countries had the relationship between peoples of widely - differing cultural backgrounds been so harrnon-

ious as between the Maori and European elements in New Zealand Both peoples were united in the erection of a common welfare and nationalism, and although 1 great progress was still necessary. considerable steps had been taken to institute a measure of equality, he said Thanks to the benefits of the welfare State the standard of living of the Maori had risen enormously in a comparatively short time. “If the interest taken in the Maori by the State at present had been shown 50 years ago. the Maori would by now have achieved near equality with Europeans in most aspects of living,” he said. • ‘‘Much To Be Done” Much work remained to be done. In less than a century the Maori people had had to divorce themselves from customs and beliefs which had been an integral part of their existence and adopt another culture, completely foreign which had been acquired by the Europeans during thousands of years of scholastic achievement Only a few decades ago men of authority had predicted the extinction of the Maori people. In 1886 the number of Maoris had dwindled to 45,000. It was not until after the turn of the century, when legislation was first passed to assist the Maori, that the situation improved. If the rate of increase continued, the Maori population would number 703,000 by the year 2000. said Mr Ihaka. This would comprise 14.7 per cent, of the total expected population of the country, compared with 6.65 per cent, in 1959. Unfortunately the rate of building for Maoris had not kept pace with this increase, he said. The wide difference between the health and social standard of the European and Maori was to a large extent due to a difference in the standard of living. Lack of water and sanitation in Maori dwellings was still common. Only 51 per cent, of Maori houses had piped water, compared with 86 per cent, among the European community, he said. The number of houses being built for Maoris was less than the number of Maori marriages each year while the opposite was the case for Europeans. This was still a great improvement on the living conditions of many Maoris as he remembered seeing them not many years ago, said Mr Ihaka. On education depended the future prosperity of the Maori and the institution of the Maori Education Foundation was a constructive approach to this recognised problem. Some so-called Maori leaders had opposed the foundation on the ground of discrimination, but such statements were idle, he said.