Maoris And Europeans

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31659, 20 April 1968, Page 4

Maoris And Europeans

Administration in New Zealand’s Multi-Racial Society. Edited by R. H. Brookes and I. H. Kawharu. Oxford University Press. 137 pp. The Institute of Public Administration, centred in Wellington, is one of New Zealand’s very small group ot academic concerns that publishes its findings with any degree of regularity. As a scholarly and academic body commenting on the administrative aspects of politics to the general public, it fulfils an important function. In spite of the chilling formality of this book’s title, and, indeed, of its style of presentation, the authors of the seven essays included in it come from a wide variety of fields of expertise. This needs to be emphasised: the direct scholarship of academic discipline is blended with the observations of a school inspector, a welfare officer and a member of the Department of Labour. Together, they provide an account that will appeal to all involved in the problem of race relationships, and will inform the interested layman. It would not be helpful to say that the authors assume a liberal position because social science must be liberal. When ethnic groups have trouble adjusting it is the result of ignorance on the part of the communities concerned: the job of the expert, as the Institute sees it, is to explain the economic and cultural factors that induce “racial” difficulties. The necessary balance between explanation And recommendation has been maintained: these essays, within their limited scope, will help towards a general understanding of our society and its future possibilities. Because they are the dominant minority group, both in numbers and importance. Maoris receive most attention. The panel is agreed that relations between Maoris and Europeans are reasonably good, but could be better. If full employment and the relatively small Maori population are, as has been suggested, the reasons for this, then there is a real possibility that tensions could increase in the near future.

In spite of New Zealand's pride in its multi-racial society, too little effort has been made to integrate the two communities. The word “assimilation,” which implies that the Maori must become a sort of European, has been heard too frequently. When, for good reasons, the Maori cannot oblige, Europeans tend to give a despairing shrug and make disparaging, if outwardly good-natured remarks. Mr R. L. Bradly suggests that uninformed criticism of Maori values, designed to encourage the Maori to “assimilate," has the opposite effect of creating stubborn resentment. The theme of these essays is the urgent need for ordinary people to make a greater effort to appreciate the outlook of other races.