MAORI PROGRAMME Frost the talker listens, too

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33672, 23 October 1974, Page 18

MAORI PROGRAMME Frost the talker listens, too

It became abundantly, :lear in the David Frost programme last evening that here was a striking example of a culture :lash in New Zealand. And this time the Maori people were in the, majority. Frost had a hand-picked i ttudio audience of Maoris of 'arying degrees of mixed >lood and including many! ■uccessful people with edu-.' :ation. talent, and ability. I: Frost attempted to explore he implied question in the übtitle to the programme,.. The Most Successful Multi- i. facial Society in the World." , This programme, which be- , ;an with a haka and wel-jt

come song in Maori, was dif-1 ferent from others in the! i“Frost over New Zealand”: 'series in that Mr Frost was much less of a showman, but it must rate as one of his most successful programmes. Maori custom implies courtesy and respect for the speaker on his feet, and, of course, this carried with it some problems for fastmoving television. But as he himself observed it, it was Frost’s job to listen. He did just this with a welljudged sense of timing when there was a danger that the j predominantly-Pakeha view-I ing audience might become bored by oratory. Some of the deep concerns i of Maori people came through ; strongly — including land, control of Government departments, concern with things Maori, teaching of the

I Maori languge. and recognition and acceptance of Maori : culture by Europeans. ■ David Frost also managed to capture the passionate feelings of some of the audience without allowing them to dominate — no easy task. He was also successful in having his audience take a look at themselves as Maoris and suggest what they should be doing. The fusion of the two races in marriage was brought out as well as the question of what passes for the image of Maoris. All viewers must have felt i sympathy for the man who said he had come a long way to be present and was determined to have his say. Mr Frost got the point and encouraged the man to em-i phasise that it was about: time Pakehas realised that!

Maoris were mature enough Ito handle their own affairs, i David Frost attempted to wrap up everything neatly in the European way of doing things. He sugegsted a list of urgent priorities. But the influence of the marae was too strong. The 76-year-old elder rose to his feet and had his say, complete with reference to Michael Joseph Savage, i The programme was good for all New Zealanders, and should have stimulated them to think. It would perhaps have never been made had it not been for the importation of David Frost. But none of us should be 1 drawn into complacency by his comment that the Maori i people are further ahead than' l minority groups in Britain,! America, and Australia. i —K.C.