Maori initiative urged

Press, 29 October 1981, Page 6

Maori initiative urged

PA Wellington The Maori people must take the initiative in reaching their objectives, the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) told Maori leaders yesterday. Mr Muldoon was opening the Maori Affairs Department’s second national conference of Maori Leaders, “Tu Tangata Wananga Whakatauira." in Parliament’s Legislative Chambers. “As you advance on the issues that will come before you during the next two days, be it land use or eduction, or the development of your whanau system, make sure the final action is going to be initiated by your-

selves, by the Maori people, he said.

“Try to avoid the old practice of conjuring up some sort of submission for a Government to think about, which then allows you to go home and wait,”

Introducing his address in Maori. Mr Muldoon acknowledged the “dramatic” policy shifts that had come from the inaugural Maori planning and strategy conference.

“One might even say that -Maoridom haS since changed into a new gear and we are now seeing new energy and initiatives being poured into several ‘fast tracks’ — into horticulture, into education, into skilled training for the

young, and into Maoritanga itself.”

He told the conference that Government help was available under the Tu Tangata (stand tall) policy. Maori leaders should be tough, economically and socially. and should strive to end “irritants” which stemmed from Maori urbanisation. “I am talking now of the under-achievement of the Maori pupil at school, of the young offender whom we see in the courts, and of the many who need skills for modern-day employment," he said. The situation should be urgently rectified and a goal should be set for it to take no more than three years.