General election issues: MAORI SEATS

Press, 26 November 1981, Page 17

General election issues: MAORI SEATS

Labour's stranglehold on the four Maori Parliamentary seats faces a determined challenge in Saturday’s General Election from the fledgling Mana Motuhake movement.

Spearheaded by the former Labour member for Northern Maori, Mr Matiu Rata, the movement’s campaign to rock thp political boat is based on simple pro-Maori policies.

Mana Motuhake means distinct or discrete power; self determination for Maoris. The movement is dedicated to a philosophy of self-help and pledges to advance Maoris from their present state of dependence to one of self-reliance. “There are no free rides on the Mana Motuhake canoe — only free paddles,” Mr Rata said after a recent rally at Christchurch's Rehua Marae.

In the preamble to the movement's manifesto, Mr Rata, the president, writes “Our present position as a depressed minority is a stark reminder of why we must not fail in the task of uplifting ourselves to a place of pride in our own land.” Mana Motuhake wants the Treaty of Waitangi ratified by the Government; a Royal pardon for Maori ancestors who fought to defend their lands, homes, and families; recognition of Maori as an official language; and recognition that New Zealand is bicultural (two people — one nation).

Mr Rata resigned from Labour last year because, he said, the party was taking the Maori sea'ts connection for granted. It had “failed” to heed Mr Rata’s warnings of rising Maori anger, and resignation was the strongest message he could deliver to Labour that the Maori voice must be heard.

But he emphasised that Mana Motuhake was not

anti-Labour, but pro-Maori. He said he did not want protest votes, only votes which showed confirmation for Mana Motuhake’s policies.

Of the four Maori seats being contested by the movement, Mr Rata’s Northern electorate appears the most winnable.

On a limited preparation for the 1980 by-election, Mr Rata polled within 1000 votes of Labour’s Dr Bruce Gregory. Mana Motuhake candidates face daunting Labour majorities in the other Maori electorates: 7400 in Eastern, 9719 in Western, and 9180 in Southern.

A Christchurch political scientist, Mr Alan Mcßobie, expects Mana Motuhake to “go close” in Northern and Eastern Maori. “In past elections Labour has taken the four Maori seats for granted and started off four-nil. This time we cannot be certain that's the case."

Mana Motuhake is expected to have most appeal to young urban Maoris, including those in gangs and the urban marae movement.

Socio-economically, this is the group which should be thinking of doing nothing but voting Labour, but because Mana Motuhake was not anti-Labour, but represented the pro-Maori sentiment which was becoming a potent force in New Zealand, Mr Mcßobie expected urban Maoris to vote Mana Motuhake in large numbers.

Mr Rata hopes that the emergence of the Mana Motuhake as an ideological alternative for Maori voters will at the very least force Maoris to consider their future: to convince them that they are capable of making decisions, and not to presume that they do not matter because they are the minority.