Department ‘racist and monoculturally’—report

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 12

Department ‘racist and monoculturally’—report

PA Auckland The Social Welfare Department is racist, monocultural and alienates Maoris, says a confidential report being studied by the Government. The report, completed last year by nine women working in the department in Auckland, says: “Institutional racism is a pakeha problem and must be addressed by pakeha policymakers and staff. “The department must become bicultural. “To do this, it must return power and resources to Maori people so that they may be equal participants in policy and decision-mak-ing.” The women met officially in work time for 18 months.

They surveyed Social Welfare Department staff in the Auckland region from November, 1983, to March, 1984. Questionnaires which included sections on age, race and occupational position were sent to 1308 staff, 895 of whom responded. “We do not mean that all staff uniformly hold racist opinions,” says their report. “We do mean that the institutional framework of the department — staffing, training, legislation and policies — reflects a relentlessly pakeha view of society, which oppressively and systematically discriminates against the interests of consumers and staff who are Maori and Pacific people.”

In their report, the - women make four main findings: The ethnic composition of staff is dominated by pakehas; the recruitment, selection and promotion of staff is culturally biased in favour of pakeha applicants;staff training is monocultural and ignores the issue of personal and institutional racism; and the physical environment is monocultural and alienating to Maori consumers. The report says that, by employing an overwhelming majority of pakeha staff, and allowing pakehas to dominate decision-making positions, the department “perpetuates a service to consumers which is racist.”