Conciliator hopes he won’t be prejudged
PA Wellington The incoming Race Relations Conciliator, Mr Wally Hirsh, said yesterday he hoped he would not be prejudged in his new role because he is not a Maori.
The 49-year-old primary school principal said he expected questions would be asked about his suitability for the job, “and I would hope they will not prejudge me.”
It was too early to say whether his not being a Maori would be a disadvantage- . . . _
The work of the Race Relations Office and its staff would continue, he told a press conference. It was not a one-person job. Mr Hirsh, the chairman of the New Zealand Jewish Council, will succeed Mr Hiwi Tauroa. He has been appointed for three years and will also become an exofficio member of the Human Rights Commission. Announcing the appointment, the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, said Mr Hirsh’s background, experience and interests made him particularly suitable for the sensitive post of conciliator.
Mr Hirsh said he regretted there were many people in New Zealand who had still to make “considerable” progress in their understanding of the country as a
multicultural society with a special place for the Maori people. The survival and revival of Maori culture, customs and language must be fostered, he said, but there were many people who did not see that. He believed the Maori language needed to be vigorously revived. He regretted he did not speak it but had an “almost lifelong commitment” to its revival, he said.
He would have some tutoring to increase his sensi-
tivity to Maori customs and would like to become more proficient in the language — if time permitted. Mr Hirsh also said there was a need for greater development and understanding of differences in people and the richness that cultural diversity brought. “Race relations don’t just concern Maori people in this country, they concern the Maori people, the Pakeha and all ethnic minorities.”
His first priorities would now be to listen, and spend some time with Mr Tauroa.
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Press, 24 December 1985, Page 3
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337Conciliator hopes he won’t be prejudged Press, 24 December 1985, Page 3
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