Conciliator tells of ‘blatant show of racism’

Press, 13 May 1986, Page 3

Conciliator tells of ‘blatant show of racism’

PA Wellington Some European parents are avoiding sending their children to neighbourhood schools with concentrations of Maori and Polynesians, said the Race Relations Conciliator, Mr Walter Hirsh.

This blatant expression of racism and prejudice occurred in Wellington, but the most extreme case was an Auckland school, he said. The Auckland Education Board had had to close the roll at the Auckland school because European parents were bypassing two neighbourhood schools, which had between 40 and 50 per cent Polynesians and Maori pupils, and sending their children to a 90 per cent pakeha school.

It started two or three years ago with a few parents deciding to send their children to a

“white” school, Mr Hirsh said. Now it had become an alarming situation for the Education Department with the growth of one school and the depletion of the other two. All the extra pupils at the one school were “white" pupils from out of the school zone. The Education Board had closed the roll of the school and flung a tight zoning round it, Mr Hirsh said. The situation was not unique to Auckland. Mr Hirsh said he had been in education for 30 years and was aware the situation had occurred in Wellington, and other places throughout New Zealand. “The problem concerns me greatly. It is an advantage in the education of our young people for them to be mixing it with ethnic minorities.” Mr Hirsh said New Zea-

land was living in a time of a renaissance of Maori culture which he personally found “highly exciting.”

He regretted that so many people did not see it as a privilege to be part of this move.

It was not enough to be merely a tolerant society. Multi-culturalism, where different cultures flour-, ished together, was the ultimate goal of the Race Relations Office.

Racism in New Zealand was being expressed by individuals, main institutions and sometimes even parts of Government, he said.

Prejudice and racism still existed in New Zealand society. There were some extreme expressions of racism such as Right wing-groups which actively supported -and encouraged racist policies.