Govt may help Sydney marae

Press, 13 May 1987, Page 25

Govt may help Sydney marae

By

ROBERT LOWE

NZPA . Sydney

The Government would consider ottering limited help to set up a New Zealand "community centre** in Sydney, said the Minister of Internal .Attain, Mr Tapsell, last week.

He said the help would probably. come in the form of paying the expenses of sending a carving tutor and a tutor of Maori women's stills to Sydney. L The newly formed Kiwi Council of New South Wales hopes to establish a centre in the city, incorporating a marae. Mr Tapsell, in Sydney for the opening of a festival of New Zealand films on Thursday, met representatives of the council on Friday. While previous efforts to set up a marae in Sydney had come to nought, the Minister said he was impressed with the latest endeavour.

"One of the problems with the Maori community in Sydney is that there are representatives of many different tribal groups,” he said. “But these people (on the council) are going into this prefect with a generous amount of humility and a realistic, attitudeof what can be achieved,” Mr Tapsell said. | He made It deer that the Government could not give large sums of mofey to help Maoris living outside New Zealand because demands “at home" were too great However, the Government would consider offering some aid once the council had raised sufficient funds and had gained local government approval for a site. The council was formed earlier this year and had its first meeting in February. Council members said they were confident of getting the centre under way by next year.