Submission rift

Press, 3 December 1987, Page 3

Submission rift

A suggestion that material considered for the Royal Commission on Social Policy had a bias towards Maoris split the Ashburton Borough Council finance committee last evening. A sub-committee made nine recommendations in its submissions to the commission including an item seven which objected to the bias against middle income groupings and bias for the Maori population shown in background papers.

In its conclusion the sub-committee said the commission and Government were making a seri-

ous mistake in not recognising the silent middle income New Zealander who was too busy paying off high mortgages to make submissions. Cr Geoff Stone raised the issue on item seven and said it might not be surprising for an area like Ashburton to put in such a submission. It was an area without need to have major regard to Maoridom, but the Treaty devolved legal responsibilities to the pakeha in relation to the Maori. The committee let the matter lie until the council meeting on Monday.