Group seeks end to Maori ‘privilege’

Press, 19 December 1988, Page 8

Group seeks end to Maori ‘privilege’

PA Wellington The One New Zealand Foundation wants to see the four Maori Parliamentary seats and the Maori Affairs vote scrapped as part of a campaign to unite New Zealanders as one people. It has started a petition calling on the Government to remove what it calls racially discriminatory law from the statute books. The foundation was set up four months ago when a Whangarei fishing industry leader, Mr Bob Martin, started moves to hold a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi at the same time as some Tauranga people began planning action against what they called the Maori separatist movement. They joined forces and formed a foundation that they say has more than 10,000 financial members.

The foundation’s steering committee chairman, a Tauranga businessman,

Mr Peter Clark, said yesterday there were 263 New Zealand laws that gave privilege to Maoris, yet in 1988 there was no such thing as a pureblooded Maori.

"Most of those stirring might have one-eighth or one-sixty-fourth Maori blood in them. It is a scam, a farce and very destructive.”

The petition was only started two days ago but the foundation had already had forms returned. “I am absolutely amazed,” Mr Clark said. "It is something people' are thinking about and they want to do something about it." In the foundation’s first bulletin, which went out last week, Mr Clark said the foundation would begin a campaign in the new year to have the word pakeha eliminated from official language and to have Maori news captioned in English.

“These are but two of the many moves that have

to be made to successfully knit together New Zealanders as one people and put a stop to the destructive Maori apartheid campaign.

“The silent majority is regaining its voice. Multicultural New Zealand belongs to all its citizens, regardless of ethnic background. “Let’s make sure it stays that way.” He said research by the foundation had shown claims by Maori tribes on Crown land and fishing resources often had no legal basis. Crown land belonged to all New Zealanders and no ethnic group could have or would have privilege over the rest of the citizens, the foundation maintained. “The New Zealanders of Maori descent have the same rights as all other subjects — no more, no less.

“So let us call a halt to this nonsense,” Mr Clark said.