Maoris and Relief

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 74, 20 December 1933, Page 13

Maoris and Relief

Sir, —Your issue of December 15 contains a report of a deputation to the Minister of Employment. This report, as well as being inadequate, is also, from the point of view of the deputation (representatives of the Maori race), misleading, inasmuch as the heading of the report would lead your readers to suppose that there was no discrimination between the Maori and pakeha on relief, i.e., your heading. “No Discrimination Made.” I claim that this deputation definitely proved its case: that there was discrimination between the races. The cases quoted by the .deputation demonstrated this, at least it must have been obvious to even those with just ordinary intelligence. In stating the case for the Maori. I did not say that I thought the communal system did not apply. I stated the communal system had broken down; it bad no existence in fact. If at the present time one lot of Maoris lived with another each had to put in their quid pro quo, so that when the claim is made that where a Maori and his family lives in the house of his father or mother he does not pay rent, such argument fails. Your report lightly skims over rents receivable by Natives. This . was one of the strong points of the deputation, inasmuch as the instructions to certifying officers by the Unemployment Board are that such rents are to be taken into consideration when making allocations to Natives. The deputation proved that Maoris are not receiving their rents. Many cases can be quoted where such is the case. Inquiry is invited by those interested. We also have those Natives not in receipt of rents, and this is the great majority. The cases quoted to the Minister proved that men with up to two children received last week 12/6 for the week, that is, three weeks out of four —9/4} per week. Men with three children and over received £1 for the week —15/- per week. Many of these men have eight and 10 children. The deputation pointed out to the Minister that conditions were deplorable, that the Natives were actually starving, and that many of _ the deaths of young children were attributable to malnutrition, owing to parents not being able to supply the right kind of food. The Minister was entirely interested and sympathetic to the deputation, giving it over two hours of his time. —I am, etc., T. GREGAN, Vice-President National Union of Unemployed. Levin, December 16.