SOCIAL SECURITY

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 52, 30 August 1945, Page 8

SOCIAL SECURITY

PAYMENT TO MAORIS

INFORMATION SOUGHT

When Mr. W. S. Goosman (National, Waikato), speaking in the dehate on an Imprest Supply Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday, strongly criticised the action of the Government in not supplying information in response to a motion he had tabled asking for the amount of money paid to the Native race from the Social Security Fund, he started a discussion which lasted all afternoon and was carried on for a time in the evening sitting. "There is nothing that breeds disease like idleness and the Native race is being driven into idleness by abuses of the Social Security Fund," declared Mr. Goosman. He contended that the Government was flouting members' rights in not providing the information.

Mr. Goosman said his motion was the first to be tabled last session and also this session. There had been no response by the Government. Was the Government's reason for not giving the information that it was afraid of the consequences? New Zealand had the grandest Native race in the world, but it was being demoralised and wiped out by the actions of the Government. There were Maoris who used to grow their own vegetables and provide much of their own food, but today they drew from the Social Security Fund, bought vegetables from the Chinese, and lived in idleness Tlie Prime Minister ' (Mr. Fraser): The Maoris produce vegetables in abundance. . Mr. W. Sullivan (National, Bay of Plenty) said the Opposition had oust as much admiration for the Maori race as Mr. Tirikatene, but those who moved round among the Maoris knew there were abuses inside the social security scheme. • , "I think it is time the Maori and pakeha business was dropped and all became New Zealanders," said Mr. S. W Smith (National, Bay o± Islands). Referring to social security benefits Mr. Smith said that neither Maoris nor pakehas should be allowed to hold land that was not used. From his own personal knowledge Maori farms had. deteriorated in the north during the last few years. He had asked a question in the House last year which had not been answered, suggesting that consideration should be given to the adoption of a system of coupons for the payment of family allowances.. He had spoken to two hotelkeepers on the subject and they said that if coupons were substituted for cash payments they would lose hundreds of pounds a year, but they would be delighted with the change. They looked upon the taking of such cash as "blood money"—money that should be for the children of those to whom the allow- - ance was given. HOLDING OF CONFERENCE. Mr. T. Omana (Eastern Maori) read a letter by the Minister of Social Security (Mr. Parry) to the Hon. E. T. Tirikatene on the question of arrang-. ing a conference with the Maori members of Parliament to discuss the payment of social security benefits to Natives. "Now that the Budget prot posals have been made public," said I the letter, "and it is quite evident that , the increased amounts made available ; will accentuate the problem involved ..." '. An Opposition member: What a con- , fession! ; Mr. Omana said the remainder of the [ letter merely suggested that the conI ference should be held on August 30, ' and that the Commissioner of Social Security would be present. He added that there was no doubt that abuses ■ had taken place and that applied to 1 pakehas as well as Maoris. It was cvi- ■ dent from the letter that the Minis- , ter of Social Security was dealing with ■ the question. \ Mr. T. H. McCombs (Government, ■ Lyttelton) said the European war was " a pakehas' war and he did not think i the Maoris should have been con- '■ scripted. As it was they were grate- • ful for the Maoris' assistance. The , present Government had always ■ thought that everyone should give . useful service to the community and ; that idleness should not be permitted. Why pick out the Maori? There wer£ , plenty of pakehas drawing sufficient ; money to keep them in idleness. The '■ idle Maori and the idle pakeha should ' be encouraged to work. If anyone was abusing the social security scheme he ■ should not be permitted to jeopardise ; the success of that scheme. i Mr. F. W. Murdoch (National, - Marsden) said that in the past few ; years there had been a lack of direc- • tion in the help that could be afforded • the Maori people. There were many Maoris just as industrious as any i whites, but during the past few years > there had been a deterioration in certain of the Maori youth. The direc- ; tion that was needed could only come from the Government of the day. There were cases in the north where money paid to the Maoris for the benefit of the wife and family had not gone to the wife and family, but had been dissipated, perhaps by the father. Mr. F. Langstone (Government; Waimarino) said that European civilisation had forced upon the Maoris their present mode of living. Mr. Langstone described the Native land development schemes which, he said, were improving the position of the Maori, and added his opinion that not only was the Maori a good farmer, with a gift for handling stock, but had ability with tools, and there was no better worker. REMARKS RESENTED. A certain amount of criticism had been levelled at the Maoris which had net been constructive and was of such a nature as to create distrust between the Maoris and pakehas, said Mr. E. T. Tirikatene, member of the Executive Council representing the Maori race. It had been nothing more or less than an invitation to some feel- ■ ing of insecurity as to whether the Maori's position was that of a British : subject or a slave. Opposition members: Oh, rubbish. Mr. Tirikatene said he resented remarks that had been made. What was good enough for the pakehas was good enough for the Maoris, and whatever penalties were imposed on the pakehas the Maoris were also prepared to stand up to. The Labour Government, added Mr. Tirikatene, had given the Maori his right position as a citizen and when the Maoris fell down they must be penalised. The Minister of Social Security (Mr. Parry) asked why the Maori people should be singled out of all the recipients of benefits under the legislation. He thought the member for Bay of Islands had made an unfortunate statement when he said the younger Maoris were deteriorating. He had heard similar statements about the youth of the nation today not being as good as the youth of former times. He did not believe that the Maori of today was deteriorating. He was as good a man as ever he had been. The same applied to the youth of the country generally. In dealing with the question they should be careful not to use language which would create difficulties between Maori and pakeha. "We are not free from this problem any more than the Maori people are," he continued. Difficulties had to be over- ■ come. There must be a sense of re- • sponsibility. When benefits were conferred on a section of the community ' those receiving the benefits must '• shoulder the responsibility. It had tb ] be remembered that the psychology of ! the Maori was different from that of 1 the European. The Government had 1 created equality of opportunity for ' Maori and pakeha alike. < An Opposition member: Equality but i not responsibility. The Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, said he objected to what Mr. Goosman had to say concerning the Native race because it meant discrimination [ against the Maoris. He did not wish c to suggest that the question could not t be raised concerning the use of public « money but it was unfair to discrim- 3 mate against the Maoris. It was not the f Government's job to make the Maori a" v pakeha. He was a New Zealander be- i fore the pakeha arrived. There were F certain features of Maori life not as v good as the pakeha life, but the Maori „ had certain characteristics far ahead j of the pakeha. The aim should be to <i ascertain what features of the Maori r life the pakeha could cultivate for his a good and to help the Maori to culti- 5 vate what was good in the pakeha. Mr. Nash said it had been suggested that the Maori was, exploiting the v Social Security Act. That was pretty r hard. The pakeha could do it as well j jas the Maori. a