Flaxroots News

Mana (Auckland), Volume 2, Issue 3, 4 May 1978, Page 7

Flaxroots News

Maori greetings are becoming common place at the Education Department, according to Mr Sonny Wilson, officer with the Maori and Pacific Island directorate there. Mr Wilson introduced the lunchtime courses in Maori primarily for Education Department staff. The courses are designed up to School Certificate level, and are gaining quite a lot of response. Popularity of Maori studies at Victoria University has brought problems of space and resources. Professor Sidney Mead said that Maori studies is poised to offer its courses at Porirua in the near future but that such a move must have extra resources — staff and money — before it can be implemented. The educational problems of the Maori people and especially the very poor graduation rate of Maori students are such that we cannot wait for better times to come. Some fairly bold and imaginative steps need to be taken now.

* * * It seems that every newspaper in and around Wellington are for ever highlighting violence from a minority group. Every newspaper so. far has shadowed the Black Power and the Mongrel M6b in the same way as the Police has shadowed them. Violence is the bandwagon that these newspapers are getting into gangs. Is it any wonder then that these people in gangs are hounded by a lot of the authoratarians and the public alike, who see them nothing but trouble?

That’s the rep that they are being given by reporters who are reporting for the judicial system. Nothing is said from the gang’s point of view because they have no access to the media except when they are being reported about. Nothing comes out about their social and economic problems they face just because they chose to live a life different from what everyone else expects them to live.