APATHY ALLEGED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27241, 18 November 1949, Page 8

APATHY ALLEGED

ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MAORI MEMBER NATIONAL CANDIDATE’S CHARGE Vigorous denunciation of the attitude of the member for Southern Maori, Mr E. T. Tirikatene, was the basis of an address delivered by Mr H Bates, National Party candidate for the electorate, to 'an audience of 16 in the YMCA Assembly Hall last night Numerous instances of alleged apathy and incompetency on the part of Mr lirikatene were cited by the speaker. During the whole of his campaign tour, which had taken him from the fai north of the island, he had found people suffering through the indifference of their representative, said Mr Eates. “ I visited the 23 Maori residents of- d’Urville Island and found that I was the only election candidate ever to land there. Their living cqnditions were bad and their housing shortage acute. They had been writing to Mr Tirikatene for seven years, but apparently, they said, he did not realise their existence.” This state of affairs, Mr Bates maintained, prevailed throughout the whole island. The present member even had the audacity not to answer correspondence. “Why, he now lives in the North Island,” the speaker continued “ Our people only see him when he wants their votes.” Mr Bates outlined a National Party policy for southern Maoris to provide a more efficient health service, social security for all, and the payment of the Ngaitahu claim at the sum of £354,000, originally approved by the Royai Commission.

The appointment of a pakeha to the Ministry of- Native Affairs was decried by the speaker. “ What does the pakeha know about Maori affairs? ”he asked. “ Our Prime Minister thinks he knows a lot, but it takes him all his time to rub noses with us.”