CRITICAL MOTION

Southland Times, Issue 22472, 7 November 1934, Page 8

CRITICAL MOTION

LABOUR LEADER WANT OF CONFIDENCE CONDUCT OF NATIVE AFFAIRS (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, November 6. The five main submissions in support of his highly critical want of confidence motion were made to the House to-day by Mr M. J. Savage who invited the House to express “its grave alarm at the irresponsible methods adopted in the administration of the Native Department and its opinion that Cabinet had failed in its duty by not immediately accepting its collective responsibility to safeguard the public funds and welfare ** of the native race when advised of the position by responsible officers of the Crown.” Mr Savage summarized his views as follows:— (1) Cabinet Ministers have a collective as well as individual responsibility in the control of all State departments. (2) The Minister, with every good intention to help the Maori people, acted in an irresponsible manner in his oversight of Maori development schemes, the purchase of lands and expenditure of public funds. (3) There was little or no co-oper-ation between the Native Minister and kindred departments for which Cabinet Ministers have a collective responsibility. (4) The report of the commission provides abundant evidence of the lack of co-operation between Cabinet Ministers in the administration of the various departments of the State. (5) The native race have not received the treatment they were entitled to expect from _ the various Governments of the day in the matter of development of native lands and other means of development. "This report,” said Mr Savage, "is the most damning indictment that has ever been made against the administration of public affairs by any Government since self-government was first established in New Zealand. If, under the present system of constitutional government, the Government of the day is not to be held responsible for the administration of all departments of the State, there can be no security for the public welfare. If the Government can escape the odium that must be attached to the bungling of the administration of a department of the State by making a scapegoat of one of its number who happens to be in immediate control, the present system of government is doomed. Whatever way one looks at this unfortunate state of affairs, it must be admitted there is collective, as well as individual responsibility resting with the Ministers. It is clear from the report of the commission that there was little or no cooperation between the departments of the State to that effect. This takes us back to March 10, 1932. On that date the Controller and Auditor-General made complaint to the Treasury that the Native Department did not co-oper-ate with the Lands Department or Valuation Department in the matter of making land purchases. The Government either did not know of this or it failed to act upon the information that was available to it through the various departments.” Te Kao Settlement Mr Savage quoted the report of the commission relating to the conditions of the natives in the Te Kao settlement in 1925, when it was stated that most of the children were in a starving condition and that Judge Acheson had stated that one out of every four children under 12 months of age died. Mr W. E. Parry: Who was Minister then? Mr Savage: Certainly not the exMinister of Native Affairs. I say that it is certain that the present state of the Native Affairs Department does not date from the date of the appointment of the ex-Minister. The Kt. Hon. J. G. Coates: What do you mean by the ex-Minister? Mr Savage: I mean the immediate exMinister. Mr Coates: Why don t you make it plain. Mr Savage: I can’t make it any plainer. , Mr Coates: Was the Minister from 1926 to 1928, the period which the commission says, largely responsible for the condition of things to-day? Mr Savage pointed out that the complaints concerning Maori Land Boards had been made by the Auditor-General as long as two years ago and no notice had been taken of these complaints. “Whatever may be said about this state of affairs, which we all regret, or about the Native Minister _ and his former colleagues in Cabinet, one would be safe in saying that, the people of this country will be stirred by the revelations made by the commission’s report and will take the first opportunity to see that justice is done to the native race.” said Mr Savage. “It is well that the Maori people should be warned against those who will attempt to make them believe that they are being attacked or that racial barriers are likely to stand between them and justice. That can never be. Whatever mistakes have been made in their name, and in ours—and they have been many—the Maori and pakeha must make up their minds to rise or fall together.” LENGTHY DEBATE LITTLE ATTENTION PAID TO MOTION. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, November 6. The native race held the floor in the House of Representatives to-day, the affairs of the pakeha being relegated to the background in a way that has not occurred for many years. The occasion was consideration of the report of the Commission on Native Affairs, the virtual no-confidence motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition also being before the House. Mr Savage opened the debate and vigorously trounced the Government for placing the blame for maladministration on the shoulders of the Native Minister alone, his view being that the responsibility should have been shared by the whole Cabinet. The majority of the speakers dealt with native affairs as they saw them and paid little attention to Mr Savage s motion, or to the recriminations directed at the ex-Native Minister or the Government. The debate was interrupted by the rising of the House at midnight and will probably occupy the greater part of another sitting.