THE SPIRIT OF CONFERENCE

Te Ao Hou, July 1958, Page 35

Conference welcomes the Hon. P. O. S. Skoglund, Minister of Education. On the platform, Mrs Nini Naera and (right) Mrs Miria Logan, Dominion President THE SPIRIT OF CONFERENCE by E. G. SCHWIMMER Photography by Barry Woods THE Sixth Annual Conference of the Maori Women's Welfare League took place in the Palmerston North Opera House from 28 to 30 April. Although I have attended several League Conferences I can never forget the odd contrast between the delegates, housewives often from the remotest back-blocks, and the smooth formal Conference procedure. Who are the delegates? Some come from simple villages with kerosene lighting, where League activities are in a draughty unpainted hall decorated only with trestles; others have electricity and a modern dining hall; others come from prosperous sheep farms. There are delegates who find English difficult, but also ex-teachers and nurses from the towns. Very few are free from the burdens of the housewife; must leave a house full of children minded just for the days of the Conference by an obliging aunt or grandmother. And there are a good number for whom Conference is the only yearly escape from an unchanging routine stretching from the cup of tea of the morning milking till supper long after dark. At Conference, they suddenly become part of the machinery of public affairs and big events. The glare of newspaper publicity is upon every word they utter, the cameras are flashing; they fit for a while into an organisation of top-level efficiency. The agenda papers are distributed—67 pages of single spaced foolscap—some pages white, others yellow, others pink, all for easy reference. The preambles over—delightful preambles, with speeches from the kaurnatuas, the local Mayor, the Prime Minister, other dignitaries—the rush is on. The women brace themselves behind their tables, and attention is magnificent. Behind the tribal namecards one may see no more than an occasional whispered conversation, a moment of weariness, as the unending flow of resolutions, remits and policy decisions are proposed from the microphone on the executive platform. Some of the remits come down in rather forbidding form “That the replies to the 1957 Dominion Council Resolutions Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10, not being satisfactory, such resolutions be reaffirmed as League Policy.” A rustle of leaves, and we all go to the pink pages. The first

Until the early hours of the morning she left for Conference, Mrs Ruiha Sage, with her husband were pouring concrete for their new home. She was one of the main speakers on the subject of Maori housing. Mrs Sage, previously a district health nurse, is president of the North Walkato District Council, one-time holder of the Te Puea Trophy Mrs Noble Campbell is the ever youthful president of the North Kahungunu district council, which has several times narrowly missed winning the trophy. Now a vice-president of the Dominion Council, she is one of the League's most practised orators. A South Islander by birth, she has taught for many years in the Wairoa district where she now lives One of the youthful delegates to make a mark at conference was Mrs Ruby Mackey (born Hemopo, from Oruanui), secretary of the Christchurch branch. Speaking partly in Maori, she pleaded feelingly for a centre for the young Maoris of Christchurch who are badly in need of more community life. She is one of the organisers of the present youth club

Mrs Miria Logan, Dominion President, leads a powerful welcome to the Hon. P. O. S. Skoglund, Minister of Education. Behind Mr Skoglund is Mrs Puhi Royal, retiring vice-president of these resolutions looks rather involved; an endless worm of a sentence twists and turns through the microphone. But the Dominion President or Secretary does not leave it at that. She explains the resolution then reads through the correspondence received last year from some luckless Minister of the Crown. He presents a long list of services offered by his department but omits all reference to the particular service women had asked for. Without pausing the Secretary continues in a monetone “That the reply received be not accepted as satisfactory and that this resolution is reaffirmed ….” Of course, Conference is sometimes satisfied without getting precisely what it asks for. Officials such as the Secretary for Maori Affairs, Mr M. Sullivan, would speak from time to time to explain why a request had not been granted. For instance, why the Department of Maori Affairs does not build rental houses. This has been a regular remit for many years. But when the women heard the full explanation, they dropped the remit; they realised that the department's resources were better spent on the houses built for sale and that it would not really help anyone if the policy was changed. When a sympathetic answer is given. Conference can be very generous. One can say that at no other Conference so much ‘aroha’ is shown to spokesmen defending government policies. An observer, Mr M. Taylor, of the Tourist and Publicity Department commented on this great generosity in his address, and he said that the Government does not really mind having constructive criticism from a body such as the Maori Women's Welfare League. Education and housing are still the main concerns of Conference delegates; nothing could be better than that responsible communtiy leaders think about these things and seek improvements. The Rt. Hon, W. Nash, in opening the Conference said that the League, like the Plunket Society, should be independent in spite of the Government support given that its value partly lies in its independence. For most delegates there is one supreme moment in Conference: when their own Branch's remit is read out. The women of the Branch have prepared for it, and they will want to hear all about it when the delegate comes back. Now she has to rise and speak to it, give her explanation and wait for the applause. This is usually forth-coming. There may also be arguments and it is only very occasionally that she has to swallow the sad and cruel moment of rejection. Even then her Branch can probably find some room for comfort: often the rejected remit is one which is already policy or covered elsewhere. MORE ABOUT THE CONFERENCE ON PAGE 58