INTEGRATION AND THE HUNN REPORT

Te Ao Hou, June 1961, Page 1

INTEGRATION AND THE HUNN REPORT It is surely not too much to claim that the Hunn Report on Maori Affairs, brief sections of which were quoted in our March issue, represents, in the jargon of our day, “A great leap forward” in Maori-Pakeha relations. Mr Hunn has surveyed the whole area of Maori problems, baulking at no conclusion, however comfortless, shirking no object of scrutiny. He has made wide-ranging proposals on land settlement and the re-organisation of complex titles, and in studying Maori crime, he has unflinchingly proclaimed that the Maori crime rate is three and a half times that of the Pakeha, and let the comunity draw from this, conclusions that are at the moment, dispiriting. Yet the whole report surges with optimism and confidence in the future of the Maori race. Editorial comment has been extensive and most favourable, with the proper note of caution sounded here and there. Perhaps the most eloquent and thought-provoking comment comes from Dr Bruce Biggs of the Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland, in a public address which he delivered to the Northland Young Maori Leaders Conference at Kaitaia some months ago. He said on that occasion: “A recent spokesman for the Department (of Maori Affairs) …. said that integration was inevitable but he pointed out that the rate at which the process proceeds should depend largely upon the wishes of the Maori People themselves and any acceleration or deceleration of the process attempted by policy changes should take Maori opinion carefully into account. There is some danger, I think, that European rather than Maori opinion, may be attempting to set the pace.” If this were so, it would be a real objection. But the Hunn Report, in our view, takes full cognisance of it. It explicitly repudiates any imposed policy of integration, recognising that evolution would take its course and pay scant attention to statutory formulas. Evolution governed policy, and not vice versa. In our view, therefore, the Hunn Report offers a blueprint for the future of the Maori people, but the house built to this design will everywhere conform to the wishes and needs of its tenants. We report in this issue an example of racial integration and spontaneous goodwill which we find both promising and heart-warming. Under the leadership of Dr M. N. Paewai of Kaikohe, a group of Kaikohe citizens have formed an organisation to give practical help to families whose inexperience in budgeting and other matters has led them into difficulties. Freely giving their own time, these publicspirited men have been able to transform the lives of many families who could not cope with the complexities of modern living. The scheme has been adopted and will be promoted by the Department of Maori Affairs and seems to us a most promising augury for the future.