Mr C. M. Bennett Returns to N.Z.

Te Ao Hou, June 1963, Page 5

Mr C. M. Bennett Returns to N.Z. Mr Charles Moihi Bennett, until recently High Commissioner to Malaya, has returned to the Maori Affairs Department as Assistant Secretary, with special responsibilities on problems of Maori education, crime, housing, employment and health. Speaking at a reception by the Ngati Poneke Association to Mr and Mrs Bennett, the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Hanan, said that Mr Bennett had done a ‘tremendous job in Malaya’. ‘But an even bigger task awaits you — the biggest of your life’, said Mr Hanan. Mr Bennett would be responsible for advising and assisting in implementing all Government Maori Welfare Policy. ‘It is a task that you are uniquely fitted to tackle. Truly the Maori people need you, for you can lead by inspiration and example,’ said Mr Hanan. ‘I am conscious of the great advantage of having a Maori in the top ranks of the Maori Affairs Department. You are only the second Maori to have progressed so far in the department. Throughout your career you have shown that Maoris can fill high office with distinction if they have the necessary education and training,’ Mr Hanan told Mr Bennett.