Problems

Te Ao Hou, June 1968, Page 55

Problems There are many difficulties concerning these islands close to New Zealand. One of the two main problems is that of land tenure, operating on a different system in each of the various groups but certainly not on a basis whereby progressive agriculturalists can acquire land for development. Land is generally held in either reservations or family groups, and under these systems, agricultural progress is extremely limited. The other problem is that of the rapidly increasing population receiving more education but finding few avenues of employment. A temporary palliative to this problem has been emigration to New Zealand but this is not a realistic solution to the problem, as the people in the islands should be encouraged to remain in those islands and to develop their own land and resources. In my own opinion in the various islands there is too much emphasis on an academic education. Clerks are ‘ten a penny’ but a plumber is unobtainable.