WHAT IS GOING ON!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 92, 23 July 1943, Page 5

WHAT IS GOING ON!

GALATEA DETAINEES DRIVERS LICENSES QUESTION FURTHER COUNCIL DISCUSSION That all is not well up at 'Galatea where a group of detainees from the Strathmore Detention Camp have recently replaced Maori employees who had worked on the estate for many was evident from the further remarks made by speakers at the meeting of the Whakatane County Council last Tuesday. Since the June meeting when the council decided to make definite stand against the issuing of drivers licenses to the' men concerned, the matter has ■ moved apace and 1 it is now very ■obvious that the council's l action has led to the uncovering r of a state of affairs which to say the least cannot be expected to reflect to the" best advantage •on the authorities concerned. It was alleged at Tuesday's meeting that the Maoris, who were most bitter about the manner of their treatment after many years! of loyal service had not been formally consulted as claimed by the Superintendent of Land Development, that the •detainees were able to move .round freely in-as-much as they -were able to go to Rotorua and practically by misrepresentation procure drivers licenses in the face of the refusal from Whakatane and also that there were definite instances of their having secured shot guns and gone -deer shooting while at Galatea. The council's reaction to these allegations made in the main by Cr T. G. H. Cawte can be betfer imagined l than described'. Two letters congratulating the -council on its. stand were received from the Whakatane Borough Council and the Whakatane U.S.A. Superintendent's Letter A letter from the Superintendent -of Land! Development, Auckland, under whose control is the Galatea scheme stated that the new Station ; Manager at Galatea had been instructed to use all possible expedition in obtaining warrants of litness ~and 'licenses for vehicles operated on public roads. Regarding the nonissue of licenses to'defaulters, the immediate effect, of this was that vital seasonal work was he'd up, and this would have a very serious effect on the wintering of and the next season's production from tin; large number of stock carried at Galatea. The council was therefore .asked to give urgent consideration to the issue of at least temporary licenses to enable worfc to procced. pending a full investigation of the position.

Jt was understood,, ran the letter, that .there had been some local criticism of the Department's action in substituting defaulter labour for Maori labour, but. such action had the prior approval of the local Maori Council. A full investigation would be welcomed on the ground of this aspect ol' the matter. It was felt that knowing all the circumstances, the. council would assist the Department to the very fullest extent in its difficult task of finding useful jjroductivc employment for these men in a suitable locality, thereby relieving the. present desperate .shortage of manpower. Cr Cawte's Allegations Cr Cawte stated that the position •at Galatea was now most acute, as feeling was running very high amongst the Maoris who had been put off. Mr H. Tai Mitchell had been deputed to investigate the position and. at a meeting held recently in the Rangitalii meeting house, it was claimed that the Maoris had been deceived over the whole matter. The previous manager who had been dismissed over the same trouble had attended the meeting and given evidence for the benefit of the gathering.

Manager's Contention He stated that in order to feed ■ out to the stock it was not necessary for the detainees to take their trucks on to the public road at all,, and further that most of this work could he done by wagons which were available on the estate. The claims for drivers lieense.s were quite unnecessary. He had stated further that on one . occasion late at night when he was Jn charge he had been disturbed and

upon investigating hud found that two of the men with a Maori, had taken one of. the trucks and. gone oiF with shot guns on a deer hunting expedition. They had however broken down and returned to secure a tractor. Cr Cawte claimed that this man had the whole, position summed, up. The Maori Attitude With to tlie Maoris, the speaker said Unit most of them had been trained stock men working on the estate for years, with llieir own horses and dogs. The Department had. seen lit to take tliein oft and put them 011 tree planting breaking up their homes, while their places were: taken by twice as. many men from the objectors camp. On top of this the Government was laced with the expense of building new accommodation, fookhouse and other facilities. All this could have been avoided and the Maoris kept in their own district by transferring the detainees to the Forestry Department. where there was already ample accommodation. There was no doubt about the indignation of the Maoris,, in spite of the. Department's assurances. Registration in Rotorua At the request of the council a letter was received from the Rotorua Borough Council regarding the men who had secured drivers licen-j ses recently. This list contained a number of defaulters names who hatl given their place of residence as Strathmore, 'which was actually within the Rotorua area. The: council was seeking advice from the Crown Law Oll'ice 011 the matter. The chairman: It is obvious that Rotorua is anxious to co-operate with us. Cr Hunter: Can these men from the Defaulters Camp go into Rotorua and secure drivers licenses when they want to. The chairman: Apparently. ' Cr Hunter: Well its a crying shame. They arc getting absolutely pampered up. They have a better time than the average private individual who is rationed on petrol and tyres. Its time the screwwas put on, and put on heavily.

Ought to Fight It. The chairman observed, that the council was dealing with the issuing of licenses and had made a stand. The other asjiects- did not enter into it so much. Cr McGougan: Yes but. if they legally can get this right, I think avc ought to fight to put a stop to it. Cr There has been obvious misrepresentation in thy manner the licenses were obtained from Roto rua. The chairman: Definitely! Cr Cawte: I- don't agree that we should be only interested in the licenses. 1 think we ought to show up anything that is unjust. The Maoris in my district would avclcome a full investigation and I'm sure, all the people up there are with them. Several councillors voiced their intention of following the matter up and not letting it drop, Gilbertian Situation Speaking to the superintendent's letter Cr Luxton .said with regard to the allegation of holding up production, that the Department had seen fit to dismiss experienced men and replace them by a lot of mechanics and truck drivers and then complain of holding up seasonal, work. Cr Burt said that if lie was any judge of Maoris, lie. felt that they would be too loyal to willingly relinquish their jobs for the sake of giving employment to men who wouldn't fight. Cr Luxton: I don't think it could have been put up fairly and squarely to the Maori Council. Cr Cawte then gave details of the full clay meeting with Mr Tai Mitchell when the whole matter was aired and when evidence was taken for submittance to Wellington. He added that, the Minister of Agriculture had when the. matter was lirst broached to him declared he knew nothing of it whatsoever and that if the Maoris had been inconvenienced they would be eligible for compensation. The council decided to write the Maori Council forwarding the Land Development Officer's letter and asking if it was correct, and in the meantime, pending a reply from the Minister of Justice to adhere to Its previous decision*