Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1943 NEW LIQUOR BILL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 28, 3 December 1948, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1943

NEW LIQUOR BILL

In an atmosphere of unusual harmony the House of Representatives discussed 'the Licensing Amendment Rill, the only element of acrimony creeping into the debate when the Opposition moved an amendment to drop the clauses which give Maori women the right to drink at hotel bars and permit Maori men to buy liquor for consurtiption off licensed premises. Those provisions were retained in the Bill after discussion by a Government caucus described by at least one metropolitan daily as' “stormy”. Certainly there is wide divergence of public opinion concerning them, so it was not unnatural that Members would want to discuss them fully and even forcibly. However, from reports of the debate published, the representatives of the Maori people in Parliament seem to be satisfied. Mr E. T. Tirikatene summed up what is possibly a consensus of opinion amongst his own people when he said they should have the same rights and privileges under the licensing laws as Europeans,, and should also be prepared to accept the same responsibilities and penalties in the' event of infringements of the law. That seems a fair enough proposition. And if the Maori people as a whole do not abuse their new privilege and show themselves willing and able to shoulder their new responsibility, then there should be no ground for criticism of a measure that is admittedly contentious. It can be said that, whatever the views expressed on this aspect of the measure that theHouse h§isfnow seen fit to pass, all opinions arose from a genuine concern to do what was best and in the interests of the Maori people themselves. However,.it would possibly have been unwise to have taken the line that the majoritv of responsible, thinking Maori citizens should be denied the chance to take another step along the path to full equality with the pakeha because there are some of their people / who need protecting against their own weaknesses. Repeated rejection of the prohibitionists’ proposition shows clearly that New Zealanders as a whole do not take that view as regards drink in general,‘so

the majority of citizens probably would not want to apply it to the Maori. It is too early yet to comment upon the effects of the measure that has been passed, but an optimistic view is that the knowledge he can buy a couple of bottles to take home if he wishes will probably tend to make the Maori less likely to absorb more than he can hold at the bar. Moreover, a potent source of embarrassment .to reputable and sometimes sensitive citizens will have been removed. There will be criticism aplenty!. But it will come mainly from those who have no faith in the Maori’s ability to take full responsibility of citizenship. On the other hand, there are many who believe that' it is high time we forgot our tendency to treat our Maori citizens as children and treated them as fullyHedged New Zealanders. This is a step in that direction, and the way they use their new rights jvill be an indication of their readiness to accept full equality in all things.