Maori Drinking Reports Said To Be Exaggerated

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 94, 11 September 1950, Page 5

Maori Drinking Reports Said To Be Exaggerated

The attitude of the Maori race to the drink question was discussed at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Maori Golf Association attended by players from all parts of the Dominion at Dannevirke. Many spoke on the subject and the general impression was that any delinquency was of an individual nature and consequently could be eliminated without recourse to restrictive legislation, which tended towards a sense of discrimination and inferiority against the Maori. Resolutions moved on the subject carried unanimously declared: (1) Excessive drinking among Maoris should be rigorously combated and reports of excessive drinking were the exception and not the rule; (2) the general position since the lifting of restrictions had not deteriorated, instead there had been a noticeable improvement in the general attitude of the Maori to drink; (3) where there was excessive drinking restrictive measures should be firmly exercised; (4) the present restrictions imposed by the Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act, 1945, and Licensing Amendment Act, 1948, in regard to drinking by Maoris was considered to be sufficient, but should be implemented fully; (5) any measure for a further improvement in the general attitude to drink which would apply to Pakeha and Maori alike would be supported; (6) any recourse to the reimposition of restrictions which applied to the Maori people prior to 1948 would be considered discriminatory and an implication of inferiority to the Maori race as a whole; (7) there would be general resentment by the Maori people to any measure which would have overall restriction on them; (8) every effort by Maon church, educational welfare and recreational leaders should be directed towards the promotion of health activities for the young people of the race; (9) it was considered that overall restrictions would be a retrograde step and would drive the drink evil underground.