MAORI POLITICS AT LOW EBB

Chronicle (Levin), 22 June 1946, Page 2

MAORI POLITICS AT LOW EBB

WAITING FOR MR. FRASER TO HONOUR PROMISES To tlio Maori reLirned serviveman j reliabilitation was ' ' inerelv a 1'aree, " ' said UeultMiant-Colouel J. (1. llenare, D.S.O., Xational candidate for the Xortheni Maori seat, in an nddress at . the Xational Club, Wellington. | Colonel llenare, who is riie voungesl son of the late Mr. Tan llenare, for many vcars Xortheni Maori rejireseuta- : tive in Parliament, reealled how, be- } l'ore he had left for the front, he had . heard the Prime Minister (Mr. j Frascr) say that nothing uas too good j for the Maori lighting inen. The inen of the Maori Battalion were still waiting for those words to be carried into ed'ect. "I hope the Xational Party will ' do niore for our Maori returned ser- | vicemen, ' ' said Colonel llenare, ''and (Jod knows that will not be hani to do. V " In the X'orthern Maori elertonito, " said Colonel Henaro, " there are lOJKMl JMaoris, many of whoin are waterside workors and free/.ing workers. Tiieii one cry today is ' Wages, wages,' bnt eaeli and every one of them has still got som." pride ler't, and they want to get baek something of Ihe pride and dignity of our race. When niy fathei was a member of Parliament, and Sii Maui Pomare, >Sir Apirana Xgata, Sii I'eter Buek, and Sir dames Carroll were ' also in the Ilonse, they said little, buf j they did upliold the dignity of the ; Maori jieople. Sinee my return hoine ; I iind that Maori politics have nevei : roached sueh a low ebb as is the case today. " The Maori Battalion, he continued had lost (>S() ltien killed Avhile servin.c 1 overseas, and in all had had 20')t) casualtios. Out of every sevmi men whc . served in the Battalion, five had boen | easualties. There were few iUaori ro ! turned servicemen in Xew Zealand today who had not been wou'nded in battle. Ile was not being personal, bnt those (iSO ]\Iaoris had not sacrifu'ed ilheir lives so that their good name i should be trampled on. | "Our wnrk in action has finislied,'1 he added, " but our work for our people goes on. I reaiise there. are diiiiculties ahead of nic, but I caimot let diiiiculties stand in the way. It does not muller whctlier I or the next man gets into Parliament; we have to trv to bring the Maori round to tlie same standard as he held years ago. " —