Maori Department Rethink

Mana (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 3, 4 August 1977, Page 1

Maori Department Rethink

Maori and other Polynesian groups are being asked how the Department of Maori Affairs should be changed so the needs of people are better served.

The Department’s community officers have questioned the effectiveness of their work in the community. Last year, the officers approached the Minister of Maori Affairs, Duncan Mclntyre, who

agreed to start a review of Maori Affairs’ community work.

As part of the review two State Services officers, Kara Puketapu and Pam HaberThomas, visited Auckland last week and heard the views of welfare, community groups and church people.

They included the Maori Womens’ Welfare League, Auckland District Maori Council, Pacific Island ministers, Samoa Action Organisation, Race Relations staff, J-Team members, Polynesian Panthers, Maori Ministers Association, Pacific Islanders Resource Centre staff, Nga Tamatoa, Pacifica and the executive of the Pacific Islanders Council.

Although called the Department of Maori Affairs, much of the department’s work is with Pacific Islanders

and community officers want more attention given to this area of work. At present Pacific Island people are catered for by many government departments like the Education, Immigration and Foreign Affairs departments. The result has been confusion for the Maori Affairs as they are also responsible for the welfare and housing of Pacific Islanders. The community officers are unsure where their responsibility starts in this area.

The question being asked is whether Pacific Islanders need special services other than what the Maori Affairs Department offers at present.

There is little reference to Pacific Islanders in the roles of the department. The community officers want these roles clearly defined so they can be more effective in the Pacific Island communities here in New Zealand and they generally want more emphasis on the welfare aspect of their work in both Maori and other Polynesian areas. The main responsibility of the Maori Affairs Department is Maori land. Dr Rangi Walker of the Auckland District Maori Council, says welfare work suffers because the department is more concerned with land transactions.

The result is that the department’s Wanganui office has ahigher rating than the Auckland office because there is more Maori land in Wanganui. Auckland welfare services suffer as a result. Community officers want this changed.

The State Services officers undertaking the review will be meeting welfare, community and church people in the eight Maori Affairs districts before reporting back to the Minister of Maori Affairs. Assistant director of social services at the Auckland Maori Affairs Department, Mr Brownie Puriri, says the report may be finished by September. He added that the review was a “family affair” and he wanted it kept “fairly low key”. ’