Te Ore Ore Welcomes Big Changes by Maori Affairs

Mana (Auckland), Volume 2, Issue 2, 20 April 1978, Page 4

Te Ore Ore Welcomes Big Changes by Maori Affairs

By

Brendan Smith.

Big changes had been made within the Maori Affairs Department to enable it to better serve the Maori community, Wairarapa Maoris and representatives of community groups were told this month. Details about the restructured department were outlined to

about 100 people at Te Ore Ore marae near Masterton by Mr Bill Herewini, director of the new social services division of Maori Affairs. "The department wants to play a more creative role within the Maori community", Mr Herewini said. The “marae day” at Te Ore

Photos by Roily Heazlewood. Ore had been organised by the Wairarapap Maori Executive Committee to allow local people to meet top administrators. In the two months that Maori Affairs have been restructured departmental leaders including the new chief, Mr Kara Puketapu, have visited 19 maraes to explain the changes to local people. Three policy objectives were behind the creation of divisions in the department to develop community and youth programmes, and marae enterprises and to revitalise social services.

These objectives were: Tu tangata — to recognise the status of Maori people; Whaka-whaiti — to harness their talents; Ko tau rourou — to further the contribution they are making to New Zealand.

The new emphasis on taking positive action for the Maori people meant that many of the one-to-one help given people would stop. Instead the department would direct people to Social Welfare

or the Labour Department or other agencies with the expertise to solve problems, Mr Herewini said.

Maori Affairs would not try to do everything itself. Director of youth development, Mr Wishy Jaram, said raising the educational standards among young Maoris had top priority.

“We have to put our hand out to the skills of the pakeha so that our children grow up fully part of this age,” Mr Jaram said. “But we always have to reach back to Maoritanga to give our

young their identity.” In this matter a lot of Maoris were paying lip service to being Maoris. They did not do all they could to help their young people, Mr Jaram said. “I have no anxiety about the ability of our kids to do well if we get behind them.” Mr Jaram expressed a sense of urgency over helping more young people to gain School Certificate or University Entrance. “We have to pump English and Maths into our young because high standards in these subjects are demanded by emp-

loyers with the best jobs to offer,” he said. At present 70 per cent of the Maori workforce were in the unskilled sector. Head of the marae enterprises programme, Mr Tom Parore, . urged Maori groups to get ventures underway to help keep their communities together. Government departments could offer advice on technical materials and Maori Affairs would do everything it could do to provide support. “Our job is to make things happen,” he said.