MAIDEN SPEECH

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 341, 30 September 1932, Page 5

MAIDEN SPEECH

("Post" Special Commissioner) .

NEW MAORI MEMBER working for fulfilmient of treaty of waitangi WILL "STAND ON FENCE" ,

Wellington, Thursday. Declaring himself to he on Independent whose policy was to work for the full realisation of the Treaty of Waitangi, Mr. R. Tirikatene, the newly elected member for "the Sou- ... ... thern Maori made his maiden speech L in the House this afternoon, A good deal of interest attached to the speech for although he did not attend the Labour Party's initial caucus, Mr. .... Tirikatene had Labour members as his sponsors when he took the oath on opening day. There was a good attendance of Maoris in the galleries, including six ministers of the Ratana church. "I have noticed, in the short time that I have been here, that one must be a terribly good fighter and a "terribly. good wriggler," declared Mr. Tirikatene, amid laughter after he had congratulated Mr. Speaker and the Deputy-Speaker (Mr. S. G. Smith) on the manner in which they eonducte.d the affairs of the House. , "Look Over the Fence" "I have heen returned as an Independent Maori and I will have to stand ' "on the fence and look over the fence," continued the speaker, "I represent the Ratana party, a name which is almost a household word through out New Zealand. My policy is to work for the eonsummation of the rights and privileges conferred -hy the Treaty of Waitangi. "I stand four-square for the whole of the Maori race." ' . Mr. Tirikatene appealed to the Pakeha members of the House to be. sympathetie to the Maoris in the niatter of unemployment. He* pointed out that the Maori who had not elected to pay the unemployment' levy and became unemployed, had to rely on charity. He also pointed to the difficulties which Maori women found in securing work and made a plea that something he done on their behalf . Old Age Pensions Dealing- with old age pensions, Mr. Tirikatene said that Maori and Pakeha alike, when old, required the same amount of food to live npon, and the reduction in old age pensions had taken a lot from the tables. Not In Same Category He maintained that the Maoris should not he in the same category as Europeans. "I'll probably get a hump over this, so I will have to wriggle," commented Mr. Tirikatene, bnt he went on to say that the Maori was not educdted up to the same standard as the European, as he had had only 100 yeaYs in which to absorb European civilisation. Thus, in view of the difficulties which the Maori had iu competing with Europeans, he believed that the age qualifications for old 'age pensions should be lowered for Maoris and for that matter, Europeans as well. Ref erenee was also made to the many Maori petitions which had not been upheld by the House in years gone by.

Ontstanding Claims Mr. Tirikatene said that claims considered and passed for payment as far back as 1925 had not yet resulted" in "any financial henefit to _ the Maoris. He instanced the Ngaitihu claim for the purchase money of the South Island as one. It was; hard that Maoris should he forced to pay rates and taxes, continued Mr. Tirikatene, for mueh of their land had heen taken from them by proclamation with the result that they reeeived nothing in return. Some consideration should be given to this aspect of the question. Maori Polling System Discussing the Maori polling system, Mr. Tirikatene said there was no assuranee of secrecy and he urged that the scrutineers should he per'-' mitted to be in the polling booths ■ when the votes were heing cast. * He also urged that provision be made for unemployed Maori youths by the extension of the education system. "As this is my maiden speech, I have said enoug'h not to get killed, " but enough to fulfil the terms of a maiden speech," said Mr. Tirikatene, in concluding.