A History of Affronts

In 1949 an All Black team went to South Africa without Maoris. The Rugby Union decided to send an all-white team because "Our Maoris" might be badly treated in South Africa. Those, were the days when Maoris were accommodating, they were offended but they did not protest. In 1953 a Pakeha Minister of Maori Affairs decided he was the person best fitted to represent the Maori people at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Maoridom was affronted, but again remained quiet. Later in the year when the Queen visited New Zealand the planners of her itinerary did not think to include a visit to Tuurangawaewae the marae of the Maori King. On this occasion the Maoris by judicious lobbying secured a 15 minute stopover at Tuurangawaewae. The outvoted minority had for once succeeded in convincing Pakeha authority that they too were people. In the late 1950's Maoridom was again affronted by Pakeha authority when the late Dr Winiata was rejected for a lectureship in Maori studies at Auckland Teachers' College. He was the most highly qualified man in the land for the post. Needless to say there were no Maori criteria in the job specification or provision for Maori adjudication of such criteria. No Maori sat on the selection panel. In this respect Pakehas are culpable of institutionalised racism. Dr Winiata was rejected because he spoke out for Maori rights, a lone voice that threatened the establishment. Unfortunately Pakeha authority does not appear to heed the lessons of history. There have been a spate of appointments of Maori studies lecturers in Teachers' Colleges the length and breadth of the land in the last two years. In not one did a Maori independent from the Education Department sit on the selection panel to adjudicate on the competence of the candidates to meet Maori criteria such as knowledge of the Maori language and knowledge of Maori customs and marae procedure.

In 1971 the New Zealand Maori Council made extensive submissions to the Government on the Race Relations Bill. Those submissions, a blueprint for racial harmony in the future through the tyranny of the majority have not seen the light of day. The Council made one recommendation to the the effect that interested parties such as the Maori Council, the Race Relations Council and Polynesian representatives should have a say in the appointment of the Race Relations Conciliator. There was already a Pakeha precedent at the time on which this recommendation was based. The Manufacturers', the Federation of Labour and Government as interested parties all had a say in the appointment of an Industrial Mediator. But in its arbitary fashion, the Government of the day made a unilateral decision and appointed Sir Guy Powles. It so happens that Sir Guy Powles was acceptable to the Maori people but that does not alter the authoritarian manner in which the appointment was made and the treatment of the Maori Council as an irrelevant outvoted minority.

Another of the recommendations contained in the Maori Council's submission was one to the effect that at least one of the eight District officers in the Department of Maori Affairs should be a Maori. One would have thought that Maoris by virtue of their knowledge of Maori language, and of marae etiquette would have some advantage overa Pakeha in a post that purports to deal with Maori Affairs.

The matter came to a head in Auckland this year when a new Pakeha District Officer was appointed to the Department. It was disturbing to learn that there were no Maori criteria in the State Services Commission's term of reference for a job in the Maori Affairs. Worse still, it was brought to light that the Wanganui Office of the Department had a higher grading than the Auckland Office because the former had more land to deal with while the latter dealt only with people. The imagination is stupefied that an office of a Maori Welfare Department located in the largest Polynesian city in the world has a lower grading than the one in Wanganui because it only deals with people. What a misplaced sense of values!