Pepper-potting Policy

Fortunately, the policy has failed because it is not observed by the State Advances Corporation. Because Maoris are suspicious of the Department of Maori Affairs and also because the majority of them are in the lower income bracket, they go to the State Advances Corporation for their housing requirements. The Corporation stuffs them willy-nilly into places like Te Atatu, Mangere, Otara and Porirua. It is suburbs like these that are erroneously depicted in the media as ghettos. This of course is a misuse of the term because there are no constraints, other than financial ones, as to where anyone black or white wishes to settle in New Zealand. By the same sort of reasoning one might well argue that an "executive subdivision" or a housing estate called "White Acres" in an Auckland suburb are ghettoes.

Contrary to the expectations of ghetto paranoia, suburbs where there is a high density of Maoris have developed in the direction of greater understanding and harmony rather than increased tension. This is because where there is a sufficient density of Maoris they can to some extent overcome problems of social disorganisation resulting from the loss of their kin group by forming voluntary associations. Maori Welfare Committees. Maori Women's Welfare Leagues, Maori Culture Clubs, Maori wardens, Maori benevolent societies. Maori credit unions, Maori churches. Maori sports clubs all operate as integrative mechanisms within the total framework of society. They stress Maori identity, adherence to social norms and the continuity of Maori values. Without these voluntary associations, Maoris would lose their sense of identity and self-determination.

It is clear that the social planners should plan for a high density of Maoris, perhaps up to 50% in new housing estates. The argument for a planned density of Maoris against the official policy of spreading them thinly on the ground can be tested by identifying the places where Maori-Pakeha gang fights have occurred. They have occurred at Papatoetoe not Otara, Palmerston North not Porirua and at Christchurch and Invercargill where Maoris are thought to be as rare as the white heron.