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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 37, Number 9. 1st May 1974

Abolishing the Board of Maori Affairs

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Abolishing the Board of Maori Affairs

Ka mutu nei a maua korero to Dr Pryde mo te Reo Maori, ka whakaaro ake au he pal tonu pea ki te hari i te eta me te mana o to tatau reo ma te tuhituhi i nga korero i roto i tenei reo kia mohiotia ai kei te ora tonu to tatau reo. Na reira mehemea koutou ki te kite tho i roto i aku korero kei te he nga kaupapa, kei te kotiti ranei taku reo Maori me tuhi mai ki a au, te tari o te Aomarama, Wharewananga O Wikitoria me nga whakamarama. A, mehemea he korero a koutou kei to tatau reo, me tuku mai ano hoki ki konei. Engari koi wareware koutou ki te whakapakeha i aua korero.

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Te Poari Mo Nga Mea Maori

Kei te whakaae ahau (matau) kia horoia atu te Poari o nga Mea Maori. Ki a au (matau) ka taea tonuhta e te Minita mo nga Mea Maori te mehi i nga mahi a te Poari. Na re, ki a au (matau) ko te Poari o nga Mea Maori he takekore, he huakore. Ma te penei ka taea te hari tika tonu atu ki te Minita i nga take maha, kua kore a hurl haere, me tae rawa ki te Poari i te tuatahi katahi ano ki te Minita. E ki ana au (matau) ka taea e te Minita te whakatau i nga take e tae atu ana ki a ia, ka whakaatu tonu atu ki la tangata, tangata ranei, ki ia ropu, ropu ranei. (Kaore au (matau) i te mea ka taka te Kaunihera Maori o Niu Tireni ki rero i tenei whakamarama). Kao. Me marama tatau kei te mohiotangahia e whakahaere ke ana te Kaunihera i nga take a-iwi; na ra, nga monitapiri nga take a iwi, nga take toko i te ora. Na konei au (matau) ka mea ahakoa pehea te whakamakere mai i nga komiti la ingoa 'a-hapu' e kore e mate taua ahua. Kei te ki ahau (matau) ko te take i whakamakeretia ai taua kupu 'a-hapu' he mea kia awete te ngaro o to tatau mohio he Maori tatau, a ka Pakeha tatau. Heoi, e kitea ana e tatau, he pai tonu ke ki nga komiti o nga takiwa kainga te kupu 'a-hapu', engari kaore e tino pai ki nga komiti o nga taone nunui kei reira nei nga hapu, nga iwi maha, ara, a Ngati Kahungunu, a Ngati Porou, a Ngati Raukawa, a Ngapuhi, a Ngati Tuwharetoa, a Te Arawa, a Tuhoe a Te Whanau a-Apanui, a Watkato, a wai ake. Ka raruraru tonu ki te whakatu i nga komiti a-hapu, a iwi ranei ki enei wahi. Na kua tu noa atu he hapu Ngati Poneke ki Poneke, a tata te uru katoa atu ki roto, nga hapu, nga iwi, kua huaina ake nei. He ingoa a-hapu no te ao hou, engari he pai hoki. Kei te wharewananga o Wikitoria, Poneke, he Komiti Maori to te wharewananga e huaina ana ko te "Wharewananga o Poneke' komiti.

He Komiti Tohutohu Mo Nga Whenua Maori:

Kei te tino whakaae ahau (matau) kia tu tenei Komiti. He whakahaere a-hapu tenei komiti i nga whenua Maori, he tiamana (hamana) te Minita mo nga mea Maori no enei komiti mehemea kei reira ia. Ki a au (matau) kia kotahi taenga ona ki te hui a ia Komiti a takiwa i te tau. Anei nga wehewehenga a-iwi e mohio ana au o enei komiti Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou, Tuhoe me era atu, ara, ko te riro tonu ma te iwi ratau e whakahaere. Kaore he mana o waho he whakatutua t a ratua.

Kooti Whenua Maori.

Nga mana o nga kooti Whenua Maori penei ano onaianei, ara, Taitokerau, (Whangarei), Akarana, Waikato-Maniapoto, Waiariki, Tairawhiti, Aotea, me tetahi atu.

Whakatu i nga tiati: Ma te Minita o Nga Mea Maori e whakatu nga tiati mo nga takiwa e whitu o nga Kooti Whenua Maori. Kei te mea au (matau) me maumahara te minita ki etahi ahuatanga mo nga tiati kaore i roto i te Pukapuka Ma ara, tuatahi, kua tae tenei ki te wa e whiriwhiria ai he roia Maori hei tiati a tuarua, ki te taea, ina whiriwhtri a he roia Pakeha hei tiati, me whiriwhiri te tangata e tino mohio ana ki te korero i te reo Maori.

Kaua mo te torn tau noaiho e noho tiati ana i waenganui o te iwi, engari me neke atu kia whitu nga tau, katahi ia ka tika hei upoko mo nga tiati. Ki te roa atu ia e tiati ana, katahi ka pai ke atu tona mohio ki tana mahi tiati o te Kooti Whenua Maori, ka tika ai ia ki te mau i te tunga me nga aronga o nga mahi ma te mahunga o nga tiati.

Te Mutunga: E tika ana kia horoia atu te Poari o Nga Mea Maori me te whakatu i te Komiti Tohutohu mo nga Whenua Maori.

Now that Dr Pryde and I have not any more to say about the Maori language, I have felt that it would be of some advantage perhaps to continue the influence and prestige of the language by writing articles in our Maori language to indicate that it is very much a living language. Therefore, if you observe that some of the Subjects I treat and my knowledge of our language do not meet with your approval, send me your objections, with explanations, care of Salient, Victoria University. If you have any articles in Maori to send in, please do so. Don't forget to send in your translations into English as well.

••••••••••

We are in full agreement with the abolition of the Board of Maori Affairs. We feel that the Minister of Maori Affairs can cope successfully with any of the work that the Board used to do. That is, we consider the Board of Maori Affairs superfluous and redundant. This also expedi tes more important matters to be done instead of a roundabout long way of doing things. We maintain that the Minister can sum up every situation and notify the persons or group or groups of persons concerned direct. (This does not in any way apply to the NZ Maori Council for its setup is principally tribal and therefore deals with matters mostly tribal, e.g. subsidies, social and economic welfare. That is why we think that no matter how you omit the word "tribal" from those committees, they still cannot lose their tribal identities. We maintain that the elimination of the word "tribal" is an attempt to quickly make us Maori people forget our identity and so become Europeans. This, of course, we know works much more meaningfully in rural areas. In suburban and urban areas where there is a grouping of all tribes — Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou Ngati-Raukawa, Ngapuhi, Ngati-Tuwharetoa, Te Arawa, Tuhoe, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Waikato, it is difficult to form tribal committees without misunderstanding. Thus in Wellington we have Ngati-Poneke, consisting probably of all the above tribes.

It is a new tribal name, a modern one, but a good one. At the Victoria University, Wellington we have a "Wharewananga Poneke" Maori Committee.

Maori Land Advisory Committee: We are in full agreement with it. This is tribal. The Minister of Maori Affairs is Chairman when he is present, We maintain that he should be present at, at least, one meeting of the Maori Land Advisory Committee each year. This Committee will be according to tribal divisions:— Ngati Porou, Ngati-Kahungunu, Tuhoe, etc., actual involvement. No domination from the powers that be.

Maori Land Court: Jurisdiction of Maori Land Court in accordance with the areas as they are at present — Taitokerau (Whangarei), Waikato-Maniapoto, Waiariki, Tairawhiti, Aotea, Palmerston North, Christchurch.

Appointment of Judges: The Minister of Maori Affairs shall appoint the judges for the seven Maori Land Court areas. We feel that the Minister must take into consideration certain factors not mentioned in the White Paper: 1) That it is about time a Maori lawyer was appointed as Judge, and 2) That a Pakeha lawyer chosen to be a fluent speaker of the Maori language if possible.

Instead of three years as serving judge among the Maori people, it should be seven years before he could be chosen as Chief Judge. The longer, and more experienced, as judge of the Maori Land Court the better able he is to assume the position and responsibility of chief judge.