Community a Dirty Word

Suppose all these difficulties could be overcome and Mr King could be convinced that helping Te Kainga won't endanger the welfare of the nation, there remains an irresistible objection : Te Kainga is too small! It was only formed by a group of parents and, after all, only arose to meet and fill a need! Te Kainga is not a national body (apparently a capital sin) and if Mr King has his way, is not likely to expand since he is in effect very efficiently closing it down. Community has suddenly, become a dirty word, to be pronounced with careful scorn and vocal inverted commas. Let us rather talk about churches, private enterprises, profit making...

However, some commission is searching at present it's way in the maze of child welfare. Mr King's good heart goes, he says, with great concern at the some 8,000 children whose care is his indirect responsbility. Rest easier, Honourable King, your burden has been lightened of 10 or so children, TeKainga is going to be out in a few weeks. Can we suggest to him other centres he could give a similar kind of help to? Such tender concern surely will not stop at TeKainga, there must be other "small, community run, voluntary, free" child-care centres requiring the same assistance who, poor, innocent, thought that to provide a badly needed community service was to be constructive, who had dreams of having not one, but several of those centres involving parents, school children, students etc., who thought that Labour might mean a change from National... for all such great illusions one cure exists, it is infallible, it is an interview with Mr King.