Chronology for 1938-1971
Assimilating into universal welfare
Labour’s policies were underpinned by a principle of universality and a vision of the nation as a classless community. Rich, middle-class and poor were linked by the same national system of state support and social services; superannuation, however small, was to be available to every aged person who was not already on another benefit and was an important symbol of citizenship. The ‘system as a whole was removed from ‘the taint of charity’ and became a source of national pride’.[i] go to footnote
This was a period of great demographic change for iwi Māori with the mass migration of its rural population to the cities of New Zealand. The need for workers in essential industries and the post-war labour boom provided rangatahi and whānau Māori with ample employment, 'incomes that were almost equal to those of Pākehā, and access to family welfare benefits that boosted the incomes of large families by around 50 percent.'[ii] go to footnote However, the financial rewards were offset by one or both parents working long hours to cover the costs of city living and it exposed Māori to discrimination. The Department of Māori Affairs played a welfare role in the lives of whānau Māori during this period, with a policy of integrating Māori into the social fabric of ‘mainstream’ New Zealand society. Through housing allocation policies attempts were made to pepper pot Māori in Pākehā suburban streets.[iii] go to footnote Young Māori women who moved to the cities for essential industry work or single rangatahi simply moving to the city for work opportunities were directed into hostels.
Before the 1950s, child welfare agencies endeavoured to keep Māori children with their families or in their own tribal area.[iv] go to footnote In the 1950s, Māori became a disproportionate minority in all areas of child welfare work with a steady growth in Māori juvenile delinquency with recorded Māori offending at three or four times the rate of Pākehā, particularly in the 15–20 age.[v] go to footnote
Chronology events
Displaying 161 - 170 of 270 events.
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Remote Area Policy
Provision was made in policy guidelines to refuse to grant or cancel an Unemployment Benefit when a person has deliberately and without good reason moved to a locality where there is no work available either with the intention of living on the benefit in a…
Date: 1982 Period: 1972-1989 -
Maatua Whāngai programme
The programme was established to centralise whānau, hapū and iwi in all welfare work. It aimed to keep Māori young people and children among their whānau or hapū and out of government institutions.[i] The programme was founded on the Tu Tangata principle o…
Date: 1983 Period: 1972-1989 -
Race Relations Conciliator’s report on youth and law
Report argued the inadequacy of representation for Māori and general appropriateness of the court system for Māori.[i]
Date: 1983 Period: 1972-1989 -
DSW accused of racism
The Women’s Anti-Racism Action Group (WARAG) accused the Department of Social Welfare of practising institutional racism in that the framework of the Department (staffing, training, legislation and policies) reflected a relentlessly Pākehā view of society …
Date: 1984 Period: 1972-1989 -
Fourth Labour Government elected July 1984
The fourth Labour Government in power from 1984 to 1990. Minister of Finance, Roger Douglas, introduces neoliberal economic reforms between 1984 and 1988. Known as Rogernomics, ‘the government removed a swathe of regulations and subsidies, privatised state…
Date: 1984 Period: 1972-1989 -
Hui Taumata
Hui Taumata (Māori Economic Development Conference), convened by Koro Wētere, was held at Parliament and spanned three days. Leaders asked the government to grant more authority which led to greater awareness amongst government departments of Māori concern…
Date: 1984 Period: 1972-1989 -
Unemployment Benefit: Remote area policy clarified
It was accepted that a person had a good reason for relocating to a remote area (and could therefore continue to be eligible for the Unemployment Benefit) if they had previous connections with the area or previous lengthy residence. This included Māori ret…
Date: 1984 Period: 1972-1989 -
A Māori Perspective for DSW
A Ministerial Advisory Committee, chaired by John Te Rangi-Aniwaniwa Rangihau, was established to: ‘advise the Minister of Social Welfare on the most appropriate means to achieve the goal of an approach which would meet the needs of Māori in policy, planni…
Date: 1985 Period: 1972-1989 -
Maatua Whāngai review
The review revealed problems arising from hasty implementation and the lack of a whakapapa-based concept of community.[i]
Date: 1985 Period: 1972-1989 -
Mana Enterprises Scheme initiated
Funds allocated by the Department of Māori to facilitate the entry of Māori into business through Māori authorities, usually tribal but also urban.
Date: 1985 Period: 1972-1989
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content Tim Garlick, Social Developments: An organizational history of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors, 1860-2011, Steele Roberts Aotearoa, Wellington, 2012, p.70.
- [ii] go to main content Melissa Matutina Williams, Panguru and the City, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2010, p. 195.
- [iii] go to main content Urbanisation – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- [iv] go to main content Bronwyn Dalley, Family Matters, Wellington, 1998, p. 6.
- [v] go to main content Dalley, 1998, p. 192.