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 181 - 190 of 270 events.
-
Social Security Amendment Act
Changes recommended in the Puao-Te-Ata-Tu report are embodied in this Act. Puao-Te-Ata-Tu recommended the government adopt a bicultural approach to policy formulation and incorporate the “values, cultures and beliefs” of Māori in the formulation of legisla…
Date: 1987 Period: 1972-1989 -
He Tirohanga Rangapu
In April 1988 Labour released the He Tirohanga Rangapu: Partnership Perspectives report focusing on the Department of Māori Affairs and recommending a suite of changes to improve the Crown-Māori institutional relationship that was failing Māori, one of whi…
Date: 1988 Period: 1972-1989 -
State Sector Act
The State Sector Act 1988 was part of a suite of reforms intended to shift the focus of NZ’s social welfare policy from inputs to outputs and outcomes (social investment).[i] The Act made chief executives of government agencies responsible for delivering s…
Date: 1988 Period: 1972-1989 -
The Mason Report
The Committee of Inquiry into Procedures used in Certain Psychiatric Hospitals in Relation to Admission, Discharge or Release on Leave of Certain Classes of Patients, investigated the treatment of patients who had a crossover with the justice system (parti…
Date: 1988 Period: 1972-1989 -
Treaty of Waitangi Act (State Enterprises)
This Act enabled the Waitangi Tribunal to direct the government to transfer certain state-owned-enterprise assets to iwi as part of claim settlements.[i]
Date: 1988 Period: 1972-1989 -
Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 (Oranga Tamariki Act)
Formally recognised the ‘mixed economy’ of child welfare that had operated informally since the 19th century (government agencies, families, and communities).[i] The Act incorporated the Treaty and came out of recommendations from Rangihau’s 1986 report to…
Date: 1989 Period: 1972-1989 -
Department of Māori Affairs abolished
The Department of Maori Affairs was replaced by the Iwi Transition Agency (Te Tira Ahu Iwi), headed by Wira Gardiner. Also established a new policy-focused ministry: Manatū Māori or Ministry of Māori Affairs, which began operations in July 1989.[i] Tasked…
Date: 1989 Period: 1972-1989 -
Education Act
Section 155 provided for the Minister of Education to designate a state school as a Kura Kaupapa by notice in the New Zealand Gazette.
Date: 1989 Period: 1972-1989 -
School Trustees Act
Made it mandatory for all schools at all levels to include Treaty of Waitangi protocols within their charters.[i]
Date: 1989 Period: 1972-1989 -
National Māori Congress established
An iwi-wide response to changes within te ao Māori and Māori–Crown relations.[i]
Date: 1990 Period: 1990-current
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.