The Act[i] incorporated MWEO tribal and executive committees into the Native Affairs Department. Māori welfare officers appointed under the Act set up a network of committees and executives concerned with welfare and marae administration.
The Act gave tribal committees a role in cooperating with the Education Department in the training of Māori children.
It also eliminated the discriminatory legal provisions in earlier pension legislation by which Māori recipients of old age and widow’s benefits received significantly less than Pākehā beneficiaries.
The 1945 Act can also be seen as an attempt to deflect the moves towards rangatiratanga implicit in the success of the Māori War Effort Organisation.
Footnotes
[i] go to main content Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, pp. 385–387.