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 51 - 60 of 64 events.
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Māori Affairs Amendment Act
This Act was described by Māori as the ‘last land grab’[i] Despite widespread opposition of Māori, including the NZMC and the Māori members of Parliament, this Act made it possible for the government to compulsorily convert Māori freehold land with four or…
Date: 1967 Period: 1938-1971 -
Department of Māori and Island Affairs created
Department of Māori Affairs was amalgamated with the Department of Island Territories to create the new Department of Māori and Island Affairs. There was no change in overall policy or the types of work done; Polynesian welfare officers were appointed to t…
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Introduction of domestic purposes emergency benefit
In 1968 the government agreed to introduce a domestic purposes emergency benefit for circumstances not covered by a statutory benefit. Viewed as an emergency benefit which specifically met the needs of sole parents, grouping deserted wives and separated an…
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Māori Organisation on Human Rights formed
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
The Guardianship Act
Defined and regulated the authority of parents as guardians of their children, their power to appoint guardians, and the powers of the Courts in relation to the custody and guardianship of children.[i]
Date: 1968 Period: 1938-1971 -
Committee for Research into Illegitimacy
The committee launched a comprehensive study, led by Victoria University lecturer Jim Robb and including members of the Child Welfare Division. The descriptive study was undertaken in order to construct a profile of the unmarried mother.[i] The study concl…
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Hokio Beach residence
The residence was for boys aged 11-14 and was one of several residences that catered for the growing Māori population in the Child Welfare Division’s homes. In the late 1960s it introduced Māori language, history, and culture into the curriculum.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Introduction of integrated schools
The separate Māori school system administered by the Department of Education was abolished. Management of the 105 Māori primary schools and remaining Māori district high schools was transferred to Education Board control. Māori high schools had been closin…
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Juvenile Crime Prevention Section renamed
The section was now known as the Youth Aid Section.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971 -
Status of Children Act
This Act eroded ex-nuptial v nuptial distinctions, dispensed with the term illegitimacy, and suggested a focus on the child as a child rather than a member of a larger unit.[i]
Date: 1969 Period: 1938-1971
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.