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Māori Wardens

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There are approximately 900 Māori Wardens in New Zealand[1] who are volunteers providing support, security, traffic and crowd control and first aid, under the Māori Community Development Act 1962.[2]

Functions and structure

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Māori Wardens have specific powers under the Māori Community Development Act 1962.[2] Their main powers under the Act relate to alcohol, with the ability to warn a licensee to stop serving liquor to a Māori,[3] order any Māori to leave a hotel,[4] seize liquor at a Māori function,[5] or take car keys.[6]

The national entity for Māori Wardens is Nga Watene Maori o Aotearoa | Māori Wardens of New Zealand. The national entity is a board of trustees of regional representatives.

Each rohe has a regional entity that represents them. The six regional entities, and their rohe, are: Nga Purapura (Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki and Tāmaki ki te Tonga); Te Rohe Pōtae (Waikato, Hauraki, Maniapoto); Volcanic Interior Plateau/Central (Waiariki, Tauranga Moana, Mataatua, Aotea, Taranaki); Te Tairāwhiti; Te Piringa Manatopū (Tākitimu, Raukawa, Te Whanganui-a-Tara); Te Waipounamu (Te Tau Chu, Te Waipounamu, Wharekauri|Rekohu).[7] Each regional entity builds relationships with local agencies and groups to promote Māori Wardens' services.[2]

Māori Wardens also operate in Australia, in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.[8]

History

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Origins

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Government accepted rūnanga in 1861 to provide for local Māori self-government.[9]: 71–72  Māori Wardens ('Kaitiaki') were then appointed on their recommendation.[10] However, after the Invasion of the Waikato, government involvement declined,[9]: 72  so it was not until the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945 that Tribal Executives got power to nominate and control Māori wardens in their current form. The formation of the Maori Warden system after 1945 was in response to government and community concerns that Maori could not handle alcohol responsibly.[11][12] The Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945 gave Maori Wardens "powers of preventing drunkenness and of otherwise controlling the consumption of alcoholic liquor among Maoris".[13] Section 7 of the 1962 Act[14] gave responsibility for Māori Wardens to District Māori Councils.[7]

21st century

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In 2013 Te Puni Kōkiri held consultations regarding the future of Māori Wardens, setting out options for the organisation's future administration and role.[15] In July 2019 representatives at a national conference of Māori Wardens discussed ways to modernise the organisation and a working group was set up to consult with the government.[16] Discussion continued at the 2021 conference.[17]

In 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Māori Wardens worked with health authorities to encourage local people to get vaccinated and supported efforts in welfare and border control.[18][19][20]

Responses

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Criticism that Māori Wardens are a form of racial discrimination dates back as far as the 1960s.[21] In 1997 the then chairman of the Māori Council Sir Graham Latimer stated that he supported the 1962 Act, saying: "Even though it is discriminatory, it is needed for our people". He considered that Māori wardens had better relations with Māori people than police did.[22]

In 2011 New Zealand Police were considering asking Māori Wardens to help patrol busy areas during the Rugby World Cup. The then prime minister John Key said the law was "antiquated and outdated" and seemed racist. He stated "At the end of the day if someone's removed from a bar it should be because they're underage or they're intoxicated. Ethnicity's got nothing do with it."[23] Māori Wardens responded by stating that they used Māori values to support and protect people of all ethnicities.[24] In 2016 lawyer Graeme Edgeler described the Māori Community Development Act 1962 as New Zealand's "most racist law" and several politicians backed his call to repeal the legislation.[25][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Māori Wardens". www.tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  2. ^ a b c "Māori Wardens". www.tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  3. ^ "Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 31 Prevention of drunkenness". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  4. ^ "Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 32 Maori may be ordered to leave hotel". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  5. ^ "Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 33 Disorderly behaviour at Maori gatherings". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  6. ^ "Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 35 Retention of car keys". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  7. ^ a b "Māori Wardens". Maori Council. 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  8. ^ "Maori Wardens Australia | Aroha ki Te Tangata". Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  9. ^ a b "Report on Crown's Review of Māori Community Development Act and Role of Māori Wardens" (PDF). Waitangi Tribunal. 8 Dec 2014.
  10. ^ "Tabular Return, shewing the names of officers, English and Native, appointed in the newly organized Districts. MAORI MESSENGER - TE KARERE MAORI". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 20 Aug 1862. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Maori Welfare". Evening Post. 29 March 1938. Retrieved 13 January 2022 – via Paperspast.
  12. ^ ""Curse of Race"". Auckland Star. 12 June 1945. Retrieved 13 January 2022 – via Paperspast.
  13. ^ "Report of the Royal Commission on Licensing". Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Session 1, H-38: 37. 1946 – via via Paperspast.
  14. ^ "Maori Community Development Act 1962 No 133 (as at 01 April 2014), Public Act 7 Appointment of Maori Wardens". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  15. ^ "Māori Wardens – Options for change" (PDF). beehive.govt.nz. 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Māori Wardens Modernisation Working Group". www.tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  17. ^ "Maori wardens design structure for independence". Waatea News: Māori Radio Station. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Wellington region first in the country to surpass 90 per cent Māori vaccination milestone". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  19. ^ "Takitimu Māori Wardens out and about protecting whānau". www.tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  20. ^ "Māori Wardens continue whānau support in Tāmaki COVID-19 response". www.tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  21. ^ Tukaki, Matthew (22 January 2019). "From History: How Maori Council supported the first National Maori Wardens Association". Maori everywhere. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ Robertson, Christine (16 October 1997). "Clamp on unruly Maori under scrutiny". Evening Post. p. 2 – via Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream.
  23. ^ "Maori Warden law 'antiquated' - PM". NZ Herald. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Maori Wardens say they're helpers - not racist". RNZ. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Scrap Maori wardens' powers over drunken Maori but keep the wardens themselves". Stuff. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  26. ^ Sachdeva, Sam (5 January 2016). "Politicians back calls to repeal 1960s law with 'Maori-only' crimes". Stuff. Retrieved 16 September 2022.

Further reading

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Fleras, A. (1981). Maori Wardens and the control of liquor among the Maori of New Zealand. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 90(4), 495–513.

Waitangi Tribunal (2014). Aroha ki te Tangata / Service to the People. In Whaia te Mana Motuhake In Pursuit of Mana Motuhake. 253–299.

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