Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, are an oppressed nationality. Numbering around 13 percent of the country's 3.5 million people, Maori are overwhelmingly working class, concentrated in the industrial work force. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 by a number of Maori tribal chiefs and representatives of the British government. Under the treaty, the British government laid claim to New Zealand as a colony while guaranteeing Maori continued possession and control over their lands, forests, fisheries, and other resources. The development of capitalism in New Zealand in the 19th century was accompanied by warfare and violence through which the emerging capitalist class, backed by the military power of imperial Britain, deprived Maori of the bulk of their best lands. Although they were formally equal citizens, the Maori became subject to systematic discrimination.

For more than 150 years, Maori people have resisted this process, giving rise to struggles and movements for national rights. The 1970s and early 1980s saw a renewed upsurge in the fight for Maori rights, as part of a broader working- class and youth radicalization and an upturn in union struggles. Demands for the return of stolen land were at the center of mass protests and land occupations.

This movement forced concessions from the government, the impact of which continues to be felt today. These include restoration of title to, or compensation for, substantial lands; access to fishing, forestry, and other resources; greater use of the Maori language in education and the media; and affirmative action in education, employment, and other areas.

As a result of these victories, the racism used by the rulers to justify national oppression and divide working people in this country has been weakened, and the potential unity and self-confidence of the working class in the struggle against capitalism has been strengthened.

The Waitangi Tribunal, a government-appointed judicial body, has been one of the main mechanisms through which concessions to Maori demands have been registered. Originally set up by the government in 1975 to try to channel Maori protests off the streets, the government was forced to expand the tribunal's powers in 1985.

The tribunal has become a target of rightist politicians and other reactionaries. They appeal to resentment against gains won by Maori, portraying these as a threat to the livelihood and security of other working people. They blame Maori and Pacific Island language instruction and cultural activities in schools for undermining the standard of education. And they present Maori claims to the Waitangi Tribunal as robbing "New Zealanders" as a whole of resources and threatening the "national interest."

The goal of these forces is to undermine support for equal rights and reverse the gains won by Maori and other working people through struggle, in order to divide and weaken the working class as a whole. Accordingly, all working people have a stake in rejecting such attacks.

One of the results of the gains won by Maori over the past decade has been an increase in the number of Maori in the professions, business, and other middle class occupations. There is a small layer of capitalists and others who function in the corporate world. Many among this milieu act as spokespeople for Maori today. They often put their stamp on the settlement of Maori land and fishing claims negotiated with the government, and use these gains as a means to advance themselves. This is part of a growing class differentiation among Maori.

However, to assert as Petrin does that "Maori capitalists" are the sole beneficiaries of gains resulting from decades of struggle by Maori, the big majority of whom remain working class, is way off the mark.

Petrin refers to the 1992 fisheries settlement with the South Island Maori tribe Ngai Tahu, which included a shareholding in a major fishing company. Thousands of independent fishermen and women were deprived of their livelihoods in the 1980s as a result of the capitalist offensive to shore up profits. A major turning point was the introduction of "individual quota" in 1986. These set maximum catch allowances for all those engaged in the fishing industry based on previous catch records. Unable to make a living from the limited catch entitlements that they were allocated, most small fishers were forced to sell their quota to the major fishing companies. A large number of those who lost their livelihoods were Maori. This fueled claims by Maori to the Waitangi Tribunal for recognition of fishing rights guaranteed by the Treaty of Waitangi. These claims, like that won by Ngai Tahu, have been the target of attacks by capitalist politicians and fishing industry representatives.

- EUGEN LEPOU  
 
 
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