Don Brash has come in for some harsh criticism relating to the speech he gave at the Orewa Rotary Club earlier this year.

While his comments appear to have struck a chord with man (mainly) non-Maori, it seems that many within Maoridom see the speech as a cheap trick designed to curry favour with non-Maori voters.

The anti-Brash groups claim that Maori need more assistance because they're unreasonably represented in too many areas such as ill-health, premature death, lack of tertiary education, etc, etc.

I have to admit that it's very hard to argue with the statistics which prove the case these people make -- but are current race-based government initiatives really addressing the problems, or are they simply addressing the symptoms?

The real question is "do Maori have less opportunity than non-Maori?"

The answer to this must be a resounding "no!"

Unlike many countries, every child born in New Zealand really does have an equal opportunity to realise their full potential.

Perhaps the *real* problem that Maori face is not one of being disadvantaged by the oppressive colonials, but one of simply not taking advantage of the opportunities that lay before them and every other NZer.

And let's face it - there are some areas where Maori truly excel. Just look at the acting industry.

Name NZ's top three and most well-known movie actors.

How about this list: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Sam Neil.

Notice anything?

Should we be giving non-Maori additional funding because they're so poorly represented in our list of top actors? I don't think so.

But what about the additional health-spend that Maori get? Isn't this fair, after all they do figure disproportionately in our ill-health statistics.

While it's true that Maori do suffer from some race-related predispositions, there are also some other factors involved here. Aren't Maori more likely to smoke than non-Maori? Does traditional Maori diet have a factor on health issues?

Could it be that in the case of Maori, bad health and a shorter average life-span has as much to do with lifestyle choices as it does with race?

Could it be that simply pouring more money into Maori health-care is addressing the symptom but not the cause?

So what's the answer?

Well I believe that Maori do deserve special funding in some areas -- but these areas must be very carefully chosen and we must be absolutely sure that they address causes and not symptoms.

Governments are notorious for placing ambulances at the foot of the cliff rather than building fences at the top. Let's try and change that and realise that spending a few cents addressing the causes of Maori's problems might well save taxpayers a fist-full of dollars in treating the symptoms.

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