EDITORIAL: Affirmative action key to Maori road safety

Police out side McDonald's, possible stabbing 23 June 2015 Wanganui Chronicle Photograph by Stuart Munro WGP 24Jun15 - CRIME: Police cordoned off McDonald's in Wanganui yesterday after the ro

POLICE were quickly on the defensive last week when it was revealed that Counties Manukau officers had been told not to ticket unlicensed Maori drivers. Too quickly. Clearly, they anticipated a backlash from the many people wedded to the ideals of egalitarianism and a fair go for all. Yet enshrined in our law is recognition also that such affirmative action may sometimes be warranted.

Both the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act recognise different treatment may enable a particular group to achieve equality with other members of society.

A couple of caveats must be attached: (1) the need for help or advancement must be genuine and based on evidence that the present situation is unequal, (2) the assistance must end once the objective is achieved. It is on these grounds that the Counties Manukau action should be assessed.

It springs from the Turning the Tide programme, a crime and crash-prevention strategy developed by iwi and police, and in operation since 2012. Its starting point was the over-representation of Maori in the criminal justice system. They are 15 per cent of the population but figure in 40 per cent of police apprehensions, and make up 50 per cent of prisoners and more than 20 per cent of road deaths.

Between 2001 and 2021, the number of Maori aged 15 to 29 - the group doing most of the offending - will grow by 28 per cent. If nothing changes, even more Maori will be in the criminal justice system.

The circuit-breaker chosen by iwi and police is an emphasis on prevention. In Counties Manukau, this has led to officers having the discretion to refer unlicensed Maori drivers to training rather than handing out $400 fines. If, after two months, the driver has not complied, the fine will be imposed. This is not turning a blind eye to a crime.

Clearly, many New Zealanders have difficulty with the very idea of affirmative action, even though it is widely practised. The Canadian Charter, for example, specifically endorses the concept. In this country, it is also evident in government quotas for Maori and Pacific Island students to help address their under-representation in universities.

Most importantly, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the strategy was working. That suggested a specific target of and a 20 per cent fall in Maori crash fatalities by 2018 could be achieved. If so, this collaboration will have been a success.

In terms of future relations between Maori and police and reduced costs in the health, justice and prison systems, all New Zealanders will benefit.

- NZME