In light of a possible Waitangi Tribunal claim that the government breached the Treaty of Waitangi by not giving farms to Maori war veterans, it appears that relatively few farms were provided for ex-servicemen and relatively few Maori fought in the wars.

At an announcement on July 3, 2014, of a new direction for the tribunal, Chief Judge Wilson Isaac said the first hearing would be into the rights of Maori war veterans..

During World War I (1914-1918) the New Zealand government decreed that soldiers returning from overseas service would be given the opportunity to settle on farms of their own, specially purchased and developed for that purpose.

Farmland was available mainly to non-Maori soldiers. In the time before the great drift of Maori from the country into towns, Maori veterans were assumed to have tribal land.

There were conditions for eligibility for farms, including previous farming experience and how much personal money the applicant had available to put into the farm. On qualifying to apply for a farm, the applicant could choose which farm settlement(s) he would prefer and, if there were more than the required number of applicants (which was usual) for that settlement, a ballot was held which participants could attend and know the results immediately.

World War 1: A total of 100,000 New Zealand men, including 2227 Maori and 458 Pacific Islanders in the Maori Pioneer Battalion, served with New Zealand forces in the First World War. Over 18,000 New Zealand soldiers were killed, and of the 72.000 who returned, more than 10,500 men were assisted onto the land by 1924, with another 12,000 helped to buy or build houses in towns and cities. A number found settlement farms too tough and walked off them.

World War 2: A total of 140,000 New Zealanders served overseas in the Second World War, with 12,000 killed. Of the 128,000 who returned, almost 14,000 ex-servicemen were assisted to acquire farms by 1964. In this war, 3600 men served in the 28th Maori Battalion. Of these, 649 were killed or died of wounds while another 1712 were wounded. Another 29 died as a result of service following discharge, while two were killed by accident during training in New Zealand.

There were differences in assistance in the two world wars.

The Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act 1915 created the system to provide farm settlement schemes and vocational training, with balloted farmland allocated to non-Maori veterans as mentioned

The Rehabilitation Act 1941 made available to many thousands of veterans low-interest business, housing and furniture loans, and preferential allocation of state houses. Trade training was provided, especially in the building industry. Those choosing to study at secondary school or university could qualify for fee and book allowances, although only for career training and not for purely “cultural study”.

The forms of assistance offered were those considered necessary to start men off in civilian life, and were available to European and Maori ex-servicemen alike, eligibility for each being based on a minimum service qualification determined by the Board (which included the Secretary for Maori Affairs).

Around the Second World War under the first Labour government, Maori were provided with equal financial treatment in standard rates of pay on public works, unemployment benefit, and sustenance payments.

An ethnic difference in treatment appears after World War 1 while there was no ethnic difference after World War 2, corresponding to the races living apart in the early part of the century and integrating by the middle of the century. As integration continued no separate treatment was called for, or justified.

Source

Farm Settlements for Returned Soldiers, http://www.theprow.org.nz/yourstory/farm-settlements-for-returned-soldiers/#.U7sgOJSSx2A