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Labour's Māori Affairs spokesperson says he can't understand the thinking behind the appointment of former squash champion Dame Susan Devoy as race relations conciliator.
Dame Susan takes over from Joris de Bres next month.
Justice Minister Judith Collins says she is a strong person who is very forthright in her views.
Those views include her opinion in an article in the Bay of Plenty Times on February 5 that Waitangi had been hijacked and it was time to find a new day of national celebration.
Parekura Horomia says Ms Collins' defence of Dame Susan as the first female race conciliator shows confusion between issues of inequality and race.
“I think you really need some person who is tuned in to the racial tension we have as we grow with new populations and new cultures. For me, there is a clear maintenance of two treaty partners and there are only two treaty partners, which are Māori and the Crown. Nobody else,” says Parekura Horomia.
Copyright © 2013, Uma Broadcasting Ltd
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