June 20, 2013
Gambling bill latest bite on dead rat menu
Labour’s Māori spokesperson Shane Jones says the Māori Party’s defeat on gambling reform shows it is living a lie.
The National-led Government has taken Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell’s Gambling Harm Reduction Bill and will reintroduce a watered down version that replaces steps to tackle problem gambling with greater flexibility and profits for pokie operators.
Mr Flavell says he won’t withdraw the bill despite the changes because it’s better to get some gains then none at all.
But Mr Jones says it’s further proof that the Māori Party’s argument that it is delivering for Māori by being at the Government table isn’t true.
"The only thing that happens when the Māori Party sits at the table with the National Party is that the Māori diners have to swallow dead rat after dead rat. The only thing on that menu are Māori dead rats and this is further evidence of the dead rat menu," he says.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd