September 28, 2014
Labour compared to beater
Maori Party co-leader and former Te Tau Hauauru MP Tariana Turia has mounted a stinging attack on Labour’s reclaiming of the Maori seats.
She told the Federation of Maori Authorities conference in Whanganui that her greatest regret about the election was that Maori failed to use their vote strategically to put the Maori Party in the kingmaker position to choose the next Government.
Instead they place their trust in Labour just as it was about to get its worst result in 92 years, and after its leader David Cunliffe ruled out working with the Maori Party.
She cited a facebook posting by her cousin Retihiamatikei Cribb that Maori are like a beaten wife who goes back for more because they believe they can’t do without that particular partner.
Mrs Turia says Maori were prepared to forgive and forget the injustice of the foreshore and seabed; the Tuhoe raids; and the refusal to sign the declaration on the rights of indigenous people.
She says six of the seven Maori seats will be impotent with their MPs trapped in the opposition wasteland.
Mrs Turia says over the past two terms working with National the Maori Party has started to build up momentum through initiatives such as Whanau Ora; the Maori economic development strategy He Kai Kei Aku Ringa; the refocusing of Te Puni Kokiri; the Rural Regeneration Fund in Housing; He Korowai Oranga in health; and the Ministerial Committee on Poverty.
Meanwhile, Labour continues to grapple with its leadership woes, with David Cunliffe forcing a new contest and pressure coming on the seven Maori MPs to take sides.
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