May 12, 2016
Panama jabs putting pressure on PM
Labour leader Andrew Little says John Key's departure from parliament yesterday is a sign the Prime Minister is cracking under the pressure parties over the Panama papers.
Mr Key was ordered out for speaking over the Speaker during questioning over documents leaked from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca.
The leaks have focused attention here on his championing of New Zealand as an international centre for financial services.
Mr Little says New Zealand’s ability to collect tax is compromised if it is seen as a country that helps the world’s super-rich to hide their money.
Voters including Maori want a government that looks after people struggling to get a job or buy their first home rather than one which puts the interests of the super-wealthy first.
"Maori voters both in the Maori seats and outside are pretty astute voters, they want to make sure there is a government that is responsible and responsive to the crown's obligations under the Treaty and I detect a mood change there too, they want a leadership that is about furthering the interests of their communities as part of a vibrant New Zealand," Mr Little says.
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