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Reo attack misplaced popularity grab
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Simon Bridges' opposition to making te reo Māori a core subject shows a politician who is flailing.
The National Party leader says he will never support Māori being compulsory in schools.
Mr Jones says Mr Bridges is unsure where he stands as a young father and a politician in the spectrum of Māori rights and Māori identity.
"He's undoubtedly got Māori whakapapa but he has no mandate, no authority and no knowledge to talk about our language. I think all these statements Simon is making, he is trying to leverage what modest Māori lineage he has to get topics up to advance his populartity, and the more he talks, the less popular he becomes," he says.
Mr Jones says Mr Bridges should take some cues from his party's Māori spokesperson Nuk Korako, who attended a Māori boarding school and was active in his Ngāi Tahu iwi.
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