August 14, 2020
Māori Party raises level 4 alarm
The Māori Party wants to be included in a cabinet of national unity to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
It’s one of four demands it made today in response to the community outbreak in Auckland.
Co-leader John Tamihere says it also wants the election moved to 2021, the borders to be closed for 14 days, even for New Zealanders returning home, and for te ao Māori to move immediately into Level 4 conditions.
That would mean ceasing work outside the home for non-essential workers and reimposing checkpoints at tribal boundaries.
He says Māoridom has to move because the Government has failed.
"You can't have a 3-day lockdown because it's a 14-day virus so the information we are getting has been played with a bit. We've got to get free and frank information out so we can deploy our resources to defend our communities," Mr Tamihere says.
He says the latest Level3 lockdown in Auckland should have started at midnight Tuesday rather than noon Wednesday to stop Aucklanders heading for their holiday homes.
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