New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones has welcomed former National Party leader Sir John Key’s call to party faithful to take the temperature down on race relations.
He says the advice, delivered to National’s annual meeting at the weekend, should be heeded across the political spectrum.
Sir John said many of the issues were not of National’s making, such as Act’s Treaty Principles Bill, but they were things the Government had to deal with.
Mr Jones says it could also apply to the heat around the removal of section 7 of the Oranga Tamariki Act and the Government’s decision to legislate to overrule a Court of Appeal decision on customary marine title under the Marine and Coastal Area Act.
“At the end of the day we’ve got to have and overarching sense of unity, coherence, covency in our community and we shouldn’t be pulling and stressing ourselves but let’s not overlook the fact a lot of this is traceable back to the last regime as well and I think what he is saying is to both sides,” he says.
Mr Jones noted Labour leader Chris Hipkins as given a similar warning to Te Pati Maori to tone down some of its rhetoric if it ever wants to be part of government with Labour.
