MEDIA STATEMENT
for immediate release
August 25, 2009

John Key - Will long be remembered as the Prime Minister who succumbed

• The Pacific Island people of Auckland City are very disappointed at John Keys decision not to engage the overwhelming Auckland voice in favour of having dedicated Maori seats.

• In the lead-up to all this and in view of the governments setting aside of the Royal Commissions recommendations for three Maori seats it was widely thought that John Key was at least exercising fairness in looking to act on what the people of Auckland City themselves wanted on this issue. However, John Key will now long be remembered instead as the Prime Minister who succumbed to Act Party leader Rodney Hide and his minority voice.

• As Pacific Islanders of Auckland City, we carefully note that if Maori are not represented at that level as per the careful thinking and reasoning the Royal Commission put behind it, then we won't particularly figure in the equation either.

• John Key has let the voice of greater Auckland down and squandered the opportunity to show real leadership and move things forward for an inclusive Auckland city after Act Party leader threatened to resign if dedicated Maori Seats were initiated in the new Super City regime.

• "We do not have a Treaty like Maori and do not expect the same things they are privileged or entitled to". But, we do have very similar issues and know that for any of those issues to be addressed by Maori at that level will ultimately be a benefit to the wider Pacific Island sector across the Auckland region.

• We as Pacific Islanders simply want as per our submission to the Auckland Governance Legislation Select Committee that the government give us a level playing field through the MMP electoral system to enable us to take it head on with the best that Auckland has to offer at the next polls.

• Our preference for the MMP electoral system in view of the greater Auckland region makes perfect sense why it is used for central government elections. Rodney Hide could not give me a definitive answer on this issue when I put the question to him live on Maori television on May 25.

• The suggestion for Maori seats from the Royal Commission was exclusive to Auckland city. Auckland is not the same as Wellington or any other part of the country. The dynamics operating here in Auckland city are by no means the same as the rest of the country hence their recommendation and the careful thinking put into it.

• Any move forward now by John Key on the anti smacking issue will simply be seen as placating the huge majority who are against it in its current form and an expedient way to divert attention from the current fallout from the Maori seats issue.

ENDS

© Scoop Media