Don Brash MP National Party Leader
30 August 2005
Don Brash says Maori seats will go in the Bay
National Party Leader Don Brash says the Maori seats on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council will go under the next
National Government.
He made the comments during a visit to Tauranga today.
"More than 20% of the councillors on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council are elected on the basis of their race.
"The next National Government will empower elected representatives to act on behalf of all their constituents, not just
Maori or non-Maori.
"And we will take that message to the eight other councils throughout New Zealand that are considering proposals to
establish separate Maori seats."
Dr Brash also warned of a dangerous drift to racial separatism under any Greens/Labour coalition.
"We stand on the edge of an even deeper divide. It is the divide that separates those who want all Kiwis treated equally
before the law and those that want further racial division written into our law.
"No one believes a Greens/Labour Government would reverse the divisive direction we've seen accelerate in the past few
years.
"No one believes a Labour/Greens Government would peel back the suffocating political correctness.
"The Greens believe in Maori spiritual healing, they support race-based funding and they have an unspoken agenda to
support Maori sovereignty.
"A Labour/Greens Government is a recipe for instability, not stability. It is a recipe for high taxes and poor
incentives.
"It is a lurch to the left at a time when mainstream New Zealanders want real progress," Dr Brash says.
ENDS