Judith Collins
National Party MP
26 March 2006
Labour’s secret smear campaign boomerangs
“The secret smear campaign to shift public opinion against a 16-year-old Sri Lankan girl who was pleading for permission
to stay in New Zealand has come back to haunt Labour,” says National Party MP Judith Collins.
She is commenting on news today that the young girl has been granted refugee status by the United Nations and now plans
to live in Canada.
“Labour ran a deliberate campaign to discredit this girl’s story. They even resorted to personal attacks on those who
sought to speak out on behalf of the child.
“This was a disgraceful chapter in Labour's book of underhanded political deception. Labour should be ashamed of the way
this girl was drugged and deported.
“The whole dirty affair was exposed when Lianne Dalziel, who initially lied about running the smear campaign, finally
admitted it after questions in Parliament.
“New Zealanders were never supposed to have found out about the sordid underground campaign against this child. The fact
that her case for refugee status has been accepted by the UN, serves to further illustrate a real lack of understanding
and compassion on Labour’s part,” says Ms Collins.
Ends