Gerry Brownlee
National Party Maori Affairs spokesman

12 July 2006

Horomia admits TPK achieves nothing

The Maori Affairs Minister has finally admitted that the Maori Development Ministry has achieved virtually nothing, says National’s Maori Affairs spokesman, Gerry Brownlee.

He is commenting on Mr Horomia saying he wanted ministry staff to get out and work in their communities rather than sit behind their desks and write and read reports.

“After seven years of race-based policies and National asking what Te Puni Kokiri was doing with its millions of dollars, Parekura Horomia has been forced to admit they have actually achieved very little.

“He has finally admitted they have been doing nothing more than navel gazing, filling out forms, shuffling paper and writing useless reports.

“It is particularly disgraceful that millions of dollars have been thrown at TPK and they have done nothing useful with it.

“It is still a mystery where those millions have gone.

“Parekura Horomia was forced into his admissions by the release yesterday of the Living Standards report, which shows more Maori are falling by the wayside.

“The report is a total embarrassment to this Government. It proves Labour’s race-based policies are failing, and now we have a clue as to why.

“He has allowed his bureaucrats to get comfortable in their offices, totally out of touch, while more and more of his people slip into severe hardship.

“When Labour came to office, about 7% of Maori were judged to be living in severe hardship. That figure is now 17%.

“Labour have not only let down Maori, they have let down the whole country by allowing one group of people slip into severe poverty at a time when the economy was booming.”

ENDS

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