Government Hui On Foreshore And Seabed A “Farce”

Labour MP Shane Jones says the Foreshore and Seabed hui are a farce

“Maori Party MP Hone Harawira has already derided essential features of the Government’s Foreshore and Seabed proposals,” Shane Jones said

“His words are closer to his party’s membership than those of his leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples. They are saying what the Prime Minister wants to hear.

“The hui have been sparsely attended and are being compressed into a very tight timeframe,” Shane Jones said. “We know this trick of old given that Attorney-General Chris Finlayson is meeting the same people who foisted Hone’s flag on to us on Waitangi Day.

“Now, in a lame attempt to animate his hui, the Attorney-General has called on me to attend so I can be enlightened. That’s bizarre, given that I was born and bred on the marae.

“The only marae he needs to front is Parliament,” Shane Jones said. “The only hui I will share with him on this issue is one in the debating chamber at Parliament, a place where his evasive answers and language can be put to the test. This minister needs to debate and explain his proposals in the highest public domain called Parliament.”

Shane Jones said there was one other venue where he might be persuaded to attend --- the hui at the Overseas Terminal in Wellington tomorrow evening.

“We could use this venue to farewell the increasingly marginalised Maori Party MPs.”

ENDS

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