People's Procession for GST-off-food starts with a bang in Northland

Saturday 20 September

RAM - Residents Action Movement

 People's Procession to Parliament to remove GST from food has started with a bang in Kaitaia today.

Organised by Residents Action Movement, better known as RAM, Maori Party MP Hone Harawira also helped kick off the People's Procession to Parliament.

The People's Procession is taking RAM's GST-off-food petition, which already has 20,000 signatures, throughout the towns and cities of the North Island to Wellington, where it will be accepted by the Maori Party MP's on the steps of Parliament.

"We had scores of people sign the petition today," said RAM's national organiser of the People's Procession, Grant Morgan. "Sometimes people were three or four deep, scrambling to sign our GST off food petion at RAM tables".

"There was an amazingly positive response from everyone at the Kaitaia Markets, a warm environment except for one diehard Labour supporter".

"The Maori Party also had a stall at the markets, and they carried the petition on their stall as well".

"The comments that virtually everyone were saying to us about Labour and National were along the lines of 'we don't trust the politicians' and 'we're think theyre just serving the rich'".

"Some people commented on the RAM 10 Commandments leaflet, which contains our top 10 policy priorities for our movement in contesting these upcoming 2008 elections with candidates all over the country. People were pointing to the first paragraph where we say that Labour and National are twins, the LabNats, and they loved it. One couple saw the LabNats comment and dropped five dollars in the bucket straight away!"

"Everyone that we spoke to about the possibility of RAM liaising with a wide range of other organisations next year about a coalition approach to a Citizens Initiated Referendum petition on GST-off-food thought that was an incredibly good idea. The grassroots have clearly spoken on their wish to see different groups working together."
"The People's Procession aims to make GST on food into the big election issue that it should rightfully be, with poll results revealing that 80% of Kiwis oppose the present tax," said Mr Morgan.

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