2 April 2002

Race Relations Conciliator, Gregory Fortuin, has spent the last few days protesting that he is a man of high integrity, and he has shown that this afternoon by choosing to resign before he was pushed, says National's Gerry Brownlee.

"This should serve as a warning to Margaret Wilson's politically-correct appointees as yet another one bites the dust -- stay out of politics.

"As soon as Mr Fortuin strayed into partisan political matters, his role as Race Relations Conciliator became untenable.

"He has shown today that he understands that and has acted in a way that protects the integrity of the Race Relations Conciliator's office.

"Contrast this with the Prime Minister's hypocrisy on this matter. At the start of the week, she said what Mr Fortuin did in his private time was his business. By week's end, she was saying Mr Fortuin acted inappropriately and should not have got involved.

"Once again, Helen Clark has shown her principles to be elastic when it comes to her political pals," says Mr Brownlee.

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