23 April 2002

"Winston Peters' recent speech to the Taradale Rotary Club was nothing more than a hypocritical attempt at stirring up the politics of resentment," says National's Maori Affairs and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations spokesperson Georgina te Heuheu. Mrs te Heuheu says the speech was full of hypocrisy.

"While it's important to hold Government agencies to account for their spending, Mr Peters needs to review his own spending when he was Minister of Maori Affairs in 1991 and the Treasurer in 1996 - 1997. He will probably find a similar spending pattern to that he now condemns.

"The hypocrisy of this speech is further added to when Mr Peters states that 'we need to pursue policies that promote social cohesion'. All his speech does is create resentment towards the whole Treaty settlement process"

Mrs te Heuheu says that most New Zealanders accept the need to lift Maori economic and social performance and solutions are what is needed. "Mainstream New Zealand accepts the need to right the wrongs of the past so that all New Zealanders can build a shared future together. A future without resentment towards each other.

"Winston's speech is disappointing because it is so predictable that in election year he, yet again, seeks to save his political future by building resentment towards one identifiable group of New Zealanders," Mrs te Heuheu concluded

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