Media Release

13 May 2002

RYALL’S STATEMENT ON TEEN DRINKING---DOUBLE TALK

Bay of Plenty MP Tony Ryall is engaging in appalling hypocrisy when he claims in Saturday’s Bay of Plenty Times that the lowering of the drinking age is a “disaster for policing,” and further: “My personal view is that we should raise the drinking age…It’s very worrying”.

“This is a further example of Tony Ryall saying one thing in the Western Bay of Plenty and another very different thing in Parliament,” says New Zealand First Leader and MP for Tauranga Winston Peters.

“For the record, Mr Ryall and all but three National MPs voted in favour of lowering the drinking age on August 26 1999. Ryall, Jenny Shipley and Bill English all voted in favour of the Bill that would lower the drinking age. Only Arthur Anae, Georgina Te Heuheu and Pansy Wong from National opposed the Bill.

“In short, this legislation would never have been passed without the support of the National MPs who voted en masse for it, making 65 MPs for lowering the drinking age.

“For the record, every New Zealand First MP opposed it.

“Back in 1999, the Police warned all MPs this was a dangerous measure. Mr Ryall and his colleagues preferred to ignore the police. For him to feign concern now explains why politics is held in such odium today,” concluded Mr Peters.

ENDS

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