Thursday 23 May 2002

The Prime Minister's labelling of the Greens as "pathetic" is another example of her reliance on insults rather than rational debate, ACT Women's Affairs Spokesman MP Penny Webster said today.

"Nobody disagrees with the Green Party on GM more strenuously than ACT, yet we're not throwing around crude insults like Ms Clark.

"Almost every day Ms Clark brands another group of people as "silly" or "stupid".

"As a teacher, I know that you can't use these insults against children in the classroom - you'd be quite rightly hauled over the coals. Ms Clark displays a crude abusiveness that New Zealanders are sick of.

"The Prime Minister seems incapable of rational discussion with people that disagree with her. She relies on insults and crude rudeness to push people around.

"This behaviour wouldn't be acceptable in the playground, and it's not acceptable from the Prime Minister," Mrs Webster said.

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