Tariana Turia should be gone already

National Party Deputy Leader and Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee says Tariana Turia should have been sacked already.

"She is in clear breach of section 3.22 of the Cabinet Manual which states 'a Minister's support and responsibility for the collective Government position must always be clear'.

"Tariana Turia's 'support and responsibility' is anything but 'clear'.

"Helen Clark is employing two sets of standards, one for Maori Ministers and another for non-Maori.

"It does not matter one iota now whether Mrs Turia and Ms Clark come to some sort of face saving, convenient arrangement born out of political expediency rather than principle.

"It's now irrelevant whether Tariana Turia abstains or avoids Parliament when the foreshore and seabed legislation is introduced - she is already in breach of conventions that go back hundreds of years.

"She must be sacked. Helen Clark has no choice," says Mr Brownlee.

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