Helen Clark should get out of the Auckland and Wellington circles where she feels comfortable and front up to West Coasters to explain the Government’s rescue package, Opposition Leader Jenny Shipley said today.

“Helen Clark should be on the West Coast tomorrow to explain why she has broken her pledge to honour the West Coast Accord.

“She has cashed in the jobs that would have been guaranteed in the accord for a one-off cash offer. If she thinks the cash offer is enough to buy off West Coasters then she should be brave enough to get down there and explain why.

“Most West Coasters feel they’ve been offered a raw deal – the equivalent of about two and a half year’s income from sustainable logging in return for the permanent closure of the industry.

“If she thinks the deal she has offered the Coast is so good, the least she should do is get down there and explain it before Coasters are expected to sign up to it.

“It’s also high time she offered some support to Damien O’Connor in a region that used to take pride in being the birthplace of the Labour Party,” Mrs Shipley said.

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