The Minister of Maori Affairs, Honourable
Parekura Horomia, has apologised to the Timaru community for
his comment about gang problems in city.
Mr Horomia made
the comment as part of his response to a question at the
Maori Affairs select committee last week.
The Minister
said he made the comment based on his experience with GELS
(the Group Employment Liaison Scheme) in the mid 1980s, when
he worked with programmes specifically designed to target
gangs throughout the country.
"I was part of the positive
steps were taken to deal with gang problems but, admittedly,
that was some time ago."
Mr Horomia said he has been
enlightened about the current situation by the MP for Aoraki
Jim Sutton and many other people from Timaru.
"It was
unfair to specifically name Timaru in my response to the
Maori Affairs select committee and therefore I do apologise
to the Timaru community."
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