Media Release

3 February 2004

No Maoris Please – We ’Re Nats!

Rt Hon Winston Peters has described the sacking of Georgina te Heuheu as a return to the politics of 1949 when Maori were not selected for the All Blacks for political reasons.

“Sacking Mrs te Heuheu and putting ‘Hone’ Brownlee in as Maori Affairs spokesperson reminds me of the Australian government sending a white person to represent aboriginals at a world ethnic affairs conference over 25 years ago.

“You also have to feel sympathy for a person, known to be a moderate – and from an esteemed Maori family - who was head hunted by National in the first place.

“Tanara or Don as he is known to his friends will have plenty of time to reflect on his decision to dump the most qualified person in his caucus to represent Maori.

“It will also be interesting to watch the performance of Hone Brownlee on marae around the country,” said Mr Peters.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>