ACT Shows the Way to Implement No Race-Based Law

Thursday 19 Feb 2004 Richard Prebble Press Releases -- Treaty of Waitangi & Maori Affairs

The ACT MPs have entered two bills to implement the no race law policy in the private members ballot, said ACT leader Richard Prebble today.

"National has said that the election of a centre-right government will result in the removal of race privilege from the law book. National leader, Don Brash, has said he is commissioning a consultant to advise him on how to implement the policy.

"We do not criticise National for not knowing how to implement the policy as National had the same race-based approach as Labour until last month.

"ACT's role is to provide intellectual rigour to figure out how to implement the policies. As the removal of race-based law has been ACT policy for nine years, we have researched how to implement it. "The first law that needs to be fixed is parliament's use of the words, `the principles of the Treaty'. This loose wording has been used as justification for much of the race-based policies. ACT has two alternative ways to clarify what is meant by `the principles of the Treaty," Mr Prebble said.

"The first bill focuses attention on the actual words of the Treaty and is a proposal to deem that wherever the words, `principles of the Treaty of Waitangi' appear in legislation they be read as if they referred to the exact wording of the Treaty. This will stop the Treaty industry inventing new and novel principles.

"The second bill defines the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

"When National takes our other policies of low tax, less red tape, zero tolerance for crime and more use of the private sector in health, we have detailed solutions to implement the policies," said Mr Prebble.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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