Gerry Brownlee MP National Party Maori Affairs Spokesman

22 June 2005

Health and welfare rorts uncovered in race review

National Party Maori Affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee says the Ministers of Health and Social Development must be held accountable for the rorts uncovered in Labour's race based funding review.

"It would appear Labour has found big problems with programmes in the health and welfare portfolios that support concerns raised by National 18 months ago.

"National is looking forward to thoroughly examining documents from the race review due out on Thursday. It is expected to feature more than 30 piece-meal changes.

"It will be unacceptable for the final report to be anything like Trevor Mallard's two earlier public relations exercises.

"The Ministers who have presided over the growth in this sort of funding for the past six years must be held to account.

"So far Mr Mallard's fiddled around the fringes, while refusing to take any responsibility for things like the principles of the Treaty in legislation, or the hiring of public servants required to subscribe to a particular view of the Treaty.

"Only National can be trusted to deliver policies based on need rather than race," says Mr Brownlee.

ENDS

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