Gerry Brownlee MP National Party Maori Affairs Spokesman

15 August 2005

Labour encouraging separatist agenda

News that fisheries officers are being told to stop enforcement north of Tolaga Bay on the East Coast should come as no surprise to Labour.

"Labour's policies have encouraged many locals to believe they are part of their own sovereign state," says National Party Maori Affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee. He is commenting on the announcement by the National Union of Public Employees advising all fisheries officers to stop enforcement north of Tolaga Bay or else face 'high risk of long term health consequences, including death'. NUPE's announcement comes hard on the heels of news that 'Maori police' in Gisborne have been demanding money from local moteliers.

"It is no coincidence that right now East Coast iwi are currently in negotiations over their 'ownership interests' in the foreshore and seabed. "All this is building a worrying picture of Labour allowing the East Coast to become a vehicle for Maori sovereignty aspirations.

"If Helen Clark's separatist policies are allowed to continue, this sort of dangerous situation will only get worse," says Mr Brownlee. "Only National can be trusted to deliver equality before the law regardless of race."

ENDS

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