Shane Jones

List Member of Parliament

Media Statement

20 March 2008

Is Rodney Hide pushing drugs to young Northlanders?

“Is Rodney Hide (ACT leader) pushing party pills to young Northlanders?” Labour’s Northland list MP Shane Jones is asking today.

“First we have Hone Harawira (Maori Party) and the wacky Maori Party who want a ban on tobacco and smoking but want to keep pushing these drugs, and now we find Rodney Hide and the ACT party peddling party pills to impressionable Northland minds at Auckland University,” said Mr Jones.

“There is large number of Northland’s finest academic youth, including Maori, who go to Auckland University every year and I’m shocked that the ACT Party are trying to get them involved in drugs by selling these pills at a $1 each.

“It is not good enough for Rodney Hide to say “young people are young people”. He spends a lot of his time at Auckland University talking to students. He must be held accountable for his party policy of ‘drugs for membership’.”

“Now I accept that Rodney may be high on diet pills but he has gone beyond the pale on his support for party pills. Maybe that is the secret to his puku makeover.”

Mr Jones said, jokes aside, ACT were being thoroughly irresponsible by saying it was okay to use class c1 drugs.

“In the Northland we have huge problem with gangs pushing and peddling drugs to vulnerable Maori youth in a bid to recruit them. At a time when the Government and Police are doing the utmost to prevent this, we have the ACT party saying its okay to do drugs.

“It is time Rodney and the ACT party fronted up and stated exactly what their drugs policy is, or will we have to wait for Roger Douglas to spell it out for them.”

ENDS

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