MEDIA STATEMENT
Tariana Turia
Co-Leader, Maori Party
26 January 2011

Thought must be given to Maori in state of the nation speeches

The Maori Party says the state of the nation speeches given by the leaders of the National and Labour parties lead to the natural conclusion that the Maori Party is the only independent voice for Maori in Parliament.

“If these parties want to build a better nation, then they must give some real thought to tangata whenua,” Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia said.

“Mr Key didn’t mention Maori at all in his speech and when Mr Goff did mention our people, it was in a negative light.

“The talk from the left and right goes to show that we really are the only voice for Maori in Parliament.

“We should not be measuring the health and wellbeing of our nation solely on the state of the economy," said Mrs Turia in response to Mr Key’s points about the economy.

“The health and wellbeing of our people, our culture and the environment must be accorded equal priority with a sustainable economy.

“Social recovery should drive the economy not the other way around.”

ENDS

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