THE FAMILY PARTY www.familyparty.org.nz

Lewis: Full credit to Jones and Tuigamala

Family Party leader Richard Lewis has come out in support of former All Blacks Michael Jones and Vainga Tuigamala who have called Pacific people to abandon Labour in favour of National.

Mr Lewis has also condemned the adverse reactions of some within the Labour camp such as Efu Koka and Letia Ah Hoy, who have described the former All Blacks as politically uninformed.

“Good on Michael and Inga for going public with their concerns around traditional Pacific voting trends towards Labour. The reactions from within the Labour camp are disappointing but predictable and indicative of its leadership. They simply will not tolerate any opinions different to their own. And it is exactly that kind of arrogance that is putting people off Labour,” says Mr Lewis.

Evidence of that shift can be found in the two South Auckland candidates standing for the Family Party, Papalii Poutoa PAPALII (Manukau East) and Galumalemana Jerry FILIPAINA (Mangere). Both derived from staunch Labour families, their decision to leave Labour to join the Family Party is to recover the traditional values of their Pacific forebears.

“There is a fresh generation of Pacific leaders through the likes Poutoa PAPALII and Jerry FILIPAINA who aren’t remotely interested in Labour’s social engineering agenda but want to create a future based on traditional values and self determination. They certainly share Michael and Inga's sentiments. While many Pacific people might not necessarily make the quantum leap to National, the Family Party provides a compassionate vehicle that believes in the inherent potential of Pacific peoples,” he added.

ENDS

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