Media Release

19 September 2003

New Zealanders The Victims Of PM's "Success"

New Zealand First has called on the Prime Minister to re-prioritise the work of her Government by attending to the real problems confronting real New Zealanders.

“Previous Labour and National Governments sold off our country’s assets and created the economic conditions that led to the great divide between the haves and have-nots,” said New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

“Helen Clark’s regime is now presiding over the dismantling of our social structure. New Zealand’s third-worst child abuse rate reflects the collapse of the family unit in many areas suffering from poverty. Increasing numbers of New Zealanders are living in squalid conditions and are unable to lift themselves out of the mire through a lack of education and skills, inadequate support services and continued dependence on the state.

“That such desperate conditions inevitably lead to drug and alcohol abuse, increased crime, and gruesome violence comes as no surprise to anyone but the Prime Minister who chatters about her success and struts the international stage whilst ignoring the growing ills of our communities. Ordinary New Zealanders have become the victims of the Prime Minister’s self-proclaimed success,” Mr. Peters said.

“What our nation most needs is leadership that acknowledges and acts on the real problems facing our communities. The Prime Minister’s priorities of a politically correct domestic agenda and big-noting internationally need to be reworked. Many New Zealand are living desperate, violent and drug-dependent lives while our Government bans smoking in RSAs, reforms prostitution, imports third world diseases, and clogs our schools and hospitals with transient foreigners. It is time to focus on jobs, housing, and upskilling our own population.

“New Zealanders were once renowned for their innovation, humour, and concern for others. These qualities need to be brought out as our communities regain control of their lives. It is time to take the ‘P’ out of PC,” Mr. Peters said.

ENDS

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