Labour must act on ‘Maori police’

National Party Maori Affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee says the extortion racket in Gisborne being run by a Maori sovereignty group should surprise no one.

“The police must immediately commit resources to shut them down and those involved must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“New Zealanders will not tolerate this kind of racist extortion, based on a totally perverted view of the Treaty of Waitangi.

“In election year, Labour cannot afford to look weak on this issue. It must act.

“But sadly, no-one should be surprised that these sorts of stand-over tactics have come to light under this Government.

“During the Foreshore and Seabed select committee hearings a number of Maori expressed a view that they did not believe they were part of the Crown in this country.

“That kind of thinking has been helped along by taxpayer-funded Treaty propaganda campaigns worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“In 2003, National even found taxpayer-funded pamphlets that meant one thing in Maori and another in English.

“Under Labour, this thuggery in Gisborne is a taste of things to come,” says Mr Brownlee.

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