No Wonder Tamihere Says Steve Is "Bullshitting"

In his first Parliamentary speech of the year Steve Maharey outlined what Labour stands for. 'We want social justice, these words mean something to us. We recognise the tangata whenua as the first people. We are building our cultural identity and reducing inequality.'

"Is it any wonder John Tamihere accuses him of 'bullshitting'? " asks Lindsay Mitchell, Petitioner for a Parliamentary Review of the DPB.

"Maori make up 14 percent of the population yet thirty eight percent of sole parents on the DPB are Maori ; 51 percent of Independent Youth Beneficiaries and 45 percent of Unsupported Child beneficiaries are Maori. Particularly worrying is that the benefit for sole parents under 18, the Emergency Maintenance Allowance, is being taken up at a rate of 5 to 3 when comparing Maori with NZ European."

"These statistics represent real lives and doubtless Tamihere has seen it all first-hand. This is what Steve Maharey's platitudes about 'social justice' and 'reducing inequality' are actually delivering."

"Tamihere was right to vent his frustration. His only regret should be that there isn't a Labour MP prepared to speak out on behalf of non-Maori, whose prospects are also damaged by the present welfare delivery system."

Lindsay Mitchell

Petitioner for a Parliamentary Review of the DPB ph/fx 04 562 7944

e-mail dandl.mitchell@clear.net.nz

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