Don Brash MP National Party Leader
27 April 2004

George Hawkins Should Act On Hikoi

National Party Leader Don Brash is calling on George Hawkins to step into the seabed and foreshore protest march, which is threatening traffic chaos in Auckland today.

"The mayors are against it, Transit is worried about it - so why are the police giving these protesters the green light?

"There are clearly two standards at play in this decision, which has the potential to set an awful precedent.

"Can anyone imagine a group of protesting farmers being allowed to close two lanes of the Harbour Bridge?

"As a local MP, Mr Hawkins should act in the interests of Aucklanders," Dr Brash says.

"It's not as if those taking part in the hikoi are walking the length of the entire country. A protest across the Harbour Bridge would be easier to understand if that were the case - but it is not.

"There are alternative routes and I would encourage Mr Hawkins to exercise his authority by letting the police know that the protesters should be using one of those.

"That would be in the national interest, and it would be in Auckland's interest," says Dr Brash.

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