Prime Minister Helen Clark's "losing it" - ACT

ACT Leader Rodney Hide said today in response to Helen Clark's extraordinary attacks on the ACT party that she is clearly "losing it".

"Helen Clark should be providing the police with the resources they need instead of shooting the messengers," Mr Hide said.

"In February she attacked ACT for `bullying' Police Minister George Hawkins. We were just demanding that he do his job.

"Last week she again attacked ACT for encouraging criminals to commit crime. We were just making public the police's inability to attend to offending.

"Last night in her speech to the Labour Party Congress she attacked opposition parties for damaging the police! We are just explaining the police need more resources and a better Minister.

"The Prime Minister's attack on ACT shows she is losing it. She knows George Hawkins isn't up to the job and she knows her line that crime is down and policing resourcing is up doesn't wash.

"It's a bit rich to be attacked as damaging the police from the Prime Minister who suggested that police racism played a role in the Waitara shooting, accused the police of being bumble-footed in investigating her for faking a painting, and who has hung out to dry five police officers who speed her through to the footy.

"Prime Minister Helen Clark should focus on the problem, not the messenger. She should sack George Hawkins, implement a zero tolerance policy for crime in New Zealand, and do a proper assessment of New Zealand's policing needs.

"Her attacks won't deter ACT. We need to make New Zealand safe. We can't do that with Labour's soft-on-crime policy and the bumbling George Hawkins," Mr Hide said.

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