Don Brash MP National Party Leader

30 August 2005

Don Brash says Maori seats will go in the Bay

National Party Leader Don Brash says the Maori seats on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council will go under the next National Government.

He made the comments during a visit to Tauranga today.

"More than 20% of the councillors on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council are elected on the basis of their race.

"The next National Government will empower elected representatives to act on behalf of all their constituents, not just Maori or non-Maori.

"And we will take that message to the eight other councils throughout New Zealand that are considering proposals to establish separate Maori seats."

Dr Brash also warned of a dangerous drift to racial separatism under any Greens/Labour coalition.

"We stand on the edge of an even deeper divide. It is the divide that separates those who want all Kiwis treated equally before the law and those that want further racial division written into our law.

"No one believes a Greens/Labour Government would reverse the divisive direction we've seen accelerate in the past few years.

"No one believes a Labour/Greens Government would peel back the suffocating political correctness.

"The Greens believe in Maori spiritual healing, they support race-based funding and they have an unspoken agenda to support Maori sovereignty.

"A Labour/Greens Government is a recipe for instability, not stability. It is a recipe for high taxes and poor incentives.

"It is a lurch to the left at a time when mainstream New Zealanders want real progress," Dr Brash says.

ENDS

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