Tau Henare
National Party MP

1 November 2007

Statement from Tau Henare

National Party MP Tau Henare says he is disappointed that the Prime Minister is attempting to rewrite the sequence of events leading up to last week’s incident with Trevor Mallard.

Helen Clark said that ‘he [Mr Henare] also made the first move by grabbing Mr Mallard’s tie and throat’.

“Mr Mallard knows who the aggressor was. If he did not accept that, why did he and Michael Cullen come to the National Party offices within half an hour to make a full apology.

“Mr Mallard did the right thing by accepting responsibility. Is Ms Clark now saying that he should not have apologised?

“Why is she is publicly undermining Mr Mallard?”

Mr Henare says though he accepted Mr Mallard’s contrite apology in good faith, he will not sit idly by and let the Prime Minister invent reasons for giving Mr Mallard a portfolio promotion.

“Helen Clark has no right to start re-writing history.

“As far as I’m concerned, Mr Mallard has apologised for this incident and I have accepted that.

“Helen Clark can’t now use this as an answer to the public pressure that she’s under for giving Mr Mallard what’s perceived as a portfolio promotion.”

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