MEDIA RELEASE

March 17, 2008

More High Profile Westies Lend Their Support to Waitakere’s Campaign for Action Against Family Violence

Annie Whittle and Michael Jones are the latest high profile westies to feature in Waitakere’s anti family violence campaign launched today.

Last year former All Black and league legend Va’aiga ‘Inga’ Tuigamala and Outrageous Fortune television star Robyn Malcolm featured on a number of billboards around the city declaring family violence is “not OK in Waitakere”.

The Waitakere campaign is a local version of the government’s national campaign for action against family violence and was launched by Mayor Bob Harvey who established a Mayoral Taskforce against Family Violence last year with Maori Party leader and local kaumätua Dr Pita Sharples.

Michael Jones and Annie Whittle were quick to lend their high profiles to the campaign.

“I’m a proud westie and as the father of two I want to stand up and say family violence is not OK,” says the former All Black great. “Too many people in our community are affected by domestic violence and we all need to take a stand and take responsibility to collectively shape a future for our children and families where domestic violence is addressed, once and for all.”

Annie Whittle says she is totally committed to the idea children be raised without fear of physical discipline.

“We must all accept responsibility for the violence in our society and must therefore all pull together to find solutions to this complex problem. I am very proud to have been asked to support this campaign.”

Mayor Harvey says Waitakere takes family violence very seriously and the taskforce has spent the past few months gathering information about what does and doesn’t work.

“We can no longer sit around and shake our heads at yet another family violence incident or murder. We have had enough of the scourge that is family violence in this city.”

The new billboard campaign is once again designed to raise awareness of family violence and help change attitudes and behaviour towards family violence.

“The taskforce is well on the way to coming up with some measurable strategies to address this city’s horrendous family violence statistics,” says Mayor Harvey.

ENDS

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