PRESS RELEASE

MANA Leader Hone Harawira

Talkin’ Tough But Backin’ Down

Wednesday 18th July

“Talkin’ tough is very much the Maori Party style” said MANA leader Hone Harawira.

“But backin’ down is also very much their style” said Harawira when told that Sharples and Turia were meeting with the Prime Minister tonight after describing his comments about the Waitangi Tribunal insulting. “And backin’ down is what they will do tonight.”

Harawira said the Maori Party had backed themselves into a corner with all their threats, “and the only way out was to either walk away from the coalition or back down”.

“I mean, it’s staunch to call the Prime Minister’s comments ‘serious’, ‘corrosive’, ‘inflaming’ and even ‘insulting’ but that’s as far as they will go”.

“Once you know their history it’s pretty easy to plot their future” said Harawira. “That’s why I know the Maori Party will back down tonight”.

“The Prime Minister has already said he won’t be apologizing for ‘insulting’ the Tribunal, and that he is totally confident that the Maori Party won’t walk” said Harawira. ““That’s another reason why I know the Maori Party will back down tonight”.

“Maybe a bone or two, but the Maori Party will roll over and play happy puppies because they are wedded to their big salaries and their BMW’s - and John Key knows it”.

“They’ll come out with a few meaningless phrases about being good friends and the importance of building relationships with iwi, but basically that’ll be it”.

“The Maori Party has got a serious credibility problem. Tonight’s meeting will confirm that”.

ENDS

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