Keeping the bastards honest

Following Timaru publican and WIN Party co-founder Geoff Mulvihills conviction and fining for 'alleged' breaches of the smoking ban in bars, a question has arisen relating to the WIN Party's viability and continued existence.

"The question of whether the battle WIN is fighting to overturn the existing smokefree legislation is a lost cause is answerable with a very emphatic no", says WIN Party leader John van Buren.

"Authorities and the anti smoking lobby continue to talk up the supposed success of the ban and downplay the damage the ban has inflicted upon the hotel industry despite there being clear and irrefutable evidence to the contrary".

"The smoking ban is placing small business and people's livelihoods in jeopardy, yet government, authorities and health and anti smoking groups continue to champion the ban and tell us everything is OK".

"WIN must take on role of, to quote former Australian Democrat Senator Cheryl Kernot, keeping the bastards honest".

"Much of the information released into the public domain by government, authorities and health and anti smoking groups is statistically based and is either misleading or a deliberate bending of the truth".

"A classic example of what we are fighting is Associate Health Minister Damien O'Conner's claim that statistically, one hundred lives have been saved from the new law".

"I would like to meet one of the fortunate whose life the ban has saved, and also study closely the methodology and scientific evidence upon which Mr O'Conner bases this particular claim".

"We have a duty to the sectors of the hotel industry being crushed by the smoking ban, and to the public, to present the real story, and the facts".

ENDS

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