Waatea 5th Estate – Labour vs NZ First – the fight for Maori votes

By
The Daily Blog
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6
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Joining us tonight to look at the fight for the Maori vote…

Andrew Little – Leader of the Labour Party

Winston Peters – Leader of NZ First

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Thoroughly enjoyed this debate, highly informative and I learnt more interesting facts.

    And isn’t Winston just gold !! Winston just says it as it is and both he and Andrew Little didn’t take any crap either and both stood their ground even when Willy got mischievous.

    I was also impressed with Andrew Little’s handling of Willy’s questions, particularly when Willy tried to extract an apology. This apology kick that the opposition to a left government are on gets tedious and tiresome. I don’t see Key or the Maori party or anyone from the right being pursued and harassed with demands to apologize for current and past transgressions.

    • This was a good show by Willy Jackson. He kept Little and Peters on their toes, but gave both of them space to give detailed answers as long as they stuck to answering the question, rather than trotting out key messages.

      “I don’t see Key or the Maori party or anyone from the right being pursued and harassed with demands to apologize for current and past transgressions.”

      In the case of Key, we don’t expect him to apologise, because we don’t think he’s sorry, and we have no intention of working with him or his party. In the case of the Māori Party, they are regularly taken to tasks for their passive support for National and asked to apologise for the consequences, and so they should, if they want to the left to consider accepting them as allies rather than collaborators. For the same reason, Labour and its leader to owe its supposed allies on the left an apology for a long list of things, start with Rogernomics, and ending with the Foreshore and Seabed Act and the drafting of the anti-democratic, stazi-style Search and Surveillance Bill, which was neatly picked up and passed by National as they came into government.

      To their credit, Labour have made some apologies, or pointed out that the current leadership were critical of these actions at the time and can’t be held responsible for them. Just as Corbyn can’t be held responsible for the actions of Blairites just because he was in the same party. Fair enough.

      • So because its John key he doesn’t have to be hounded to apologize because he won’t? Is that what you mean?

        The current Labour party is not responsible for previous governments, particularly one that was over 30 years ago, just like John key is not responsible for Muldoon, Sidney Holland, Bolger, Shipley et al.

        Andrew Little who has already apologized, was correct in making a stand this time by saying that he is not responsible for previous governments and it is ridiculous for people to hound the current Labour party ad nauseum for apologies for something they are not responsible for time and time again. I am seeing it as a tactic for distraction.

      • Do you think the Maori party should apologize for it’s betrayal by supporting National’s Marine and Coastal Act 2011 that replaced the Foreshore and Seabed, that made Hone Harawira walk away form the Maori Party?

        And since the Foreshore and Seabed, Labour have now won back 6 of the 7 Maori seats.

  2. Exactly words! Let’s just get on with making MMP work for the left and removing this current ‘mess of a government’. Opposition parties need to be UNITED to remove National. That should be the goal.

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