By issuing a halt to home building the Prime Minister’s interference at Ihumātao has called into question her commitment to full and final Treaty of Waitangi settlements. She now has no choice but to sort it out, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says.
“The Prime Minister has got involved here where she shouldn’t have and in doing so is setting an appalling precedent. She is rewarding protestors and runs the risk of reopening full and final settlements which is incredibly dangerous and expensive.
“Some two weeks on from her interference there is a lack of leadership from the Prime Minister when it’s badly needed. What she needs to do is right the wrong of getting involved by telling protestors to go home and let the landowners build houses for Aucklanders.
“When I asked her this week at Parliament what her position was on this clear breach of property rights, she talked about solutions for Māori by Māori with no clear view on how to resolve matters.
“Since the Prime Minister’s involvement, the protestors have been empowered to get aggressive with the Police who are there to keep the peace. They have yelled at them, and racially abused them.
“It’s been two weeks since the Prime Minister wrongly intervened in the Ihumātao land protests. She has shown no leadership since then.”
