Jackson lashes out at Seymour’s policies
Labour MP Willie Jackson has labelled ACT leader David Seymour a ‘‘useless Māori’’ over his policies to scrap government agencies focusing on human rights, women and ethnic minorities.
The ACT Party policy, reaffirmed in its alternative budget released over the weekend, would see ministries such as Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for Women, Pacific Peoples, and Ethnic Communities abolished. The Human Rights Commission and Te Arawhiti, the Office of Crown-Māori Relations, would also be closed.
But Seymour said he would expect the Ministry of Health to facilitate Whānau Ora and keep an Office of Treaty Settlements within the Ministry of Justice. Closing ‘‘demographic ministries’’ would help ACT achieve its goal of making 14,000 public servants redundant.
Both ACT and National don’t support Labour’s Māori Health Authority plan, which would act to commission targeted health services and monitor if the merged DHB entity, Health New Zealand, is delivering for Māori patients.
Jackson, who is Māori Development Minister, said those separate agencies were needed, as funding and programmes to improve Māori outcomes had been eaten away in larger organisations.
Yesterday, Jackson took aim at National and ACT over their promises to disband the Māori Health Authority.
He added pressure to the National Party to distance itself from ACT policy, but National leader Christopher Luxon avoided directly ‘‘ruling out’’ ACT’s proposals.
Jackson saved his boldest criticism for Seymour, who he called a ‘‘useless Māori’’ and accused him of turning his back on his whakapapa.
‘‘You don’t deny any people their whakapapa, but that doesn’t make them some sort of great advocate for Māori. He’d probably be the worst advocate for Māori in terms of politics – I’ve never seen anyone like him.’’
Seymour has been critical of Jackson’s style of debate, as well. He said the ‘‘personal attacks’’ from Jackson showed the minister lacked evidence to back up his arguments.
‘‘The fact he’s attacking me personally, rather than debating the issue, shows you everything you need to know,’’ Seymour said.