A New Zealand MP was forced to apologise publicly after writing a hostile reply to a voter who had written a letter criticising his behaviour on a tax-payer funded trip. The member of the public e-mailed the Maori party leader, Hone Harawira after he opted to go sightseeing in Paris and skipped his obligations to attend conferences in Brussels. In his reply, Mr Harawira declared that white people had been “raping the lands and ripping Maori off for centuries” and then used profane language to colour his argument.
He appeared on an Auckland radio station to make his apology, but then referred to a rival MP who called for his dismissal as a “bastard” and said, “If I should be suspended for swearing then him and his mates should be lined up and shot.”
You have to love the unabashed irreverence of Mr Harawira – he’s like that old uncle who mouths off shamelessly at family events knowing his number is up, yet refuses to die. It’s like looking into a crystal ball.
(Source: ABC)
Published on 14 November 2009 by Agony Uncle