Hone Harawira plans to slaughter tobacco industry executives when he drags them before a Maori Affairs select committee 'full inquiry' into their industry.He says, "...tobacco companies are responsible for the murder of 100,000 New Zealand citizens in the last 25 years."
Are you comfortable with that statement? National obviously is because they have given this retributive bully session the go-ahead.
... I thank the National Party leadership and in particular Prime Minister John Key, his deputy Bill English, and Committee Chairman Tau Henare for supporting this because if they hadn’t, it would have died on the table
This inquiry will be New Zealand’s greatest opportunity to have Tobacco companies explain their actions of promoting and maintaining tobacco addiction, which leads to these horrific deaths.
It will also provide New Zealand's greatest opportunity for parliamentary representatives to explain why they support the promoting and maintenance of tobacco addiction by taking their own sizeable cut of the profits.
Perhaps Hone could appear in that capacity?
He says, "To be brutally frank Mr Speaker, I’d like to lynch these #$^&** tobacco company executives."
In which case a murder/suicide would be the most elegant solution. Which amply illustrates the hot-headed stupidity of Hone's rhetoric.
9 comments:
Actually smoking might save the country on health costs.
Since everybody dies one way or another and smokers purportedly die younger, not only is the government super reduced but the health costs of diseases of advanced age are reduced.
How much does it cost to keep a dementia patient in a high needs unit for years, for example, I wonder?
Being close to several local tribal authorities which take taxpayer funds to administer many government initatives, I see many activities which reek of hypocrosy.
Some of these tribal authorities receive large amounts of money to run anti smoking campaigns among the Whanau.
I observe a large number of employees running the programmes are themselves hardened smokers.
To me the emphasis is on numbers, money and jobs.
Dirk
To me the issue is not one of freedom or ideology but would it work. Common sense should tell anyone that such a ban would not work. Is there any other country which has banned the sale of tobacco? I think not. Suppose in the unlikely event this ban was imposed how would if affect tourism? When I watched Backbencher last night I thought haw could the Maori Party be silly enough to back such a proposal. However, when I see the Herald poll albeit unscientific two thirds support such a ban.
Andrei, Smoking is a net earner. The tax taken is around 3 times the health costs smoker incur. If people want to smoke their way to an early grave that is their choice. Hone is a reformed smoker and a zealot. But if Maori weren't heavy smokers, do you think he would be doing this? No. At the heart of this crusade is racism. More of the rich-white-folk-killing-the-poor-brown-folk twaddle. Modern day colonialism no doubt.
"Hone is a reformed smoker and a zealot."
Reformed smokers are the worst - 'cause they think they're so clever and enlightened for giving up.
Linsday you wouldn't know racism if it smashed you in the face with a truck.
Anon, I guess that depends on your understanding of racism. The Maori Party is founded on race. It promotes policies that specifically effect ( I won't use the word 'benefit' because I don't believe that is correct) one race.
However, if you are saying I wouldn't know what it feels like to be racially discriminated against, you are right. I know what it feels like to be with someone who is being racially discriminated against but that's as close as my experience gets.
It is then only fair and reasonable to move on to attacking petrol or vehicle suppliers, for all the death they wreak - even though we know the accident rate - we KEEP ON driving those cars...
"To me the issue is not one of freedom .."
It should be, Chuck, because the alternative is force.
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