Te Pāti Māori’s co-leaders were absent from yesterday’s budget debate, despite the government delaying a vote on potentially suspending them from the House in order to allow them to participate.
Chris Bishop, the Leader of the House, made a sarcastic social media post commenting on their absence alongside photos of Finance Minister Nicola Willis placing copies of the budget on the co-leaders’ unoccupied desks.
“I’m so glad I bothered to adjourn the debate to allow the Māori Party to be in the House for the budget. Oh wait…” Bishop said on Facebook.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer shared that social media post, responding by saying her party had MPs participating in a number of activities on Budget Day.
“Unlike [Bishop’s] party of privilege, we run like a marae, everyone carries the kaupapa,” she said. “One MP on media, one on whaikōrero, one on budget analysis, one inside budget lockdown, one on pay equity protest and one holding the line on the Regulatory Standards Bill.”
NZ Herald
