"The biggest donor to the Act Party says he gave the money to Don Brash and John Banks so they could stop special treatment for Maori who were "either in jail or on welfare".
In an extraordinary interview with the
Weekend Herald, Louis Crimp said he believed he had the support of Brash, Banks and other "white New Zealanders".
Mr Crimp made the largest financial contribution to the Act Party for the 2011 election with a $125,520 donation.
His comments have appalled Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.
But the Act Party last night affirmed Mr Crimp's right to have his say - and welcomed future donations if he was inclined to make them.
Mr Crimp, a multimillionaire businessman, said he was inspired by Dr Brash's controversial 2004 Orewa speech and supported Act when the former National Party leader took over as Act's leader last year.
"I supported Act because I thought Brash would go along the way for Maoris to be treated like equal New Zealanders ... they don't get any more than a normal New Zealander and we're all the same.
"The money I gave was to get Don Brash in to go with his things about the Maori.
I know white New Zealanders want the Maoris to be treated like ordinary New Zealanders."...
...Mr Crimp said Act should have taken a harder line on Maori during the election even if it led to public outcry. "All the white New Zealanders I've spoken to don't like the Maoris, the way they are full of crime and welfare."
He said he had asked Dr Brash why questions about special status for Maori were not pursued harder during the campaign. He said he was told the issue had been campaigned on but had been ignored by the media.
The campaign came after the Rugby World Cup, which showcased Maori in a way Mr Crimp opposed.
"It was an embarrassment at the Rugby World Cup, [Maori] coming to shore in canoes, with hardly any clothes on, waving spears and poking their tongues out, all painted up."
He said it was intended as a welcome but would have terrified visitors.
"Every opportunity the Maoris get they have to do this war dance, whether it is for a funeral or something happy or a wedding. They feel they have to take all their clothes off, stick tongues out and wave spears. That's not New Zealand."...
...Asked if his political views could be labelled racist, he said: "I don't give a stuff what I'm called. You have to look at the facts and figures. This is the problem with New Zealanders. Most of them dislike the Maoris intensely - I won't say hate - but they don't like to say so."
He said there was such nervousness among those he expressed his views to that he would ask if they had Maori blood.
"They don't like to say anything against the Maoris. They say it very quietly with their eyes looking around."
He said Maori were over-represented in crime statistics.
"I'm an Invercargill person and there's hardly any Maoris down there so this doesn't happen. But in Auckland, you pick up the crime page in the Herald, most of the faces in the Herald are brown in the crime page.
"The Maoris in jail are 51 per cent of the people in jail and yet they are only 13 or 14 per cent of the population. They're either in jail or on welfare."
According to the Department of Corrections, as at March 31 last year Maori made up 51.2 per cent of New Zealand's prison population. Maori make up about 15 per cent of New Zealand's total population.
Dr Sharples said Mr Crimp was "out on his own ... this guy - where does he get off?"..."
Act backer: We all dislike Maori - Maori - NZ Herald News
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Louis Crimp, Brash, Banks and other "white New Zealanders"
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks