Phil Goff, Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement, 10 February 2004:
So the good doctor has discovered the time-honoured populist stance of exploiting race as a way of winning popular support. Never mind the fact that for 9 years we had a National Government that honoured its obligations. Doug Graham, supported by Murray McCully who is sitting in the House, did what was necessary to bring our country together, in order to establish a degree of unity that would mean New Zealand would not follow all those other countries around the world where race and ethnic tension have ripped societies apart. But now the good doctor is subordinating what is in the long-term interests of this country—the well-being and the unity of this country—to divide the country for his own political ends, and to disguise what his real political agenda is.
So, what's changed, Mr Goff? Is principled opposition to racism something you discard the moment you hit the opposition benches?
