Another blemish for Steve!

Steve Maharey’s self proclaimed unblemished record got rather damaged today when a nasty attack by him blew up in his face.

During question no 6 on different standards for university, Maharey effectively stated that Bill English’s wife Mary got into medical school through the quota system for Pacific Island students (Mary is part Samoan).

You could almost see his colleagues groan. The Speaker told him off, as it is strongly discouraged that MPs bring family members into a debate (unless that family member has done something themself like when Peter Davis got the PMs Office staff to help him secure a govt appointment for a mate).

But then to make him look like an even bigger prat, Bill Engligh got up to state that Mary got admitted to medical school on the basis of her excellent bursary marks and nothing else. Maharey just threw mud without even checking out if it was true.

Ironically Maharey has proven beyond a doubt, a point Don Brash has been making. That one of the disadvantages of such quotas for ethnic groups, is that people often assume that doctors (or lawyers) who are Maori or PI only got in through the quota, even when they did not. The fact that even the Ministry of Tertiary Education makes such an assumption is the perfect example.