Hone only helping Hones

I suppose it is inevitable when you have race based rolls and seats, but Hone Harawira refuses to assist any person who comes to his office seeking help, unless they are on the Maori roll.

That is his right of course, but nevertheless regrettable and divisive.

I’ve never heard of an MP in a general seat who would refuse to help someone who is on the Maori roll, not the general roll.

John Carter sums it up well (and John is known as an outstanding MP in terms of working to help locals with problems):

I think it’s an honour. I’m paid by the taxpayer to assist anyone in New Zealand, regardless of who they are, what their background is, no matter what their ethnicity is.

But to be fair to Harawira, this can be seen as a logical consequence of having race based rolls and seats.