Tama Iti was filmed by a news crew on January 16 firing a double-barrel shotgun into the New Zealand flag on the ground in Ruatoki as the Waitangi Tribunal arrived for hearings into the Tuhoe claim.

The police turned a blind eye.

It was ACT MP Stephen Franks who wrote to Police Commissioner Rob Robinson requesting that Tame Iti be prosecuted on three firearms offences.

“For many years Labour has turned a blind eye to the non-prosecution of Maori activists when they break the law,” said Mr Franks. “Some Tuhoe, for example, trashed national park assets years ago and never paid any penalty. It’s no wonder that Tama Iti, Te Kaha, and others, think they are beyond the law.”

ACT believes that all New Zealanders, regardless of race, must be treated equally before the law. The public is sick and tired of Labour’s one law for Maori activists, and another for everybody else.

We should not be intent on prosecuting every minor offence. Prosecution must be fair. It’s time the Arms Act was used against thugs and aggressors and they stopped prosecuting victim defenders.

Give your Party Vote to ACT. We speak out for fair play for all. If the outcome in the Tame Iti case helps send a message that the years of turning a blind eye are over I’ll regard my efforts in parliament as worth while.

ACT believes that that those who fire shotguns during public events should be prosecuted regardless of race.