SMOKE SIGNALS GET MP TALKING

Indignant media moaned this week that a potty party was threatening to
field a candidate in the Te Tai Hauauru seat unless Tariana Turia
backed the legalisation of cannabis for over-18s, writes the Waikato
Times in an editorial.

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party was "threatening to spark a
$500,000 election". Leader Michael Appleby, a lawyer, was putting the
pressure on. The view, with conveniently placed adjectives, was that
because the party had no hope of winning the seat, it was wrong to
contemplate fielding a candidate. After all, the major parties had
decided not to stand against Mrs Turia, avoiding an "expensive"
election. It apparently followed that when nominations closed on June
15, everyone else should have kept their hands down too.

What nonsense. If a byelection is held in Te Tai Hauauru it will be
down to the fact that Mrs Turia resigned on Monday so that she could
stand again outside Labour's umbrella. The notion that a party should
not be entitled to field a candidate because it can't win, or that it
would be a waste money, is appalling. It equates to leadership by
default in a huge electorate running from Tokoroa to Tawa.

Within a day of publicising his plan to stand, Mr Appleby had a
response from Mrs Turia. After conceding her Maori party had no policy
on the issue, she said she supported the decriminalisation but not the
legalisation of cannabis. Mr Appleby could not have anticipated a
better result -- Mrs Turia is more sympathetic than most MPs to
cannabis use.

The pair have crossed swords before. In late 1997 the lawyer was
defending a cannabis grower with the argument that Maori used
marijuana for customary medicinal purposes and therefore had a legal
right to it. At that time Mrs Turia told how the drug had almost
destroyed her family. Rather than a rongoa (medicine) it was more like
rabbits, possums and disease "just another thing our colonisers
brought here that is no good for Maori". Since then she has sat on a
select committee which examined the impact of cannabis on mental health.

This week the country saw a form of MMP at work. The dope party had a
unique opportunity to do outside Parliament what Act, the Greens, New
Zealand First and United Future do regularly in it. It flexed what
muscle it had, and was able to win publicity and make someone take
notice. Those who question the qualification of this party should
remember it has been around for a while -- a lot longer than Mrs
Turia's Maori Party.

It did not field a candidate in Te Tai Hauauru last time but still
outpolled Christian Heritage, the Alliance, Progressive Coalition,
United Future and Act for the party vote.

A few dopes waving a banner and threatening to waste $500,000 of
taxpayers' money? Not at all.