A Northland principal has slammed the government for it's Smokefree legislation changes.
The new government aims to repeal legislation that restricted the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2009 and the phasing in of low-nicotine cigarettes.
The law would also have reduced the number of outlets selling tobacco products from about 6000 nationwide to 600.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Hora Hora School principal Pat Newman said the changes would be trading off kids' lives for political votes.
Despite the widespread concern the prime minister says he won't reconsider, Benedict Collins reports. (Source: 1News)
Asked how he felt when the changes were announced, Newman said he was "astounded".
"I couldn't believe a government would trade off the future of our kids and our people up here so cynically so that they could get tax cuts and make $500 million a year out of people's lives. I couldn't believe it."
It comes after the government was fact-checked over Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's claim that there would only be one tobacco retailer in the whole of Northland under Labour's scrapped smokefree law changes.
Senior minister Chris Bishop spoke to Q+A yesterday where he was questioned about the outcry over the new Government's plan to scrap Labour's changes.
When asked, Bishop said he didn't believe Labour's changes would have saved lives.
"No, I think the evidence is not there on that. The changes are highly speculative, and were actually opposed by some people in the anti-smoking movement."
Bishop then gave an example that was also cited by the Luxon earlier this week — that the Northland region would only have one store under the law changes.
The PM said at his first post-Cabinet media conference: "We think it's wrong for example to have a single store in Northland as a target for crime and for ram-raids and for gangs and to ultimately drive for a bigger black market."
But there's an issue with the Prime Minister's claim. It's not true.
In September, a list published by the Health Ministry indicated there would be 35 tobacco retailers in the Northland region with about 600 nationwide.
When asked to respond to the figures, Bishop said he hadn't seen the list.
When further challenged, he said: "I don't know how much further we can take this. My understanding is there's just one available in Northland."
The Leader of the House appeared on Q+A after a new National-led Government was sworn in this week. (Source: 1News)
Later yesterday, Luxon admitted he used an incorrect figure while justifying the scrapping of the previous government's world-first smokefree legislation.
"We got it wrong," he said.
"What we meant there and the bigger point very clearly is that the actual policy, the previous Labour government announced, would mean there would be a massive concentration of a few outlets."
Newman said: "When I heard Chris Luxon and Chris Bishop I suddenly realised why they needed to talk about an hour-a-day mathematics, it wasn't for us it was for them because they couldn't work out the difference between one shop and 35 shops.
"It doesn't matter how many shops, if they're worried about ram-raids, the simple answer is shut the shops where they're selling the tobacco and then you won't have ram-raids, it's so cynical to me, and how they can sit their and say our kids futures matter and yet at the same time do this is beyond belief."
He said he was seeing improvements in the smoking space in Northland, but it's now "open slather".
Newman said the changes will affect Kiwi kids and families and that it's "not right".
"32.3% Māori up here are smokers at the moment, compared to 19.9% elsewhere. 11.15% of Europeans up here are smokers compared to 8% elsewhere."
He also said the government are "making a hell of a big fuss about gangs" trying to get rid of them.
"Gangs don't kill 5000 people a year, this is what this government is proposing to carry on and let continue and it's going to affect our kids."
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