Turia supports Clark in dumping 'gaps' phrase

5:50 AM

Associate Health and Maori Affairs Minister Tariana Turia is supporting the Prime Minister's view that the phrase "closing the gaps" should be dumped.

The phrase has been cut from the Government's health strategy document even though it appeared liberally in the draft.

Helen Clark says the Government's closing the gaps committee will be renamed and she has personally removed the slogan from her vocabulary.

The policy came in for criticism for being too biased towards poor Maori and Pacific Islanders, and excluding other groups on low incomes.

Ms Clark says the opposition has stigmatised the term and it is now unproductive to use it.

She says Labour is helping the disadvantaged through its policies and slogans are not important.

Ms Turia says she has never liked the gaps reference and has not used it herself since being in Government.

She feels dumping the words in no way diminishes the coalition's efforts to improve the health of Maori.

- IRN

Herald Online feature: Closing the Gaps