National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis says comments made by Christopher Luxon about young people in South Auckland discussing gang membership were not supposed to be disrespectful.
In an interview with Chris Lynch Media, Luxon had said gang life could look attactive in South Auckland.
"If you’re sitting in a garage in South Auckland with your two brothers and you’re thinking about life and where you’re going, consciously or unconsciously, the gang life looks pretty attractive."
Willis told Morning Report Luxon did not mean any disrespect.
"We know there's a lot of great things happening in the garages of South Auckland, and there is no desire to show disrespect to people living in that part of New Zealand."
She said Luxon believes the vast majority of young people in South Auckland are aspirational for the future.
Not fond of anti-smoking legislation
Willis said the party believes the order of changes from new anti-smoking legislation has it wrong.
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill makes three main changes:
- reducing the amount of nicotine that is allowed in smoked tobacco products
- decreasing the numbers of retailers that sell tobacco
- making sure tobacco is not sold at all to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
"We support the smoke free goal. We think de-nicitisation [removal of nicotine] of tobacco products should occur first, and then the phase out from retailers," Willis said.
"As it stands, the proposal is to reduce the number of retailers for tobacco products from 6000 to 600 next year. That is, as you'll appreciate, a dramatic reduction."
She said she was worried the current plan set out in legislation would not see fewer people smoking, rather the places that people got cigarettes from change.
