The Act Party is defending controversial comments about Maori made at its annual conference.
At the conference in Wellington yesterday, former Act MP Muriel Newman criticised National and the Maori party for damaging race relations and promoting what she calls Maori privilege.
She said Maori are attracted to welfare and almost half of the women on the Domestic Purposes Benefit are Maori.
Act leader Rodney Hide is backing Newman up.
He says New Zealand has a huge problem with dependency that particularly concentrates on Maori.
The party also says there is a high chance it will stop the Emissions Trading Scheme coming into force.
Leader Rodney Hide called the scheme one of the greatest scandals in the history of science.
He says nowhere else in the world has a comprehensive Emissions Trading Scheme and that New Zealand should dump it before we incur huge costs.
