Henare under fire

Tau Henare. Photo / Martin Sykes

National list MP Tau Henare is under fire after claiming poor people buy alcohol and tobacco instead of vegetables for their children.

Henare said Labour leader Phil Goff's proposal to exempt fresh fruit and vegetables from GST wouldn't help the poor.

"If they can't afford to buy a lettuce or a tomato then they should give up the drink and the smokes," he wrote on Facebook.

Goff was outraged at the stereotyping. "Many of them don't spend any money at all on tobacco or alcohol."

Henare stood by his comments. "It's a well-known fact that poor people, if they don't have enough money, will buy smokes and not bread."