Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 230 comments
[Update: TV3 now admits its ’emails’ were a Facebook exchange between Fuller and a friend and Fuller says she made up the money offer. For fuck’s sake, TV3, you can’t run a story based on someone’s Facebook comments. Still, Bennett should not have been meeting with a complainant just before the report is due out. It’s clear she is looking to avoid an embarrassment]
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, April 20th, 2010 - 19 comments
Nick Smith’s brother, Tim Smith, was up on 21 charges from Environment Canterbury at the same time as Smith was ramming through the abolishment of the democratically-elected council. Smith should have told us of this apparent conflict of interest. I guess when you’re part of a government that’s hiding the fact its 3 strikes law will encourage murders, this seemed like a small thing.
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, April 12th, 2010 - 23 comments
A senior judge is under investigation for sitting on a case in which his business partner, whom he owed $240,000, was a lawyer. The investigation could result in a recommendation to the Attorney-General that the judge be sacked. But Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has trampled over the process and has said he will not act against Justice Wilson, who is a mate of his from their days at Bell Gully.
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 8th, 2010 - 6 comments
It’s the lies that get you. That’s what Agriculture Minister David Carter and John Key are learning as more details of Carter’s conflict of interest over the legislation that removed the Environment Canterbury councilare emerging. Carter and Key now have to explain why they have lied and misled, which will be tricky to explain if they continue to insist there’s no ministerial misbehaviour to cover up.
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, March 16th, 2010 - 20 comments
The New Zealand economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s were largely a failure. This can be seen from the large negative divergence post 1984 in New Zealand’s real output per capita in comparison to Australia, our usual benchmark. New Zealand’s comparative position vis-Ã -vis unemployment also worsened. Poverty and social inequality increased. Australia undertook various […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, March 3rd, 2010 - 24 comments
If you agree that money is power, and that power corrupts, then it follows having a lot of money may be a corrupting influence. So imagine the compounding effects of having a lot of money and being like, a Bishop, or a PM. Self-proclaimed Bishop Brian Tamaki is having a few problems at the moment […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 26th, 2010 - 1 comment
Russel Norman has an ironic adjunct to the ‘storm in a wine glass’ (as one wit on RNZ called Phil Heatley’s resignation)…
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, February 24th, 2010 - 39 comments
A certain National Party pollster is having a cry over the story I ran yesterday on Murray McCully’s shares in Widespread Portfolios.
The story got widespread media coverage because it raised legitimate questions that needed to be answered.
Written By: - Date published: 6:42 am, February 24th, 2010 - 40 comments
Yesterday the Dominion Post caught out National Party Ministers using their taxpayer funded credit cards for personal use. This was a gross betrayal of public trust. Housing Minister Phil Heatley knew what he was doing, but did it anyway. John Key should sack Heatley for turning his nose up at the Kiwi taxpayer.
Written By: - Date published: 6:36 am, February 23rd, 2010 - 94 comments
The Government is driving ahead with its plans to open up our National Parks and other protected environments to mining. The Standard can now reveal that Murray McCully has shares in a company that stands to benefit directly from National’s mining policy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 20th, 2010 - 14 comments
Former National Party President Michelle Boag has been told to remove herself from the consultancy charged with selecting executive staff for the Auckland Supershity, because of her conflict of interest as an advisor to John Banks’ campaign
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 16th, 2010 - 57 comments
John Key says Jackson Mining was just a gold mining company when he bought them and that they didn’t get involved in uranium until later. In fact, Jackson mining was already involved in uranium when Key listed his interest in the company last year
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, February 4th, 2010 - 22 comments
So, John Key and Pita Sharples put Hone Harawira in charge of deciding which flag will fly to represent Maori on government buildings on Waitangi Day. Only four options are put up: the New Zealand flag, the New Zealand ensign, the 1835 United Tribes flag, and Tino Rangatiratanga. It was always pretty obvious what the result […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, January 10th, 2010 - 86 comments
I’m no big city banker. But I was under the impression that profit is the income that is left over once you’ve paid your costs. Once you pay your tax on that, your net profit is what is left to pay to the owners as dividends or reinvest. So how the hell did the Aussie-owned banks […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, December 26th, 2009 - 2 comments
Actually, this guest post never got published because, before we could publish it, Richard Worth would be involved in some new scandal and then he was sacked, which adds a layer of irony to the post: In a shocking week for the National government, Internal Affairs minister, Richard Worth, failed to cock anything up. He failed […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 24th, 2009 - 21 comments
The banks, who tried to rip us off to the tune of $2.6 billion, have agreed to pay us $2.2 billion. I don’t get it. We’ve spent tens of millions so far on court cases to get our money. We’ve won every case. The judgments have been damning of the banks. So, why did the IRD agree […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, December 9th, 2009 - 43 comments
It turns out I understated the latest National ministers’ rort. Not only were the rules changed to allow ministers to have their taxpayer-funded self-drive cars in Wellington while pretending their primary residence was elsewhere so they could claim the taxpayer-funded out of town accommodation allowance, they already had the cars in Wellington before the rule was changed. […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 pm, December 2nd, 2009 - 57 comments
Doug Schmuck owns and runs a boatyard in Opua in the Bay of Islands. The boatyard borders a public reserve. Schmuck wants to use that land as a slipway and other uses related to his business. In fact, he is already using the land and has already constructed at least one building that partially sites on the reserve […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, November 25th, 2009 - 3 comments
National has only come up with one employment policy to counter the recession. No, not the cycleway – ‘job ops‘. It works like this: employers get given $5,000 for employing a young person in an entry-level role. To qualify, the must be new and would not exist if the Job Ops subsidy was not available, […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, November 24th, 2009 - 8 comments
1) National MP Paul Quinn is under investigation for breaching the State Services Act and the neutrality of the public service by holding a political meeting in conjunction with a WINZ seminar. John Key is: a) relaxed b) comfortable c) on holiday d) not Helen Clark, at least 2) Key is not going to Copenhagen […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 13th, 2009 - 73 comments
Frankly, I don’t appreciate being called a white motherf**ker, by Buddy Mikaere and Hone Harawira. Before you start, that’s not to deny that Pakeha stole vast amounts of Maori resources despite the treaty signed between the Crown and iwi, and in spite of the Crown’s own laws. The thief – the Crown – and the victims – the […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, November 11th, 2009 - 17 comments
There were only really two ministers in the race for the first Grabby. Rodney Hide betrayed his own supposed principles by using his MP’s travel allowance to fly his girlfriend overseas. He also, with John Key’s consent, used that allowance to bypass Key’s ban on ministers taking their partners flying overseas with taxpayer money. Of […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 11th, 2009 - 38 comments
Another day, another minister breaking the rules. On the Dental Artistry website, Rodney Hide has written: ‘Thanks for the fantastic job! I was so sick of having my teeth break and wear away, and with the job I’m in it’s important to look presentable. I didn’t do this lightly, but it’s the best thing I’ve […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, November 7th, 2009 - 8 comments
Hypocrisy is such a difficult tag to shake in NZ politics. After blowing $50,000 of tax payer money on a trip with his girlfriend to visit her brother and wander around Disneyland, it seems like Rodney Hide has been caught yet again pilfering public funds to help with his romantic chances, this time another $10,000 […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, November 6th, 2009 - 65 comments
Not content with living in a fantasy world, Rodney Hide had to spend taxpayer money to visit Disney World as well. OK, actually it was Universal Studios but it looks increasingly like Hide’s $50,000 trip kindly paid for by you and me was actually nothing more than a world tour with his girlfriend. Sure, they […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, November 5th, 2009 - 45 comments
It took a few cocktails to loosen Bill English’s tongue when he thought he was among friends. Rodney Hide just needed his coco pops. At his highly dubious ministerial function/ACT fundraiser breakfast*, Hide told his table that John Key “doesn’t do anything”. The only ‘achievement’ by Key that Hide could identify was the cycleway, which, […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, November 3rd, 2009 - 16 comments
John Key is a weak leader. Currently popular (he’s such a “nice guy” you know) – but weak. Like a school teacher who has lost the respect of their pupils, Key has lost control over his MPs. And like naughty kids, Key’s MPs are starting to run wild. The problem is a lack of accountability. […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, October 31st, 2009 - 14 comments
A few months ago, John Key said of ministers taking their partners travelling on the taxpayer dollar: “I’ve told them if they want to take their partner, they can do it, but they pay for it’. So he must be furious that Rodney Hide, David Carter, Peter Dunne, and Phil Heatly have all had the […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, October 30th, 2009 - 21 comments
Check out the invite we got to ‘Plain English’. Incredible. I didn’t even know until watching the Campbell Live story that David Cunliffe and Roger Douglas will be in the debate too. They’re not even mentioned in the invite. But English is and there’s a picture of him. In fact, he’s portrayed alongside Guyon in the same […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 29th, 2009 - 77 comments
I hadn’t seen the Bill English ad until now. I guess I had kind of assumed it couldn’t be that bad – surely it would be a promo for the show with a few stock clips of English because he’ll be appearing. Nope: It’s just an ad for English. In fact, I’ve got no idea what […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, October 27th, 2009 - 12 comments
Norightturn reports that taxpayers are footing the bill for Rodney Hide’s fundraising trip to Christchurch: Thanks to some clever scheduling, we’re effectively footing the bill for Hide’s attendance at his little fundraiser. And we simply shouldn’t be. The Ministerial travel budget is to pay for travel as part of Ministerial duties – not for Ministers […]
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