Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 23rd, 2009 - 29 comments
In an interview on Morning Report today, ACT’s Heather Roy tries to defend her involvement in the Breakfast-gate scams. She says it’s all the organisers’ fault. A typical blame the staff play. The fact is that Roy would have been asked what she wanted to speak about and she chose to do it on her […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 pm, October 22nd, 2009 - 19 comments
Question Time and media reports have revealed more on Hide’s ministerial-speeches-for-party-donations scam (as you know, every political scandal needs a ‘-gate’. I like Breakfast-gate). Hon Annette King: Does he expect all his Ministers to comply with paragraph 2.54 of the Cabinet Manual, which states: ‘accepting additional payment for doing anything that could be regarded as a ministerial function […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 22nd, 2009 - 52 comments
The Cabinet Manual details the basic expectations of ministerial conduct. It is not law but it would be highly irregular for a minister to breach the Manual and keep their job. And, unlike the law, just because something is not expressly banned does not mean it’s OK. Here’s some provisions of relevance to Hide’s speeches for donations: […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, October 22nd, 2009 - 13 comments
The ever industrious No Right Turn has turned up more dodgy fundraising practices by ACT. Last month, three ACT MPs held what was billed as “a forum” on “the hard questions – and some answers” at the plush Mecure Leisure Lodge in Dunedin. Three strikes, VSM, local government, and smacking were discussed. People were invited […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:18 am, October 22nd, 2009 - 5 comments
Rodney Hide was always going to go one of two ways to try to excuse his corrupt abuse of office. Remember the facts: Hide is Local Government Minister. He will be speaking at a breakfast on Local Government issues. The breakfast is called ‘The Future of Local Government’ and the invitation promises attendees that “Minister […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 21st, 2009 - 74 comments
Click here for a PDF of Local Government Minister Rodney Hide’s invitation to local government stakeholders to a breakfast speech titled “The Future of Local Government”. This speech by the Minister to stakeholders is doubling as an ACT fundraiser. If you want to hear your Minister for Local Government speak, you will have to make a […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, October 21st, 2009 - 67 comments
Another government minister has been caught in corrupt behaviour, and this is arguably the worst of the lot. Rodney Hide is speaking at a breakfast in Christchurch next month. He will be speaking as minister and on his portfolio – Local Government. Local government officials have been invited to hear him. Hide is charging $45 […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 16th, 2009 - 8 comments
Police have ended their investigation in National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s immigration scam after the principal accuser left the country in mysterious circumstances. In Parliament, Pete Hodgson read a sworn statement by Darshan Singh Saran which says that Bakshi and his associates were involved first in an immigration scam, and then in trying to silence […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, October 15th, 2009 - 10 comments
Over on g.blog, toad has noticed something: If you or I steal money, it is theft. We get taken to court, and get fined or go to prison. When MPs do it, it is an ‘accounting error‘. When Cabinet Ministers do it, it is ‘not a good look‘. And when banks do it, it is […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 13th, 2009 - 1 comment
Following my post yesterday, toad on g.blog raises some questions about Nick Smith’s expense claims: In the Dompost article, Nick Smith said “I had to spend $152,000 to make [his electoral office, which he owns] usable I don’t dispute that. But who paid the $152,000? Was it Smith personally? Or was at least some of it from a […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 pm, October 12th, 2009 - 20 comments
Just two hours after TV3 revealed that Melissa Lee had stolen $100,000 from NZ on Air, Lee announced she will pay the money back. Just a few hours earlier she had been insisting it was her money, just a confusion over accounting. Her tune has only changed because TV3’s story exposed that cover story as […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 pm, October 12th, 2009 - 4 comments
A leak has revealed that Melissa Lee is under investigation for pilfering taxpayers’ money. Before the Mt Albert by-election she was cleared of a different rip-off, but it turns out that NZ on Air was still investigating her for keeping $100,000 of contingency funds that should have been returned to NZ on Air. Lee denies any […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, October 6th, 2009 - 119 comments
Taito Philip Field has been sentenced to six years jail for bribery and corruption. Field is a prime example of the ability of power to corrupt. He let down all those who put their trust in him – his community, his former party, and the voters. We are fortunate that in New Zealand corruption by […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, October 5th, 2009 - 55 comments
I love that, after studiously ignoring Bill English’s housing rort, Farrar’s now got unending questions for the Greens. Pretty desperate stuff too – ‘sure, you paid the money back of your own accord after you yourselves discovered you had over-claimed but why did it take so long? huh?! huh?!’. Hilariously, he claims that the superannuation fund […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, October 3rd, 2009 - 29 comments
Colin Espiner: “To start with the ironical, Acting Prime Minister Bill English had no sooner hauled his protesting family back to Dipton for the parliamentary recess to prove that it was still really his home than he had to come straight back to Wellington again [to deal with the tsunami]. It neatly illustrated his argument, […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, October 3rd, 2009 - 23 comments
Fran O’Sullivan has laid out the business elite’s preferred successors to Bill English: At this stage English is not mortally wounded. But his reputation as one of the Mr Cleans of New Zealand politics has been damaged. And – more importantly for the Deputy Prime Minister’s political future – some of the more ambitious among […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, October 1st, 2009 - 95 comments
I have to disagree with my comrade Zetetic’s post arguing that it’s best if Bill English stays in office. Yes, this scandal has permanently destroyed English’s credibility and I can see how having a lame duck Deputy PM and Finance Minister plays into the Left’s hands. But I do think our touchstone should always be […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, October 1st, 2009 - 42 comments
Around the media, they’re talking about the growing odds English will be sacked. The other day, my mate Marty asked ‘who would replace Bill?’ and I said Key should show him the door. I’ve changed my mind. The corrupt prick’s clearly set up his finances to scam the max out of the public. He tried to get away with […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, September 30th, 2009 - 6 comments
subversifpoet sent us this song about our corrupt government:
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, September 27th, 2009 - 19 comments
Trev on the money laundering bill. Has a go at a certain Bill who has been laundering a lot of our money. Very good:
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, September 27th, 2009 - 4 comments
Things must be getting decidedly trippy for Deputy PM Bill English about now, and not in a good way. While his glorious leader is off overseas playing the Jester Statesman, back home Bill’s future is looking gloomier by the day. With the Auditor General looking into English‘s Krishna-like claims of being able to exist in […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, September 26th, 2009 - 5 comments
John Armstrong joins the list of commentators saying Bill English shouldn’t get a cent for his housing rort: The time has come for Bill “Double Dipton” English to end the charade. Now, being Armstrong, the reasons aren’t principled, it’s all about limiting the damage to National: The possibility of the watchdog of public spending investigating the Minister […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, September 23rd, 2009 - 10 comments
In an extraordinary coincidence, the Attorney-General in the UK is about to lose her job for pretty much the same rort as Bill English has been pulling here: [Baroness Scotland] receives a £38,280-a-year “night subsistence allowance” widely understood to be for ministers whose primary home is outside London even though she owns a large house […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, September 23rd, 2009 - 39 comments
Our readers pointed out some interesting quotes in yesterday’s thread on Bill English’s attempt to bully journalists into silence over his housing allowance rort. Key on why he fired Richard Worth: “The test of whether someone enjoys my confidence is not a legal test and I have never argued that Dr Worth broke any legal test.’ […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 43 comments
On Wednesday last week, Labour released new information on Bill English’s housing allowance rort. Naturally, the media raised the issues with English. TVOne and TV3 ran stories that night. They weren’t particularly harsh stories. They didn’t really editorialise. They didn’t even say English should give the money back or resign. Later that night, in a fury […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:21 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 15 comments
National are up to their old tricks again – bullying the media to try and shut down critical comment. This time the culprit is Bill English, lashing out* at those who are covering the story of his ongoing hypocrisy and greed: Radio New Zealand’s political editor reports that Mr English rang journalists from TVNZ and […]
Written By: - Date published: 5:12 am, September 17th, 2009 - 29 comments
Pete Hodgson is continuing to chip away at English’s ministerial allowance story. English looks very uncomfortable as Brownlee and Key cover for him. To my mind, this is yesterday’s crucial exchange: Hon Pete Hodgson: If the Hon Bill English has no pecuniary interest in his ministerial residence, then how come the email I have here, dated […]
Written By: - Date published: 5:54 am, September 9th, 2009 - 13 comments
As I alluded to yesterday, the claims from John Key that he has slashed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the cost of ministerial housing are rubbish. The media did a pretty good job of exposing the lie (except TV3 who just had some junior reporter toeing Key’s line). Here’s how it works. Ministerial services […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, September 8th, 2009 - 48 comments
And by any other name it smells as bad. John Key has annouced a reform of the rules for ministerial accommodation allowance. A fixed, automatic allowance will now be paid to all out of Wellington ministers of $37,500 a year for their Wellington accomodation (or $30,000 if they own the house), slightly less than the highest spending ministers […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, August 19th, 2009 - 62 comments
There’s been an attempt to force Peter Goodfellow, the brand new President of the National Party, to step down. The move came from the party’s board, worried that negative news around Goodfellow would damage the party if he hangs around. However, it looks like John Key has decided to back Goodfellow and that’s put the […]
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