Over the past week the Government has gone from “there is no problem with the Overseas Investment Office” to announcing an urgent review and a staffing boost to make sure that approvals of foreign purchases of land are being properly processed.
After eight long years of National there are almost 40,000 more unemployed than when they came to power.
They say in politics that a news story is good for the opposition/bad for the Government if it hits the media cycle two days in a row. If it appears for a third or a fourth day then it is a crisis and urgent action is required. Louise Upston’s handling of the OIO is clearly a crisis.
National told us “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school.”
Radio New Zealand has reported that Compass, supplier of our substandard hospital food, appears to be taking steps to minimise the tax it pays locally.
The weekend saw the pressure stay on National over our tax haven status, and the role Key might have played in protecting it.
Duncan Garner reckons the government is “missing in action” on housing. Similar pieces could be written about poverty, pollution, the rising debt, carbon emissions, the use of NZ as a tax haven, etc.
Labour had a strong week this week with the disclosure of individuals behind a Mossack Fonseca related entity had criminal convictions for environmental damage forcing the OIO to review its original decision. Grant Robertson has correctly called for a full inquiry into the circumstances relating to the Government stopping a review of the Foreign Trust regime. And Phil Twyford has persuaded the OAG to rule that Housing New Zealand’s handling of parts of the housing sale process were sub standard.
Or waterways are starting to stink as much as our murky tax havens.
So Key’s lawyer reckons the PM directly requested that trust industry leaders lobby the Revenue Minister. On the other hand, PM DunnoKeyo reckons he did no such thing. That leaves some really big questions …
“Nick Smith reckons Akld housing’s more affordable now than before National came to power”
John Key is facing some problems describing how a Mossack Fonseca company ended up owning a New Zealand farm and how after his lawyer asked the Government not to change the rules surrounding foreign trusts the Government moved to make sure that no rule change would occur.
Add it to our record debt, our record pollution, our record housing unaffordability, our rising inequality, our terrible carbon emissions…
The Herald castigated the Government over its inaction over climate change in an editorial released this morning.
A straight 3.5% swap National to NZF looks to me like the impact of the flag fiasco.
The latest Roy Morgan poll results and National’s support has plunged.
I/S at No Right Turn on the renewables target and futility of targets without plans.
NZ under the Key government has hit new depths of ignominy as per capita the world’s biggest climate change cheat. And we plan to keep using the fraudulent “credits” we have purchased.
Little is doing his job. Dirty Politics Farrar is spinning like mad. The real questions are – who knew about the donations, when did they know, and were they involved in awarding the contract?
Oravida is in the news again. It is exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of fresh water and the cost to the authorities of $500 per year.
John Key, explaining why he had an account with tax avoidance specialists Antipodes Trust Group, said he used the firm because his long-term friend, Ken Whitney, is a principal at the firm and has been his private lawyer for many years. The flaw in that theory is that Whitney is not currently a lawyer.
Bryan Gould has some choice words on the latest Nat donations scandal.
Fair to say that Simon Bridges’ claim that there is no housing crisis has – not gone down well. National – you have a problem.
There is a clear conflict of interest in the Niue resort case.
Housing is very much in the news again. Short term profit and bugger the consequences!
Jane Bowron writes in the Dominion Post: “Two things happened this week that could signal the beginning of the end of John Key and his government.”
Murray McCully has assured New Zealand that there is no link between the granting of valuable rights to manage a luxury resort in Niue and the making of large donations to the National Party.
How’s Nick Smith doing on the Budget plan to round up 500ha of Auckland land for housing? The answer won’t shock you!
John Key’s relationship with Antipodes Trust Group Limited will need some explaining.
Maybe this is why John Key does not want to release his tax returns.
John Key’s solution to the exposure of his ludicrous claims that New Zealand has full disclosure on foreign trusts nor is tax haven, […]
Don Brash has been resuscitated and is complaining about privilege and preferential treatment. Not of rich old white people like himself but because Maori rights to Taonga may be recognised.
The Herald has reported that John Key helped with fundraising for the flag referendum by attending a private lunch with six wealthy donors.
One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not quite the same.
Can you guess which one is not like the other, can you tell me before I finish the game?
Okay. So rumoour has it that John was merely a co-writer.
One of the few things the Nats normally excel at, is selecting a suitably unqualified flunkey to ensure an office they have no […]
