More Nat infighting
Williamson lashes out at Bridges. The Nats would usually prefer to handle this sort of conflict behind behind closed doors.
maurice williamson
Coup Coup Ca Choo!
So why was Maurice dancing with ACT? Why was Borrows bullshitting about bikes? Does Judith Collins sleep with a copy of the Art of War under her pillow? I don’t know, but I think we should be told.
Is Maurice Williamson jumping ship?
Rumours are surfacing that Maurice Williamson wanted to jump ship to Act but was turned down.
“We may as well kiss democracy goodbye”
The words of the title of this post are those of the Ombudsman, reflecting on yet another typical Nat government scandal as broken by David Fisher in The Herald this morning.
NRT: An abuse of the OIA
So it turns out that Immigration released letters from David Cunliffe and Chris Carter in support of Donghua Liu. However, the Department of Internal Affairs refused to release the letters sent by Mr Williamson and Mr Banks under the privacy and commercial provisions in the Official Information Act. This looks like a blatantly political release decision to advance the interests of the government of the day. Transparency of official information applies to everyone, not just the government’s enemies.
The Herald is turning against the Government
The Herald, normally a bastion of support for National, has this weekend printed a number of stories openly critical of the National Government. As John Armstrong asks, have the wheels fallen off the Government’s reelection campaign?
Collins is out of control
Judith Collins’s startling attack on Katie Bradford on the weekend has created all sorts of problems for John Key. Relations with the Press Gallery must be at an all time low. Sacking her will cause all sorts of problems within National’s caucus, retaining her in Cabinet will risk further bad publicity. There is no upside.
Spin Slater Spin
Cameron Slater is spinning that an informal question of a police minister about staff leave entitlements by an opposition MP is the same as a Minister effectively requiring the review of a police prosecution of a National Party donor. There is a sense of desperation emanating from the right over the Oravida issue … Update – and John Key appears to be displeased that Collins has brought a TVOne reporter into the debate …
What Maurice Williamson’s shock tells us about domestic violence
In defending himself against allegations of misusing ministerial authority, Maurice Williamson said of the domestic violence charges against Donghua Liu: He had been […]
Media response to Labour’s Monetary Policy Upgrade
The response to Labour’s Monetary Policy upgrade has been overall very good and it has dominated the policy debate at the same time as a series of scandals start to circle around the National Party.
NRT: “No intention to interfere”
When the Prime Minister found out that Maurice Williamson had contacted police over their investigation of a National Party donor on domestic violence charges, Williamson “assured [him] that he did not in any way intend to influence the Police investigation”. That is bullshit. But it gets worse. The police gave the Minister exactly what he asked for.
Williamson’s head isn’t the only one that should be on a spike.
NRT: Two obvious questions
Maurice Williamson was sacked within the space of 2 hours this morning after the Herald revealed he had attempted to interfere in a police investigation on behalf of a party donor. Its exactly what should happen when a Minister behaves corruptly and pisses on our constitutional norms like this. At the same time, it raises an obvious question: why hasn’t Judith Collins suffered the same fate? Or is corrupt behaviour only punished when it involves older Ministers the PM would like to dispose of?
Williamson now. How corrupt is the National cabinet?
It never seems to end does it? A National Party Minister contacted a top ranking police officer after a wealthy businessman with close ties to him was arrested on domestic violence charges. The Prime Minister’s office is understood to be considering Maurice Williamson’s future as a Minister, following Herald inquiries into the phone call that he made and over his involvement with Donghua Liu’s criminal case.
Bunji: And he’s gone – resigned as a Minister
Williamson in trouble
Maurice William’s career is in the balance as news of an inappropriate approach to the police on behalf of a National Party donor emerges.
Scandals
Just a wee list to try and keep track of the current scandals our dear friends in the National party are dealing with.
Nat techhead needs 3D brain transplant
In my experience, left politicians are a interesting mix of being either pretty damn technophobic or having an inept over-enthusiasm for it. But I get the impression that they’ve done some study and thinking on most tech areas I raise with them. However it’d be pretty clear to everyone who has followed 3D printing over the last decade that Maurice Williamson, National’s version of a techhead, appears to be clueless.
Maurice Williamson: a fool speaking without numbers
Maurice Williamson has apparently been proclaiming that the lower than expected population growth in the census (mostly from people fleeing his government and emigrating) means that a revision of Auckland’s infrastructure plans was needed, such as an increase in high-rise apartments and the construction of an inner-city rail loop. Bullshit. Perhaps the idiot minister should look at *where* the growth has been going…
Big gay rainbow
Political vision?
Today’s NZ Herald editorial on Auckland’s up-coming mayoral election campaign, says Brown has vision, but Minto and Williamson lack it. What sort of vision should the left provide in the up-coming local authority elections around NZ, and in NZ’s parliamentary elections in 2014?
The NZ Herald – advancing Auckland backwards
To the Herald the Fourth Estate must be a greenfield development on the outer margins of Auckland: a Dickensian space, hiding the poor from the upper middle-classes. The Herald lacks critical balance & equal weighting for diverse views: it scaremongers about the Akl Unitary Plan & undermines public transport.
The 3D printer peril!
3D printers. Maurice Williamson thinks your family is at risk!
New ‘no darkies’ party to form
Paul ‘dickshit’ Henry, Maurice ‘no shi’ite’ Williamson, John ‘I wish South Aucklanders hadn’t voted’ Banks, Melissa ‘South Aucklanders are all crims’ Lee, Paul ‘cheekie darkie’ Holmes, and Michael ‘brown slug’ Laws have joined forces to create a new political party for ‘real New Zealanders’ standing up to ‘the Brown-skinned elite’.
Key’s racist government
John Key promised higher standards of government. Another lie. The list of rorts, incompetences, and abuses of power goes on and on. So, it’s hardly any surprise that Key doesn’t have a problem with Maurice Williamson’s racist comments. Make no mistake – it is Key’s decision that Williamson and the rest are ministers in our government
Willimson’s racist jokes OK by Key?
Days before accusing us of being racist for not wanting more of New Zealand’s land to fall under foreign control, Maurice Williamson was making racist jokes. Is it OK in John Key’s government for ministers to get pissed and tell racist jokes in public?
Youz iz racists. Nah, only jokez!
John Key says Maurice Williamson was just joking when he called us racists for not wanting to sell more of our country into foreign ownership.
Does he really expect us to believe that? Why compound an insult with a lie?
And since when would it be OK for Williamson to jokingly call us racists?
You’re All Racists – Minister
According to Maurice Williamson, we’re all racist. Our concern with foreign investment has nothing to do with the economy, we just hate the Chinese.
The return of the Schmuck
National is trying again to pass a law specifically to allow Opua businessman Doug Schmuck to annex public land. Thousands protest the Supercity, ACC cuts, ACE cuts, the abolition of Ecan, the gutting of the ETS, water privatisation, and wage freezes – the Nats just ignore them. Then one businessman can get two ministers to try to pass a law just for him. What is going on here?
Free Market Failure
It’s time for the National Party to issue an abject apology to the nation… for the 1992 Building Regulations that directly led to […]
English pulls a Lockwood
Oh dear. In the same week Lockwood Smith made his racist remarks and Maurice Williamson committed the gaffe of talking openly about National […]
Williamson on tolls for roads (again)
I see Maurice Williamson has again confirmed that we will be paying more for driving on some roads under National: Williamson: “If it […]
Williamson goes to ground
From RNZ’s Checkpoint I hear they’ve been after Maurice Williamson all day to clarify what he said on Agenda yesterday (as discussed below). […]