Peters has stood down. Clark has taken over his portfolios.
It’s good that Peters appears to have accepted that this is a necessity and hasn’t turned on the Government. Clever of Clark to take the portfolios herself too.
[we nearly had the scoop on this too but it took too long for me to get an internet connection, damn Herald got in ten minutes earlier]
Everyone except The Herald is reporting “stands aside”.
The Herald was way after Stuff, and Stuff was way after Radio NZ broadcast it.
“[we nearly had the scoop on this too but it took too long for me to get an internet connection, damn Herald got in ten minutes earlier]”
Makes sense, you have a direct feed from the 9th floor.
[lprent: You know that I'm a bit picky on that subject. I'll just adjust your name a bit. Aren't you lucky - I didn't adjust all of your comments. Fortunately it took too long to fire up Navicat.]
This is good news. Both HC and WP must have handled the meeting well. Now I’ll be very interested to hear what the Serious Fraud Office come up with.
r0b
Your comment seems to think that the SFO have an up hill case to prove. Really, what else could both (HC and WP) of them do?
sweetd the idiot dickhead, my comment meant no such thing. I think Winston has blown it this time, and I’ll be very interested to hear what the Serious Fraud Office come up with. But it is always possible that Winston is correct, and there is nothing nefarious to find, and we should keep that possibility in mind.
With Winston it’s always advisable to keep every possibility in mind.
What chance ,really, do you think there is nothing to find? It is too late for WP, and to some degree by association HC, the mood of the people has already shifted and WP is bad goods. Key outplayed Clark (dropping WP) on wednesday and it is all catch up from Clark’s point of view now.
If, and its a big if, WP is innocent of all charges, what worries me is that under MMP you only have to pander to 5% of the electorate and you stand a high chance of becoming a king maker.
sweetd the idiot dickhead:
Unless you have some special knowledge of the case then you don’t know anything more than what we’ve all heard so you can’t be sure of anyone’s guilt or otherwise.
What do you righties have against due process?
SP thank you for putting up this post. It would have been great to see you guys have the scoop on this. Roll on faster broadband!
I don’t think you’ve covered yourself in glory on this issue SP. I don’t like to rub things in, but this morning I wrote:
“Your responses so far have been: 1. National is lying. 2. There isn’t any evidence. 3. There is now evidence, but Winston hasn’t done anything illegal or immoral. 4. Winston has done a few immoral things, but look at how immoral the other guys are. 5. Winston deserves a fair trial, and everybody is colluding to stop him having a fair trial because they are immoral and corrupt. 6. This isn’t a major issue.</i.
I don’t like to put words in people’s mouths SP, but if you stay to form your post after the PM makes her decision today will be: 7. The PM made the right decision in the circumstances.
It turns out I was right. I am also disturbed by reports that Labour Party sources are currently going around smearing Owen Glenn. I would be surprised if these rumours turn out to be true, but if they are I would be really disgusted at the cynical way they’re behaving. Dail Jones really jumped the proverbial sycophantic shark this week when he insinuated that Owen Glenn’s evidence to the Privileges Committee was a forgery; I do hope the Labour Party don’t use such disgusting, disloyal tactics towards somebody they were so happy to take money from, celebrate with a new year’s gong, and celebrate with a business school.
Julian Robins on National Radio praised Key on his “brave and principled stand” re Peters. Sorry Julian it was neither brave nor principled, as per usual Mr Key is just playing the polls and hoping like Hell that some of this stuff sticks to Peters.
This is good news and I’m going to be very interested in what the SFO comes up with as well.
Felix
“What do you righties have against due process?”
So, why isn’t Tito Philip Field still a Labour MP? He hasn’t been found guilty of any crimes? According to HC he was only guilty of helping his fellow constitutents.
sweetd the ignorant dickhead:
That’s got nothing to do with what I said.
You guys need to wipe the froth from your lips and let justice take it’s course.
Iprent.
Tito Philip Field has not been found guilty of anything.
The only reason he was dumped from the Labour Party was when he dared to suggest he would stand as an independent against the Labour Party.
So, Iprent, why am I ignorart?
[lprent: Because you listen to Whale - who is technically incompetent. You suggested that Steve works on the 9th floor without any evidence (and he doesn't). I consider that to be both idiotic and ignorant, and it offends me. So I'm making my opinion public. Read the About and consider why you don't offend a sysop. Besides it is more fun than banning on a friday. ]
Felix, that’s a good question. The issue for me has always been not whether Winston Peters was guilty or innocent. The issue has been the credibility of his answers in public. Since the story broke he has been evasive with the media, and gone on the attack. He has done everything to create further problems for himself. The Prime Minister has known for six months that there was a “conflict of evidence”, despite saying the whole time that she had confidence in Winston Peters unless there was “evidence to the contrary”.
I am not making judgements about his guilt, but his credibility has been torn apart through his own behaviour. It simply isn’t credible to go about claiming that the media forged evidence, as he claimed. It simply isn’t credible to go about railing that the press gallery is full of liars, as he has. It simply isn’t credible to hold a ministerial warrant while claiming that the Serious Fraud Office is conspiring to do you in. The performance in the Privileges Committee shows that he was more determined to make a mockery of Parliament than answer direct questions.
Helen Clark has known about all this for a very long time. She will no doubt face the political consequences for that decision, because I think that dents her credibility as well.
The issue isn’t whether Winston Peters took bribes, fraudulently put money towards purposes it wasn’t intended, or broke the law to fail to declare donations that he was legally required to do. Due processes, in the form of the SFO and the Privileges Committee, will determine that.
The political issue is that throughout all this, Winston Peters has behaved in a way that did not just fail to enhance his integrity as a government minister; every time he played games over the issue, he damaged the integrity of his ministry, his coalition government, and Parliament as a whole. Helen Clark let that go on for far too long. He should have been stepped aside long ago.
Well, when is Clark stepping down? Clearly she has lost the plot big time. Mr Glen deserves another gong. When can I sing ding dong the wicked witch is dead? Is Trevor in the dock or Fatty Field?? How’s Dover and Panty Boy??
Julian Robins on National Radio praised Key on his “brave and principled stand” re Peters.
I don’t think anyone could accuse Robins of a pro Nat bias (or a pro Labour one), and I actually think there is a germ of truth there. For better or for worse this is pretty much the only occasion on which I remember Key showing any kind of spine on anything. (Hmm - maybe supporting the repeal of S59 was another example).
I don’t think it was “brave and principled”, but I do think it was “risky” (after all, Peters may be back), and that’s unusual for Key. Much more his style to sell out his principles for the path of least resistance.
Would the chief justice principal smack some principles into Miss Clark?
Tim I agree, it’s about credibility (which is a perception).
In my eyes, Peters has always had very little and this affair does nothing to alter that perception. To his supporters this affair will probably boost his credibility a bit, especially if he plays it as “sticking it to the man” which is his favourite defensive position.
Of course if he is found guilty of serious wrongdoing he’ll be abandoned by all but his hard core supporters and probably won’t recover politically.
As for Helen Clark, I doubt very much that anything can be made to stick to her in any meaningful way except in the perceptions of those who don’t consider her credible already.
For six months Miss Clark has turned a blind eye too Winny the poohs blatant corruption.
My tummy tightens said Lickspittle Campbell tug muscle.I expect Labour to poll 15% come election time.
dad your lyrics are getting better all the time.
Sorry Felix I can’t sing for shit, but I do wonder what the voter thinks about Helen’s secret about Winston’s corruption. What party has the secret agenda Heather Simpson? Is it not in the public interest to have a Prime Minister that is truthful and does not withhold information. After all our taxes pay for the deceptive parasites.
This regime will make history for ALL the wrong reasons.
Winston is not the victim here but the very basis of our law itself and that is due process. Keys and Wodney and the rest of his claques have shown just how much they care for the sanctity of the law. Their effort is the same one used by schoolyard bullies and persons addicted to short term gratification. Shame on the nats and their fascist criminal tendencies. Labour will be reelected just to make sure that this way of carrying out the law does not become a permanent feature of life in New Zealand.
What is going to be interesting with this whole topic is what happens if the SFO and PC finds nothing conclusive - which is what I’m half-inclined to believe is what is likely to happen.
While Peters has been a long way away from practicing the law - the other two people involved haven’t. Lawyers have a tendency to think through the downside of everything, and the old Electoral Act of 1993 has holes in it you could push a bus through.
If I was Peters and the scenario above is the case - then I’d be pushing both the PC and the SFO to work as fast as possible (but to drag things out for a few weeks). Great publicity if the allegations are unprovable or were quite legal. Winston’s practice is to go into elections being the underdog. He only needs 5%…….
I was so hoping that NZF would disappear this election from terminal respectability.
Felix: d4j has being waxing quite lyrical recently (as has randal).
Staying off-topic. I just realised that I could have used Search and Replace on sweeetd.. Oh well..
The SFO is a side show - regardless of what the find on WP, the Owen Glenn issue is completely separate and it is on this issue where he repeatedly lied to parliament, the NZ public and to the PM (although who knows if he did indeed lie to the PM perhaps they have been complicit in this fiasco since Glenn gave her the information on WPin February.
Interesting he’s instructed Peter Williams to run diversion for himself and the Prime Minister and to attempt to smear Key and the Nat’s.
Lawyers are showing their true colours, follow the money honey.Show me an honest lawyer and I’ll eat me hat.
d4j
I think your hat is safe barring a very thorough search of NZ.
lprent..if you think this is a game then I advise you to change your occupation and re-think your commitment and obligation to the labour party and the proletariat.
Good comment Lynnp
I just saw Key on TV and he looked very nervous.
This (Winston attack) is a whole of the business bet by him. It obliterated the terrible week they were having, and attached Helen in one of her strengths, honesty. But it took out completely a potential ally and pissed off a portion of the population.
Helen has done something no one else has done, persuaded Winston to stand down. Bolger and Shipley failed to do this. Helen’s handling is masterful.
The real danger for national is if the SFO comes back and says that there is nothing to investigate. I suspect that this will be the finding. The only conspiracy that I can work out is that Helen conspired to aid and abet Winston to receive a donation from Glenn to pay costs to a national MP. Paradoxically Glenn’s money ended up in Clarkson’s pocket … Winston’s shenanigans with the signs do not help but I do not see that he has done anything illegal.
If Winston is exonerated then Key will be in trouble. His standing down has shown Helen to be in control. Exoneration by the SFO and the Privileges Committee will make him smell like roses. National’s tantrum before the committee had actually considered and ruled on the complaint makes them look cheap.
The winners will also be the EFA and the movement for state funding. How can national oppose it now?
Oh my, randal is giving Lynn a broadside, oh what fun this will be to watch. Can I be the ref with a hat on please vicious randal?
I’m sure Michael Savage would be delighted that the current Labour party both protects and relies on the likes of WP to maintain power.
I’m afraid that it has been a long week with too little sleep because of the campaigning I do for the NZLP on the data analysis side. Fitting this in with the 9-5 leaves too few hours for fun.
I’m pretty sure that I do not do it for the proletariat. More for making sure that my younger relatives don’t have to put up with kinds of lousy policy decisions from the Nat’s that I have.
Basically I do this blogging for fun. It has to be the cheapest entertainment around…
BTW: Has anyone else noticed that the stats department has released the census data down to meshblock level. Bloody great big database that I’ve been digging into for a while now. There are also the boundary maps as shp files - I’m having fun with those in the few spare minutes that I have available.
As Sweetd says Taito Philip Field has not been found guilty, yet he (and a pile of other Labour ministers before him) were never extended the favours from Clark that Winston has received. The double standards here are as credible as Winston. This will hurt Clark and you know it. Key has made the right call. For once.
“I’m pretty sure that I do not do it for the proletariat. More for making sure that my younger relatives don’t have to put up with kinds of lousy policy decisions from the Nat’s that I have.”
Would that be the failed policies of the 90s which Labour attack but have refused to reverse after 9 years in government?
Or would it be National NOT sending out fake eviction notices to state house tenants at the last election?
Mickeysavage
What time frame has the SFO given? It could easily stretch beyond the election.
Iprent, yeah search and replace me. Its a fine line between editoral content and censorship.
As far as I know Whale had a convincing arguement that hasn’t been rebutted yet. As this is your blog, I stand (and wait) to be corrected of my errors,
SweetD
Dean: Those daft policies of the 1960’s to the early 1980’s that caused all of the later problems. That was a hell of lot of wasted opportunities. We’re still climbing up to the point that we can afford to pay for what needs to be done. Of course if the Nat’s get back in, we can rely on them to fritter away the recent gains.
How young do you think I am?
My reading of Key on this one is that he dropped Peters on the advice of his Hollow Men advisors. He gave himself some wriggle room, and my reading of his interview tonight is that he is uncomfortable with the position he finds himself in. He would have preferred a more populist middle road with a dollar each way to the outcome. he also knows the Nats are vulnerable on questions of hidden money from interest groups.
The line between a brave man and a foolish one is often very small.
Some commentators have berated Peters for not being straight with the media, as if somehow that justifies the pack mentality that has ensued. When has the media been straight with Peters? It would be different if the Media were, without fail, objective, unbiased and fair. Many times Peters has enjoyed being the whipping boy to play the persecuted one to drum up his 5.1%. However, that is not carte blanche for the media to get even.
Sweeetd. It wasn’t a convincing argument - it was a few facts and a lot of speculation. To rebut it would require the anonymity of the posters would have to be violated. That wasn’t an option because of the reasons in our About.
Let me just say that the bloated one is a liar about in the conclusions he reached and is full of shit.
Ask rOb - according to the idiot, he is Rob Salmond - something that has been publicly refuted by both people. I know he isn’t because I know rOb. But it cannot be refuted because of the Privacy Policy.
Essentially Whale is relying on our following our stated policy to make sure he wasn’t shown up to be the complete blowhard that I know him to be.
Dan
“he also knows the Nats are vulnerable on questions of hidden money from interest groups.”
Clark and Wisnton have completely removed that vulnerability.
Hollow Women.
r0b and rob and my head hurts. Cheers Winston. Go the lawyers.
Clark’s credibility hits rock bottom (sorry no pun intended Judith) She sang, I did it my way while being taken away to the funny farm.
I would be surprised if the Serious Fraud Office finds anything! In fact Peter Williams on Campbell tonight stated that he had viewed the relevant accounts of the Spencer Trust and was completely satisfied that all was above board. Its not unknown for W P to give his detractors enough rope to hang themselves, and I suspect that that may well be what he has done again. Furthermore, those who believe that this latest round of fuss making by Rodney and John will count against W P may well find that the very people that they hope to turn against him will be backing him even more strongly than before!
The thing though that amazes me most is the utter HYPOCRISY of those who have lead the charge against these so called secret donations and their being undeclared!
I would be asking J K about the use of the private Helicopter by National in the last election, the Waitemata Trust Fund, etc etc… Heavens! N Hagar has written a whole book on it and its never been denied. How about removing the planks from their own eyes, before they try removing the splinter from others.
The best part of this whole soap opera has been the entertaining spectacle of Key acting “um, decisive”, trying to remember his script but just not able to get in character.
It’s Rambo, played by Noddy.
Bugger me
This excuse of a corrupt inept embarrassment of a pva glued held togethor government deserves to burn in the pyre of unfulfilled ambitions and undelivered promises.
tell that to the families getting wff. Helen Clark will go down in history as one of New Zealands greatest prime ministers and the achievements of her government will live on long after she has gone.
A great week for National - John Key has looked to be the one in Control. Winston polling around 2% will not be able to recover to 5% at the election for two reasons - firstly his credibility is completely shot, and secondly because the only money he now has left in the bank is that which he did not pay to charities (thats right - It is no longer credible to belive the liar did pay all $158,000 to charities when he had nothing in the banks and secret trust accounts to fund his election campaign. No business wll now touch him. He has lied too many times.
But the good news this week is Clark’s protection of Winnie. She has aided and abetted (and gambled that the public would not find out) about his corruption.
I see the best result for National come 18 October 2008. (Clark will be forced to call an election on Wednesday after the ETS Bill has failed at the last hurdle.
Iprent, TPP was removed from the LP becase he dared to becoeme an independent, not for any other reaon.
Oh. Deah I better be clear. Helen Clark is Awesome, She is a cool, caring a courageous lady. I am fairly clear on that. So what does this mean. I am sad that such a great cool person is in a left wing party, why can’t we have some talent like hers.
Helen has consistantley been polite professional and answered questions. John key has nothing on her.
National have often belittled and given personal attacks to her which have made me very upset
It has made me want to know more about the labour party beliefs.
Can Labour please answer:>>>
What does it take to grow an economy?
What is wrong with Free enterprise.?
“It’s Rambo, played by Noddy.”
It’s Wonderwomens’, played by Helen and Heather, filmed in Helengrad.
Sorry Monty
I was worried about the ETS bill. I think it is the most important piece of legislation this government has to pass. Climate change is not waiting and if we do not start to do something now it will be too late. Today’s events confirm that it will be passed. If you want a bet let me know …
Winnie has not been corrupt. He has been beligerent and stupid but what has changed?
Helen has not protected him. She asked the right questions. Why someone in charge of a $45b spend should ascertain what happened to a private $100k donation to another party is way beyond me. Don’t you think she should be more worried about our economy?
Election day will be November 1. LP and P and Green will be slightly ahead of N and ACT and NZF will not be there. Game over. Long live democracy and NZ will be better for it.
Level 9 Standard has gone to moderation mode Sir.
Over and out Batman.
[lprent: you've joined the guessing game about the spelling mistakes and strange words that I pushed into the moderation queue.. ]
Mickysavage. Wow!
“Why someone in charge of a $45b spend should ascertain what happened to a private $100k donation to another party is way beyond me. Don’t you think she should be more worried about our economy?”
Good, so Clark won’t be interested in a group of Exclusive Brethren businessmen spending private money either.
Glad we cleared that up. Move on.
Spin is fine and even if anyone actually believed SP was writing all the stuff that comes out under his sig, it would still be fine. But delusional rants are not spin.
Gee, why won’t Helen call an election now and let her ‘court of public opinion’ decide?
Because the head like a foot minger wants to keep going as long as possible to try and wipe Peters’ shit off her. And you sad substandard fucks support her stance.
Your venal partisanship won’t get you any favours, you know. Clark is going to take the whole ship down with her.
What an unusual name you have. I must step down.
Edit - down goes the ship of fools Sir.
Concerned of Tawa
The EFA is about the money that parties spend. It will also increase transparency because parties will have declare election year donations. Glad to see the right wing agree that it is important.
If you agree that there should be no limits then we should give up now and let the multinationals take over. If you want a democracy then we should have electoral spend limits. if you want the richest to take over then oppose limits.
PMLAFB
I had a great deal of difficulty understanding your post. Are you on some sort of medication?
Mickeysavage.
Which part of Clark keeping silent for 6 months on Winstons (and Labours biggest donor) and the murkey donation trail increases transparency?
I thought the EF would stop the undue influence of big bad foreign money trying to buy policy or Honorary Consul positions with cold hard secret cash.
Apparently not.
Hollow.
On the assumption that the SFO finds Sweet FA, (I postulated a while back that WP was letting things run because, well like a wind-up, the longer it runs, the sweeter the end result.) John Key will either
a)successfully widen the focus and watch some mud stick to Labour
or
b) having been unsuccessful in regards to a) realise that it was about now when he became a pretty rotten fish hooked on a slowly reeled WP line. One that no-one was willing to swallow.
Winston’s only danger, going on the assumption above, is that his sense of timing was out and he let things run a little too long. But then, I guess most people would be quite happy to get two for the price of one as it were. No?
Macro: WP lied to the public and got caught out. National didn’t. HC supported peters. Spot the difference.
Peters will survive this.
Sweetd has a point. Yesterday SP categorically said Peters would lose his portfolios as a result of the SFO investigation. Does SP have the power of divination? It would be better for everyone if such speculation was answered clearly in an upfront manner.
infused.
didn’t you listen to any of the tape from the Nat conference? National honest Joe…john, whatever. Uh-huh.
sitting in a dispassionate space here, I can’t see where HC supported Peters.
Maybe read my comment above.
Sling the mud then and widen the focus. You think it will work?
A truthful answer please.
lprent said…
…I do for the NZLP on the data analysis side.
BTW: Has anyone else noticed that the stats department has released the census data down to meshblock level. Bloody great big database that I’ve been digging into for a while now.
I haven’t looked at that myself, but if you’re looking for state-of-the-art data-analysis open source software that may help you do that task, then look no further than the most popular open source data-mining/machine learning project on the planet from University of Waikato called WEKA. It is geared towards inductive inferences/knowledge discovery/pattern recognition rather than deductive inferences in traditional statistical analysis (although data-mining/machine learning do overlap with statistics to some extent).
How big is that Stats Dept database? That is how many rows (records) & columns (variables) in there? Is it in the millions? I haven’t done any data analysis on a big dataset as that. The largest dataset that I have developed an engine for online live analysis on, was around 150,000 records by 82 variables, and it takes about 7 minutes to run (and that’s excluding the pre-processing stage such as data-cleansing, imputation, normalization, etc…).
If you have any further questions about any techniques/algorithms (such as what to use for a certain analysis), then you’re welcome to drop me an email.
I am prepared to bet anyone $1,000 that Winston will not be returned to parliament after the elction. The stench of corruption, lies and trying to be too smart will take him down. Hell he was only returned in 1999 because of 64 stupid people in Tauranga that gave hime an extra lease of life - and that was about an $89 pair of undies belonging to Tuku. This time he will not be returned byt he people of Tauranga who have woken up to his bullshit. Neither will there be enough people in the resthomes to give him the 5% he desperately needs. Hell over their bingo and bridge and over the next seven weeks they will all be talking about what a nice Prime Ministerthat John Key will make. Anf the few Maori that once supported Winnie now have the Maori Party. Winston will get 3% on election night.
Winston is gone for all money. He deserves to go. The next one to watch with interesat will be Clark - why did she protect Winnie for the past six months except to hang desperately onto power - Shame on her and her corrupt practice of protecting that parasite of NZ politics.
Um, so Helen’s the Minister for Racing?
Surely she could have given that one (a minor portfolio that could be [was] held outside Cabinet) to Sue Bradford or Russel Norman. After all, Bradford and Norman did all the work in Parliament exposing the Vela donations to NZF (or whatever entity that eventually [mis?]appropriated them) - and Bradford was hot on the trail of the racing stakes deals from pub pokie trusts and Parliamentary appropriations for racing stakes well before that.
If Labour wanted to really bring the Greens onside before the election, now that Winston First is the proverbial packet of dog biscuits, that’s what they should have done.
The rush to judgment is becoming frenetic. I note that the left blogs are getting carried along in the wash.
Another old battler, David Williams QC, spoke up for Winston on TV1 tonight. “Peters has nothing to answer to the SFO”.
I would bet on the battlers to go the distance against the crybabies Key and Hide. I would say Key and Hide will both lose theirs.
This is a showdown between the old fading white middle class cast adrift by Rogernomics, and the casino wide boys who think they own us. The populists have got a sting in their tail because its survival for them and not just bonuses.
You write Peters off at your peril righties. He did you twice in the 90s and the 00s. Peters may have to mortgage his trust account and Williams his yacht but don’t write him off yet.
FF: All up it is about 4.8 million rows across a number of 3rd normal form tables. It is in bloody access - took while to transfer into something useful.
“Um, so Helen’s the Minister for Racing?”
Oh Toady , $5 each way the greens sit on the fence on the Winny saga. Helen Rules should win Race 7,Bad Bradford has the blinkers on again in Race 8 and the bloody lawyers win the jackpot.
Can Labour please answer
Hi Anthony. Labour don’t run this blog, but there are a few Labour Party members about. I’m one.
What does it take to grow an economy?
Talented educated people. Investment. Time, luck. Enough regulation but not too much. Labour’s record on growing the economy is good, better than National’s, and better than several other countries over the last 9 years.
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2162
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2657
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1832
What is wrong with Free enterprise.?
Nothing. Why would you think it was?
betta watchout d4j….you might not beat the ambulance….hahahahaha
lprent,
Cool eh!
I’ve always used the street address to meshblock mapping not the boundary maps - how easy are they to plot?
I do find the rounding-for-privacy rules make the data look lumpy tho.
Just thought it might be worth pointing out that a “scoop” usually refers to an exclusive - not a story that almost every journo in the country has literally been chasing all day.
Being the first to hit “post” does not a scoop make.
cheers
I think she’ll get away with it… teflon skin and all that. Sure, the people who wouldn’t vote for her anyway will be pissed off, she’ll lose a handle of swing voters, but labour have lost most of them already. The 35% they are polling at are diehard labour and it’ll take a lot more than this for them to change their minds.
Plan G, Version 5.2
Winston steps down, election is called before Owen Glenn testifies quashing the privileges committee hearing. The question of misleading the house is dead and the only problems that might remain are legal and if they surface they will be after the election. These are Winston’s problems and as far as accountability to the rules of parliament go Helen Clark and Trevor Mallard also walk free.
It’s actually not a bad exit strategy from such a tight corner. So much damage could have been avoided had decision priorities been different.
(Ritalin, burt, dangerously close to overload there. You’ve been doing so well darling, don’t spoil it all by reverting to that pathetic early election call you’ve been spouting for three years - not long to go now baby, just relax and hang in there, soon be over)
Sweetd. I was wondering if you were offering to join the Labour Party by your 8.16pm comment
Silly Jon, Why would Sweetd want to join a Party that has a track record of inappropriate behaviour by Minsters of the Crown? Nobody likes liars and cheats. It’s so obvious the Labour Party is run by a despicable untruthful corrupt women who is a power tripper, which has severely clouded her judgment.
She will destroy the Labour Party as we know it. Bad luck girls and eunuchs.
ak
Want to put a beer on it that the election is called before next Thursday and there is no final determination from the privileges committee ?
Or like most of NZ would you think that was a diabolical use of parliamentary process to opportunistically shut down the process of maintaining the integrity of parliament?
It would be like shutting down a court case wouldn’t it - no govt that believed in the principles of democracy and integrity would do that would they, so I might loose my beer but I’m willing to take that risk.
It’s a series of cynical moves, by Helen and Winston indeed. The question is, will the people swallow it?
I wonder how Winston feels now that Helen has him by the baubles? Or is it the other way round?
It may depend on how much Helen and Mike Williams knew about the Owen Glenn/Winston issue before the actual payment of the money, to Winston mightn’t it?
It has already taken since February for Helen to fess up about the Owen Glenn donation ‘Because nobody asked me’.
Would it be worth asking her in the House if she, Williams and Simpson knew that Owen Glenn was going to back Winston BEFORE February, because they were complicit in the coalition arrangement, and the ‘carrot’ of a consulship for Glenn?
Does she really imagine Owen Glenn is finished on this matter? Or is the only course left now to smear Glenn and attempt to completely discredit him?
I await with interest.
gee you’re right burt, the privileges committee should totally timetable its actions according to your perceived political expediencies. if it didn’t it’d be ‘corrupt’, right?
what i wonder is how Simon Power could possibly act independently as its Chair when his party leader has already decided the verdict for him.
oh and apropo your previous response about how Owen Glenn couldn’t possibly have been acting to set Peters up, i guess you’re right. you must have misread me. i’m sure he was only meaning to help Peters out with that letter to Power. Glenn, Jones and Simunovich have clearly only ever tried to clarify things in the best interests of democracy, right Burty?
still, you’ve got to admire the bravery of Key and Hide to be picking a fight with someone with as comprehensive a closet full of other people’s skeletons as Peters.
good for them. i look forward to the impending consequences of such bravery.
Privileges Committee, Serious Fraud Office and a drooling Lickspittle media all tied up in more political corruption within the Clark regime.
When will we have a government that can focus solely on the welfare of its constituents and running the country along the lines of integrity and honesty? Clark should be in a prison cell.
Got to love your wacky conspiracy theory Burt! Guess what - the SFO was due to be disbanded. Clark has delayed that process so that the SFO can complete it’s enquiry into Peters. If she wanted to shut it down, or cover up for Peters, she didn’t need to deliberately act to allow the SFO enquiry to go ahead…
r0b now you’re just obscuring Burty’s brilliant theory with like… facts and stuff
r0b of course the SFO is due to be disbanded, just like access to the Privy Council .The Labour Party fear Natural justice and the police are just slimy lap poodles for Aunty Helen.
WEll r0b if you want ‘wacky conspiracy’ look at my ‘monkeyswith typewriters’ post ‘The Ego Has Floundered’ You’ll love it.
http://monkeyswithtypewriter.blogspot.com/2008/08/ego-has-floundered.html
No thank you monkey, burt’s little brain has me laughing so hard I probably won’t be able to read for a couple of days.
Dad - the functions of the SFO are to be absorbed by some new organisation, I forget the exact details.
Sorry - love to stay and play, but I have an appointment with a big trailer and a recycling centre…
Oh yes r0b, the “new organisation”, silly me, undoubtedly headed by the new Minister of All Justice Ms King? I have a bad taste in my mouth as the judiciary is tainted by Labour. Ouch that hurt but justice is my game MADam speaker.
Edit - must go and hang the washing out because I got shit loads as its been raining for a fucken month.
r0b,
The Serious Fraud Taskforce within the new Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand, a department of the New Zealand Police - taken from the call for public submissions on the Serious Fraud Office (Abolition and Transitional Provisions) Bill.
Clearly an attempt to give it to an insignificant agency with no competence or history in law enforcement or investigation, with no public consultation
Agreed Anita, dangerous stuff and I do wonder when they find a Chairperson (no sexist comment Chairman) for the innocence project and when the Minister of courts is going to reply to questions raised by the United Nations regarding malicious gender bias in the De Femily Kangaroo Court?
edit - TAB paying evens that the hot shot cocksucker lawyer cons the keystone cops again.
If you thought having WP around was a bad idea, then consider this.
http://www.palinforvp.com/3.html
Poor bastards.
Ill Bill, What a great Iron lady who like me, HATES CORRUPTION in GOVERNMENT!!!!
I’m just waiting for the bikini shots campaign. Issues? What issues?
Nice woman. Looks good in a bikini, has a nice smile and…
“The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state’s Republican Governor has demanded.
Sarah Palin is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice - the main habitat of polar bears - are unreliable.”
(May 23, Times Online)
captcha paying 1917 !!!
Bloody Bolsheviks put us back about 100 years
SweetD:
“Your comment seems to think that the SFO have an up hill case to prove.”
A comment can’t think, you illiterate numskull. Really, just stop embarrassing yourself, it’s too painful to watch.
“Privileges Committee, Serious Fraud Office and a drooling Lickspittle media all tied up in more political corruption within the Clark regime.”
lol D4J - just for you …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwXPueu-RM