BREAKING: Of course Mike Sabin had to resign – Northland by-election on

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Mike-Sabin
Of course Mike Sabin had to resign.

The allegations are serious and now the attempt at containment by National to dodge what they knew when they knew and how they knew begins.

A by-election will be held in Northland – this is the Oppositions first chance at a response to National, will they work together or across purposes?

What’s Hone doing? Is Shane Jones going to do a U-turn?

57 COMMENTS

  1. First, we will see a further demonstration of John Key’s ability to dodge the (occasional) hard question and pretend that it is just business as usual. The MSM head offices will already have been told to keep their reporters at bay so to minimise the embarrassment. They will be told to go to the Russel Norman story instead. It will be covered cursorily by the MSM as if it is no big deal and it will be interesting to see whether anyone outside the left-wing blogs has got the guts to do any proper investigative reporting. I doubt it, but I live in hope.

    • 1000% to Martyn & Mike the Leftie, couldn’t have said better myself if able.

      Key has collared the whole media with hand-outs, bribes, and threats, or whatever he can gerrymander.

      This is going down as the most corrupt time in our entire NZ political history have no doubt that history will always come out with the real facts and story, so to all you MSM “hushpuppies” that are to gutless to blow the whistle we will have history judge you a fine day also.

    • You seem to be quite right about the instructions to editors. At the Northern Advocate I just saw a first: deletion of all 5 already-published comments that appeared on their Sabin article (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11394349), and no more ability to post comments.

      The article appeared at 6am today, and before 8am I submitted what turned out to be the first comment of 5. It appeared online by about 10am, with 5 thumbs-ups. The other 4 comments were all anti-Sabin and pro-Labour except for a professed National stalwart who threatened to vote Labour if National doesn’t do better for Northland and stop taking them for granted.

      This afternoon, all were gone.

      FWIW, here’s my comment:

      ***********************
      Why on Earth did Mike Sabin need to resign? And so expensively! Couldn’t Parliament have just passed a “Mike Sabin Validation Bill” saying that whatever he might have done “is legal and has always been legal”?

      This worked for the Kaipara Council’s troubles when Mike submitted a bill to exonerate them, destroy their victims’ in-progress lawsuit and let all the perps walk away with literally tens of millions of ratepayer dollars unaccounted for.

      Surely Mike Sabin’s efforts on behalf of this democracy have earned him at least equal consideration. After all, the Prime Minister himself is quoted as saying “He made a very significant contribution to our caucus. He’s a loss in terms of the contribution I’ve seen him make as a politician.”

      Or maybe that last sentence from Mr Key could be read differently.
      *****************

      I imagine that someone at the northern Advocate received a rather harsh reminder about how s/he was supposed to prevent any commentary or other enhancement of the attention the Sabin scandal should be receiving. One erased commenter called it “Key’s Watergate” and referred to (roughly) ‘Key’s good friend Cam, who feels the charges will involve at least repeated domestic violence, too horrible for words’. And I did find that reference at whaleoil.

  2. I’m hoping the campaigning is defined by the surreptitious continuation of asset sales viz dishonest divestment of State housing.
    Knowing MSM will do its utmost to prevent that.

  3. The inveterate liar we have for a Prime Minister will not even answer questions regarding Sabin. Hopefully, some more squirming to come. Personally, I ‘m waiting for milk solids to drop below $2.00 and the knock on effect from a Chinese economic hard-landing (I pray) leading to NZ stagnation. Only then will the people – most of whom do not understand economic cycles – turn their backs on this appalling government. Labour have too many neoliberal old guards and have no intellectual purpose anymore. Mana will return like a phoenix. Go Syriza! Go Podemos! Go SNP! Go Mana!

  4. Looks like this Friday afternoon news dump contains some interesting developments. A by-election in Northland, an MP resigning for ‘personal reasons’, this of course following the announcement of Ian Fletcher’s resignation for ‘family reasons’.

    Seems to me there are a lot of personal family reasons for the National Party and their appointees to be leaving office of late. If only there were an investigative journalist worth the name who could reveal the details which they are trying to sweep under the rug.

    • FREEMANZsaid;

      “If only there were an investigative journalist worth the name who could reveal the details which they are trying to sweep under the rug”.

      Where is our hero now of “Dirty Politics” Nicky Hagar?

      He is right for the job, or has Key muzzled Nicky as well?

      • Agree with you Cleengreen.

        Hager, Rawshark! Where are they? Nothing heard, nor seen of them for far too long!

        Has Hager been put under house arrest, to silence him?

  5. Well, well. And here was me sure that this issue would be swept under the carpet and nothing more said about it. I was wrong.

    Is Sabin’s resignation an admittance of guilt? Could be.

    There will be questions which need answering. Sabin might be gone from Parliament, but the allegation is still out there!

    Key, the police minister and the police will have to clarify the matter. Getting Sabin out of the picture does not mean there is not a case to answer.

    With the allegation still standing, there will be much more to come. Crosby Textor will be going into overdrive to protect Key and his sordid govt from any embarrassment!

    Watch this space!

  6. “Hopefully, some more squirming to come”.. Not in this lifetime, and not with this “fourth estate”…. If they had the slightest intention to do more than pretend to be concerned, Numnums would already have had the “Clarke” treatment….. Considering that only two days before he resigns, Numnums was expressing his “comfort” with Sabin heading the law and order select comittee inquiry into ploice performance over the last year, and endorsing him as a “fully functioning member of caucus” …

    What “fully functioning” is supposed to mean, I don’t know.. That his positronic brain circuits are yet to degenerate like Anne tolleys have?

    The reality is that numnums knew what was coming, and so did the members of the parliamentary press gallery…. We’ve been subjected to yet another sham where they pretend to report the facts, and numnums plays at being a real prime minister…

  7. 2.45 pm and STILL no mention on Stuff of this. But losing Norman is a BIG BLOW for the Greens…..

    Typical.

  8. Maybe Hone Harawiri will put himself up for Mana in Sabins seat. Would love to see Hone come back ,cant think of anyone in Labour who would be suitable.

    • Andrew Little says with only 16% of vote at last election Labour has no show of gaining Northland seat just vacated by Mike Sabin.
      Matt King another ex cop is a favourite for National seat ,he’s a nice bloke ,pity he bats for National.

      • And yet, curiously, Northland is one of the poorest regions of New Zealand?

        If – and that’s a Jupiter-sized “if” – Labour could work with the Greens and Mana to mobilise the poorest voters in that electorate, it could be the biggest upset since Labour came within 406 votes of taking Remuera in the ’87 election.

        But I’ve long since given up on hoping for that kind of strategic co-operation between Labour and other left parties. Self-interest seems to be their governing principle at the moment – to the extent of destroying a potential coalition partner.

        • Most of the poor are Maori and most of them who vote there are on the Maori electoral role so will take no part in this by-election.

              • No. Maori roll voters can only change to the general roll once every 5 years. The last maori roll option was in 2012 (from memory) so next one wouldnt be until 2017 for maori roll voters to switch to general roll.

                My understanding, and happy to be corrected, is that the maori roll option is done the year after a census. The last census should have been 2011 but that was postponed till 2013. The maori roll option probably should have been postponed as well.

                So yes, the majority of the poor in northland are Maori and on the Maori roll, so subsequently won’t have a vote in this byelection.

                The majority of northland voters are rich, white retirees in Kerikeri, Houhora and Coopers Beach with a smattering of farmers in between, so any donkey with a blue ribbon will always win unless its a straight two horse race, which it won’t be, as then it would be too close to call.

                The likes of Kaikohe, Kaitaia, and Kaiteriteri have a greater proportion of Maori voters, and are the areas most negatively affected by National policies.

    • Willow Jean Prime was the LAbour candidate at the election. She would make an excellent member of parliament. She is brilliant. LLB and environment cred. Maori and a top scholar.

      • Willow Jean Prime is pregnant now, so genuinely does have family matters to consider, perhaps above her career. That is not to say she couldn’t do it, just that she may choose not to at this time, quite understandably. I would LOVE to see Hone stand in the by-election. It may bring the voting abstainers out of the woodwork, if there is the general feeling their vote might actually bring about change. A possible party hop to Labour? It’s been done before. As much as I respect Andrew Little, I found his remarks regarding the by-election, honest but somewhat defeatist.

        • Willow Jean has had her baby and she is already out there campaigning for the by-election. She has all the whanau support in the world and would be a wonderful choice.

    • Good if Hone runs again, as we saw a dedicated man fighting for the many up north evicted from state housing under this rotten mob so his genesis could be to came in on his personal fight for state housing tenants since Key has dropped the clanger last week 3000 more are due to be evicted this year in Key’s next carpet bagging exercise at flogging good quality properties to his mates for a song.

      Hone could get some traction here very easily.

      Key is a liar, a carpetbagger and a Judas priest.
      He is engaging in wholesale austerity against the 99% of us.

  9. Bloody hell just saw Martyn Bradbury article in the Daily Blog…here is DLANZ screaming for an early election and it might just happen…
    There has to be a cohesive and cross party opposition in order for National TO NOT get elected…..Bring Back Hone is my choice…he didn’t deserve the result of 2014 nor did Aotearoa NZ…Feed the Kids

  10. Bloody hell here disabled and others screaming for an early election and it might just happen.
    There has to be a cohesive and cross party opposition in order for National TO NOT get elected.
    Bring Back Hone is my choice…he didn’t deserve the result of 2014 nor did Aotearoa NZ…Feed the Kids

    Regards
    Doug Hay

    • Thats not necessarily true. By-elections have a habit of throwing up unexpected results because, unlike votes cast at a General Election, the voters know exactly what the worst case scenario is, so they can enter a protest vote with confidence. In this by-election the worst outcome is that the Government majority will be reduced to one so it will have to tread carefully. I can imagine a lot of people wanting that.
      Of course it would help greatly if the opposition parties were to work together. Not much chance of that though.

    • The Greens should not put up a candidate. They should make this a practice run for the next election and get in behind Labour. The total votes for other parties up here exceeds National’s vote -albeit by a small margin.

  11. Even the MSM will be at Key over this one wanting to know what he knew and when he knew it. Today Key wasn’t squirming or dodging questions he was under strict instructions from his lawyers as to how to answer any questions down to the very words he was allowed to use. Reason; At the same time he was answering questions Someone was appearing in court having all and any details about himself and his case suppressed. Actually Key is good at this stuff, he will defend his MPs in the face of accusation and rumour but once evidence and facts are indisputable will cut them without a second thought

  12. If the Labs and Greens can’t get together to win this seat ALL IS LOST.
    The Nats will get in via the split vote YET AGAIN, and we will DESERVE this Government, because we can’t get or act together.
    MORE FOOLS US, IF that turns out to be the case.
    Here’s hoping Hone DOES run.
    WHY oh WHY is Labour letting the Nats win this electorate? Are they controlled-owned by the same monied 1%e’ers that also control the Nats? And so like the USA you get the ‘same politics’, just a slightly different flavour?
    WHY ELSE would Lab and Greens NOT agree on one candidate to get rid of this odious Government????
    p.s………I live in this electorate and I don’t know ANYONE that admits to voting for Sabin, before all this came to light.

    • National got well over 50% of the electorate vote at the last election in this seat. Labour and The Greens combining won’t win this election.

      • And how many in the electorate didn’t bother to vote last time – but might possibly be persuaded to do so this time?

        • By-elections tend to have a much lower turnout than the same seat at a General election. It would be unlikely to get more.

            • Ummm… no. National has a massive lead in Northland. Peope not voting in a by-election tend to come from either side of the politicsl spectrum so is unlikely to impact on overall percentages.

    • 18,269 voted for Sabin. If he was as poor as many are now saying, how many votes would an “ordinary” Natcandidate garner?

      Since you live in the electorate you know the average Joe Blow farmer who is going to vote would not vote for the Green candidate if it was Superman, a Labour candidate if it was Ghandi or a combined, single, all-parties-except for National candidate it it was God.

      The instant the National candidate is named, he, yes he, can start looking for accommodation in Wellington.

  13. How many National MP’s in Key’s government have resigned or had one of Key’s pseudo – ensure they find nothing wrong investigations – that should have seen them resign in the least, the Nick Smiths/Judith Collins/Phil Heatleys etc etc?

    And you have to wonder about all the ones who “retired” of their own accord, who were either destined for sleeper rolls supporting National just outside government or who weren’t playing the game and were shown the door?

    I have lost count but this government has the odour and allure of a rotten corpse.

  14. The MSM will play Key’s fiddle as directed to do so.

    Just turn on the two principal TV 6pm news any day and you can graphically see they (TV1 & TV3) are both synthesised to play the same subject at the same time so there is your proof of a controlled TV news network by Government as usual.

    What a sorry picture two parrots singing the same song with no dissention against this carpet bagging administration.

  15. I think Labour and the Greens need to collaborate here, one of them should bow out and give the opposing candidate the best shot they can. NZ First needs to not get any funny ideas either, is there a chance John Tamahere may stand for them?
    I am picking that this may put off one or two people who voted for Sabin but are not hard core, I expect them to stay home in their droves though.
    I just hope that the truth is out there before this by-election as it seems it possibly should have been prior to the general election last year.

  16. Keys resolute backing of Sabin is likely why Ian Fletcher resigned just before Xmas, Key claiming to have no meetings is clearly a fiction.
    Surely the National supporters must draw a line in the sand somewhere and force Key into some decisions. He clearly isnt a manager, and doesnt want to know about the details. Parliaments going to be fun watching Teusday the 12th. How can the Governor General remove Key if the Caucus cant because when Key retires Nationals going to stripped bare.

    Oh and Fonterra let its Cheese licence expire to the U.S. because Key will sign of America banning NZ dairy under the TPPA. Does anyone believe that Fonterra just forgot about it, thats a Tui YEAH RIGHT.

  17. The simple fact of the matter is..neither John Carter or Mike Sabin really bought any enduring growth to the North, and it seems terribly sad John Carter then became Mayor, with a specific (but unspoken) intention to dump the FNDC into a combined council in Whangarei with the expressed intention of becoming mayor of a northern combined council as his political swansong, in line with his National masters desire to gain political control over the North by forcing amalgamation.

    Until the North selects candidates REALLY desiring to force Govt to bring aid and investment to the North, we will remain the underfunded backwater we are.

    We deserve everything we (don’t) get…and the mainly retired electorate in Kerikeri simply keep on voting National..even though NOTHING good comes out of it.

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