Questions the media need to ask Westpac – Dirty Politics 5.0

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The media are now demanding answers from Westpac – before we start calling for a boycott of Westpac for aiding the Police to spy on an investigative Journalist without a warrant, let’s get the media to ask the following questions…

QUESTIONS TO WESTPAC

Is it your policy to put a mark against someone’s credit rating when investigated by the Police in this manner?

If you do, why do you do this? How does a customer know they’ve had this mark against their credit rating made and how can they challenge it?

Did the investigation into Hager by the Police mean Hager’s credit rating has a mark against it?

How many other times have you handed customer information over to the Police without a warrant?

Was the former Minister of Justice, Simon Power, who now works for Westpac involved in this decision in any way?

What was the advice from your lawyers about handing over an investigative journalist’s details to the Police?

Even if Hager was a suspect rather than an uncooperative witness, what checks and balances do you have for customer privacy?

 

And for those keeping count

Dirty Politics 1.0 – Revelations in Hager’s book ‘Dirty Politics‘, that highlighted a black ops team working out of the PMs Office using far right blogger Cameron Slater to attack political opponents while retaining a ‘good guy’ mainstream media public profile for Key. Also highlighted plans to attack the SFO boss, attacking public health advocates and scientists, manipulating and colluding with mainstream media outlets, misinformation, falsehoods, character assassinations and in one case outed the SIS working with the PMs Office to smear Phil Goff, the Leader of the Opposition, months before the 2011 election.

Dirty Politics 2.0 – When the Donghua Liu story broke, the PM was suggesting Liu had donated ‘millions’ to the Labour Party and Cunliffe’s leadership was suddenly attacked by the Herald. The outlandish claims and misinformation in the end revealed nothing of the sort. There was no $100 000 dollar of wine or huge donations and the validity of the allegation quickly toppled into farcical when the Editor of the Herald accidentally revealed that the didn’t understand the difference between a signed statement and an affidavit. Once that was established, the story died in terms of credibility but the perception damage was done.

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Dirty Politics 3.0 – When the story of John Key pulling the ponytail of a waitress broke on TDB, the sudden collusion between Rachel Glucina, the Cafe and the Prime Minister resulted in a front page herald article that put a spin on the story that was negative towards the waitress. Despite being told they no longer had permission to use the images, the Herald did it anyway.

Dirty Politics 3.1 – The punishment of Campbell Live embarrassing the Government was cemented into place the moment John Key’s corporate friends Julie Christie and Mark Waldon arrived as management. The decision to kill off one of the best TV Journalists NZ had occurred after a huge social media campaign saw ratings jump to their highest ever level. Cameron Slater’s media buyer sowed the seeds of failing ratings and Rachel Glucina kept pushing agendas in her columns. In the end NZ was a poorer media landscape for the decision and the Government also silenced one of their loudest critics.

Dirty Politics 3.2 – NZDF attack on Jon Stephenson was brutal. For daring to raise legitimate questions about what the NZ SAS were doing handing over civilians to known torture units in Afghanistan, the NZDF launched a campaign of smears against Stephenson. This campaign came unstuck recently when the NZDF had to pay Stephenson out in compensation.

Dirty Politics 4.0 – The attempt to roll Colin Craig as the Leader of the Conservatives smelled bad from the very beginning. The same names from Dirty Politics were popping up and the same tactics of attack politics used.  Colin Craig is currently suing those involved and they are counter suing. This is yet to be resolved.

Dirty Politics 5.0 – The manner in which Nicky Hager has been harassed by Police for using stolen emails to uncover abuse of political power is made more astounding when you consider how quickly the Police acted for Slater. Add the manner Westpac handed Hager’s information over and breaches the Police have already admitted to and this all starts looking like one very large abuse of power.

Defining emails as property doesn’t trump the public interest element of Hager receiving them and selectively and responsibly publishing them.

14 COMMENTS

  1. YEH Martyn go for it, I hope you get all the answers. Just expect Key to call you a lefty loonie or somesuch rubbish ,I think people have heard enough of that type of talk.

  2. “Was the former Minister of Justice, Simon Power, who now works for Westpac involved in this decision in any way?”

    Martyn, You hit A HOME RUN RIGHT THERE!!!

    VISIONS OF EX NATZ MINISTER BEING STRATEGICALLY PLACED TO CAUSE “COLLATERAL DAMAGE” WHERE NEEDED DONT YOU THINK EH???

    Clear display of “Dirty politics” at work in all its’ guts & glory as Nicky Hagars’ book depicted would occur.

    • The banks are always involved,at least in America and America owns all our banks,so join the dots Kim Dandy and follow the money.

  3. Poor interpretation of policy my eye,Westpac knew exactly what it was doing, they have the government contract for superannuation , they wouldn’t risk losing that.
    Simon Power was put into Westpac under govt orders,this govt is so corrupt they have everything covererd,it would be interesting to see what secrets they have hidden.
    Dirty politics is the name of the game,and National are the winners up to now,notice how the Herald had an article way down in the news,hoping the public would not question the way its portrayed ,just a case in court.
    Notice how Hekia Parata had a free trip to rugby under the guise of
    business for government. Rugby world cup is a false flag used by Key to distract from ratification of TPP,he will use anything and anyone to suit his agenda, and its costing NZs an arm and a leg to accommodate his entourage, a nice long holiday at our expense.

  4. Interesting…that small but hugely significant term ‘ in the public’s interest’ seem to be conveniently forgotten here….

    Now …if a minor crim who committed theft came to the Police and informed on a murderer… would the Police then charge that individual and would then that vital information to convict the murderer ,… not be admissible in court due to credibility issues?

    I think not.

    And while Hagar is far from any criminal , – the vital importance of those emails is utterly relevant and in the public’s interest. It is information that is the sort that brings down corrupt dictators …

    In tandem with this is the hugely important issues of the journalist being able to protect his sources – particularly when issues of this sort of political magnitude are concerned…

    With all the hype and majoring on minors that the Police are doing currently over this, – perhaps it is prudent for them also to desist in trying to cover up the fact that certain chiefs among them are blatantly working for the Key led govts own ends in this situation …

    Certainly the public’s perception of this is the case , which will only have an alienating effect on Police calls for greater co operation from the public and their public relations efforts – particularly among the young.

    These two scenarios in themselves are the actual and living out workings of a Police force out of control and becoming partisans with the current govt.

    This is a dangerous precedent , one which has been allowed to – and has been actively encouraged – by this immoral govt.

    This is simply a rear guard action by a govt that has been taken down by its own corrupt activities – which is now being played out by our own supposedly non partisan and unbiased Police force to exact this govt’s fearful requirements to use its govt dept’s to suppress and silence any legitimate exposure of its own corruption –

    Corruption that has now borne its fruit – and the price of that corruption is the demolition of our democracy.

  5. I don’t hold an account with any NZ bank, and I got out of kiwisaver via living overseas (and not in Australia). Westpac does handle the NZ government’s money dealings, so it is probably a wink wink nudge nudge sort of thing – which would be quite illegal in other countries.

  6. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone on the left would bank with Westpac. I am a founding member of Kiwibank, everyone should bank with them. The government should bank with them, it is our bank. At the time when this was suggested to Clark she said well they wouldn’t have the expertise to handle the government’s accounts, well get it, offer people at westpac that do this stuff jobs at Kiwibank simple as that. In fact if those jobs went at Westpac the people would move to kiwbank anyway. I think they have just ‘won’ the contract again to handle the government accounts.

    • Hear hear MICHAL. Agree with everything you have said there.

      We were also founding customers of Kiwibank, having been with it since day one. Our reason was we wanted to support something which is our very own, where the profits stay in NZ, to benefit NZers.

  7. I’d say with former NatzKEY justice minister Simon Power up there in Westpac, the bank enjoys some protection from FJK and his minders. Hence the reason Nicky Hager’s personal banking documents were confidently handed over to police.

    Let’s hope now some repercussions will be heading Westpac’s way soon!

  8. perhaps Hager was investigating corrupt banks and politicians collusion with them?

    ….really until Hager and other investigative journalists are free to investigate for the good of democracy , New Zealanders and throw light on corruption of any sort …then the doubts in the public mind about Westpac and the police will linger !

    …this is not a good way for a country to be run!

    …lets hope the judiciary and the courts sort this mess out and exonerate Hager and return his computer and make his harassment unwarranted and inexcusable … for the sake of New Zealand!

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