3 examples of National Party corruption in just one day

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After the appalling behaviour of the Prime Minister in Parliament, what a way to end the week with 3 examples – count them – 3 examples of National Party Corruption in just one day.

1 – National MP busted ‘trying to use taxpayer money for political campaigning’
Housing officials tried to hide a National MP’s attempt to use a Government housing roadshow to raise her own public profile, documents show.

The Labour Party said National list MP Parmjeet Parmar was guilty of trying to use taxpayer money for political campaigning, and officials had been caught red-handed trying to cover it up.

Documents released to Labour MP Kris Faafoi revealed Dr Parmar wanted to co-host a meeting for the Government’s HomeStart programme near Mt Roskill, where a by-election will be triggered when current MP Phil Goff runs for the Auckland Mayoralty.

“Parmjeet Parmar has … expressed a keen interest in hosting a roadshow as she is keen to raise local profile in Mt Roskill in case of a by-election,” an email from Housing Minister Nick Smith’s private secretary said.

Dr Parmar wanted to support the event with billboards and letters, the email said.
Officials said a roadshow meeting in Onehunga would be a good location because it was close to the boundary with Mt Roskill.

Mr Faafoi said it was “black and white proof” that National was using Ministry and departmental funds for political purposes.

There was also a further twist. The key passages which revealed that Dr Parmar wanted to use the roadshow for campaigning were redacted by housing officials in three other versions of the email released to Labour.

The passages were redacted by officials on the grounds that they were “out of scope” and to preserve “the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown”, their employees, or departments.

Mr Faafoi said National had been caught out trying to hide “a dodgy bit of campaigning”.

“The facts are clear,” he said. “National has been caught red-handed hiding the truth, and it has been spending taxpayers’ money to campaign.”

So that’s purposely using Ministry funding to boost a National Party candidates profile to run in Phil Goff’s electorate of Mt Roskill.

Classy

2 – Flag process: Was it a spin job?
Nearly a third of public submissions to the Government’s flag consideration panel, all of them critical of the process and supporting the current ensign, were ignored in official reports and advertisements purporting to show public opinion.

Labour Party MP Trevor Mallard said the revelation showed the process was suffering from “total spin” and the panel was pushing to change the flag in breach of its mandate to be neutral.

The discounted submissions were revealed following analysis of more than 26,000 online submissions to the “stand for” campaign run by the flag panel from May to July.

So the government dishonestly dumped people complaining about the process and calling to retain the flag yet pretended it was an actual representation of public interest. That’s pretty bad, but the 3rd is the worst…

3. Damning report rewritten after ‘war-room’ meetings
A damning report by an education watchdog about babies and toddlers was partially rewritten after high-level meetings about its “risk” to the Government.

Documents show Ministry of Education advisers also tried to mitigate the impact of the Education Review Office report by planting good-news stories to balance negative media coverage, and carefully crafting a communications “narrative” during “war-room” meetings before its release.

Politicians and sector experts say the behaviour is concerning, and have raised queries about potential political interference in an independent body, plus a lack of transparency at the agencies.

…so another Ministry bent over backwards to hide the truth of another failure for National Party policy.

Misuse of Ministerial funds, a corrupt flag process,  education officials hiding failures and a PM who thinks asking questions about citizens having their human rights abused mean you’re siding with the rapists, child molesters and murderers.

21 COMMENTS

  1. I’m sure I heard Dunnokeyo warn about thirdtermitis, but now it’s endemic. They really don’t care about how bad they look anymore.

    • At the time I thought that some adviser had been lecturing Key about third-termitis, but he took it as being meant for everyone else – not him.

      His hubris would not allow him to consider that he was the biggest problem.

  2. Point 3 is still available under “pressreader.com”, its ceased to exist on the Heralds which is not hard to believe.

    How dishonest is this filthy government? Bad new born from Nationals incompetence is simply made to vanish. Of course the minister is at plausably deniable arms length from this manipulation, doesnt take much really, if the managers, the execs want to keep their well paid jobs then a nod and wink is all it takes. They think they’re so clever, all the lying, all the cover ups.

    I reckon though the key part of the corruption is Nationals abuse of the OIA system. It is the only reason this pack of crooks are still in government!

    Anyone believe the government ran a surplus, anyone believe the crime stats, the unemployment stats, any stats, anyone?

  3. The link to number 3 – Kirsty Johnston’s article about the attempt to massage the ERO report about endemic low quality child care – now doesn’t work. That is because the story is no longer on the Herald website. Go figure.

  4. So essentially this government is free to do whatever the hell they like, break the law at will and there will never ever be any consequences for any of it, because it will always be covered up at all levels.
    NZ has become one of the weakest democracies in the western world, and basically all of it no-thanks to the merchant banker and his mates, he has a big black hole where his morals and conscience should be.
    The public service has been turned into a cover up and propaganda machine for the government, no wonder NZ is going backwards fast.

    • That’s because we’re all content to sit here like a pack of vacant-eyed, slack-jawed dribblers and let these slavering hyenas have their way with us. If this were France there’d be rivers of blood in the gutters by now. I’m proud to be a New Zealander, but we’re some of the most passive, accepting, apathetic people in the western world. It’s genuinely disheartening.

  5. Never believed a word out of their (Nationals) mouth 7 years ago – dont believe it now. How long does this have to go on before New Zealanders take a stand?

  6. We should all know the drill by now: it is only corruption when Labour (or the left wing government of another country) does it. When National or one of their right-wing government mates does it then it is just normal business as usual. That is what Steven Joyce said about the dirty politics saga: it was just normal politics.
    The biggest achievement of the John Key National government: it made corruption and dirty politics a normal part of New Zealand society. Some achievement eh?

  7. When we do finally get a change of gummint, there must surely be a complete re-organisation and transformation of our public service.
    It’s not the majority of public servants that are at fault, it’s the culture of corporatist egotists in senior positions, and ridiculous structures like that absolute bugger’s muddle of an outfit called MoBIE – the Joyce creation.

  8. Message to Una Wendt: Your post was deleted by accident (it was in the wrong Folder, queued for Approval). My apologies. Can you re-submit it and I will ensure it is Approved.

    Apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

  9. There is so much corruption coming out now about the National Party that they are actually using it as a strategy.

    Light as many fires as possible and then have the non Natz run around and use all their energy trying to put them out or give up.

    The Natz have been doing it for 7 years now, but it has really increased since the last election and it is working.

    Not sure what a counter strategy is, apart from naming and shaming them and putting them together online to log them all – and start trying to take the Natz to court and hearings etc to try to stem the tide. Including International tribunals like Christmas Island, our own courts like OIA requests and complaints about electioneering etc.

    If the opposition do nothing, then it will continue and how do you explain to voters that every day the Natz were discovered in 3 corrupt practises but the Herald and other media covered it up for them?

    Which brings me to DONT SUPPORT the Herald by reading it, boycott TV news and MSM and read and donate if possible alternate news sources that actually has real issues and debate.

  10. Example no 3 has been taken down from NZH’s website. Under strict instruction I’d say, from FJK.

    Another sure indication there is government interference in manipulating NZ’s msm!

    Now we wait for the journalist involved, Kirsty Johnston to walk! No doubt soon she will be on state issued notice after her damning expose`!

    The list is growing …

    Campbell
    Forbes
    De Boni
    next Johnston? (dismissal pending)

    All great journalists gone for daring to speak out, keeping the public informed … extremely disturbing to say the least!

  11. In one of my earlier posts, I suggested putting stuff on Wikileaks and Frank Macskasy correctly pointed out the potential pitfalls of doing such a thing with what happened to Nicky Hagar etc.

    I ran across this Wikihow advice about Wikileaks. Check it out and judge for yourselves whether it is effective or not

    http://www.wikihow.com/Submit-a-Leak-to-Wikileaks

    This is just a suggestion

  12. The 19th of November 2008, is the worst day in New Zealand’s political history, the day when democracy was undermined to the extent where it almost no longer exists.

    In those first few weeks of John’s prime ministership I observed how he “trained the media” into only asking questions which were not critical of the govt’s performance. If a question was asked of John that he considered anti govt by a particular reporter, he would not answer the question, and refused to receive questions from that particular reporter from that point onwards, the reporters who asked questions that John liked would be rewarded with an immediate response, like handing out lollies to small children, the bad ones get nothing, and good ones are inundated.

    In three days time it will be the anniversary, seven years of total disregard for the people of NZ and the democratic process which we expect from any govt.

    If the majority of NZ’ers vote for another term of John and his band of scoundrels, then they probably deserve the hardship which will undoubtedly follow.

    John has borrowed $100B in the name of Kiwi’s, he doesn’t care, he’s not the one who will have to pay it back, he’s leaving that for the poor suckers who voted him in and the ones who didn’t.

    Some blame the lack of opposition from political parties, but how can you possibly blame them for the unscrupulous behaviour of the media, bad mouthing and running them down for trying to hold the govt to account, just look at the horrendous policies introduced over that time, and how the media have talked up the policies, positive spin.

    Opposition parties appear to be “gun shy” and I’m not surprised, how can you get any message across with level of bias which exists today towards any person who does not tow the party line.

    Only NZ’ers can fix this, but they need to be united, voting for a party other than John’s is NOT a dirty word, so don’t let the media bullies influence you, after all these media bullies are only spouting opinion, their opinion, not fact based on verifiable evidence.

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