Dirty Politics wins – Colin Craig loses to Jordan Williams

By
Martyn Bradbury
-
49
3

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The decision is in and it’s a win for Dirty Politics…

Colin Craig loses defamation case

Former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig has been found guilty of defamation.

A jury in the High Court at Auckland delivered the verdict at about 2.50pm after 10 hours of deliberations.

Taxpayers’ Union director Jordan Williams filed a civil case against Craig, the former Conservative Party leader.

Williams took exception to comments made by Craig at a press conference in 2015, and in a pamphlet he published called Dirty Politics and Hidden Agendas which was delivered to more than 1.6 million New Zealand households.

…this was an important case because it was the first time any of the Dirty Politics characters were actually up for their past.

The Jury amazingly didn’t see it that way.

Cameron Slater and Jordan Williams win again.

The next test will come next year when Colin Craig’s cases against Slater and Stringer play out.

 

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49 COMMENTS

  2. Unbelievable, it’s just another example of our judiciary demonstrating that it’s neither independent nor free from (National) political interference.

  3. The Jury amazingly didn’t see it that way.

    Cameron Slater and Jordan Williams win again.

    It says more about the poor judgement of the jury than anything else. Not at all surprising given the “duh duh” attitude from the voters to Nicky Hager’s book. Most of them had no comprehension of what “Dirty Politics” was about and never even bothered to find out. It’s a case of… lets stay ignorant because ignorance is bliss.

    In truth, the complexities were beyond them. All they could assimilate was: Craig sent out a pamphlet saying nasty things about a lawyer called Jordan Williams – and he is a lawyer so he must be right. Stupid is as stupid does.

    • Gawd you’re a bilious old trout Anne.

      If anyone demonstrates that ignorance is not bliss it has to be you.

        • i hope you are not a “fat old Nact trout” yourself ( which is the only thing I can think of that would make you smile)

          …in fact I can think of a few Nacts that would fit that description…male and female

      • +million trillion x infinity.

        Woman of the people, Anne, does not like it when a jury of peers (the people) does not share her weltanschauung. Cry me a river, Anne.

        • Juries can get it wrong though, and knowing how the courts select and call people to do jury services, there is a good chance that some not that bright may also be called for “duty”. You do not need to hold a degree, do not have to be all that smart, they just simply make random selections, and then just do a background check to ensure the person has no conflict of interest and so.

      • I remember you, you’re that National party troll LOWstandard. btw, you’re WRONG, and you should APOLOGIZE to Anne for being an abusive fwit troll.

      • Gosh, Higherstandard / Jordan Williams / Jason Ede / Simon Lusk / Cameron Slater / any number of other right-wing fanatical misogynists who might be hiding behind this ironically inaccurate username- don’t you have any intelligent commentary to add?

        Or, are your capabilities limited to functioning like a spiteful, ignorant, na-na-na-NA-na pre-adolescent?

        No doubt your response to my comment will prove my point about your stunted cognitive, emotional and moral functioning.

        • No, Higherstandard (such a misnomer) – stop trying to obfuscate by wilfully missing the point. You and your cohorts are right-wing misogynists because you time and time again resort to base personal attacks, often against women; in this instance, against Anne.

          If you had a sound argument then you would simply state it, and not stoop to puerile insults.

      • Anne, just like everyone else, has every right to air her opinions without being insulted.

        You show some respect HIGHERSTANDARD and watch your manners! Go back to Slater and Farrar! They’d be quite appreciative of your course, classless comments on their sites.

      • you are a bilious poisonous puff fish spewing the Poison – Tetrodotoxin (TTX) which has, been found produced by opening your mouth, similar to the puff fish.

      • Thanks CHOOKY and TOOTINGPOPULARFRONT.

        LOWERSTANDARD was kicked off TS for is foul mouthed commentary a few years ago.

        • Toxic standard. Like Lynn is now and then so you are mates obviously.

          I don’t like TS much so go back there where you belong.

      • Hi Anne i read your blog and your analysis is quite correct.
        Keep contributing here, your opinion is just as important as everyone else on this platform.

  4. The info in the pamphlet seemed quite benign compared to some of the smear campaigns that have been run through the Whaleoil blog, but unfortunately most of the people the dirty politics crew attack cannot afford to go court to protect their reputations. It’s sad to see someone make such a huge monetary gain from muckraking.

  5. To be honest, having heard what Colin Craig did during his “emotional relationship” with his former assistant McGregor, did not make him look that frank and honest about it himself. Going around as a political moral crusader of sorts, and in private not behaving as appropriately as he should have as an employer, that will never look good.

    But at the same time I am appalled about Jordan Williams’ conduct, and his taking the matter to court as a defamation case. He has been in a relationship of sorts with Rachel McGregor, and in my view abused her emotional attachment and trust to build a case against Colin Craig, by vastly exaggerating what appears to have happened between Colin and his former Assistant.

    Indeed I believe that the whole smear campaign was planned and executed by Whaleoil and others, based in Jordan Williams’ exaggerated allegations.

    It was “dirty politics” of some sorts what happened, but the criticism of Colin Craig was still also not totally unfounded.

    Before making any judgment we should perhaps look at the earlier evidence again, or what was presented by Colin Craig as his “evidence”:

    http://www.thepaepae.com/wp-uploads/2015/08/Colin-Craig-Dirty-Politics-The-Booklet.pdf

    Here some commentary on it:
    http://www.thepaepae.com/is-colin-craig-defaming-cameron-slater-and-his-commercial-attack-website/36242/

    And here an MSM “page by page review”, which perhaps needs to be treated with some caution (given potential bias):
    http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/newsworthy/a-page-by-page-review-of-colin-craigs-dirty-politics-pamphlet-2015072919

    What disturbs me is that “interview with Mr X”, which I think Colin later admitted was something based on his own thoughts.

    See page 4 for the allegations made by Colin Craig against Jordan Williams!

    In my honest opinion both persons have acted inappropriately, and the decision by the jury seems to have been a difficult one to make. I think Colin Craig took too great a risk by sending out that pamphlet, and hence the trial.

    He lost, because he should have worded his allegations more carefully, I think.

    Whether he will succeed with an appeal needs to be seen, but I am not sure he will succeed.

    In any case, the winner of this is “dirty politics”, as it continues to operate in this country, and Jordan Williams is himself a person working on agendas that support the right, even the present government, and harm the left as a whole. It disturbs me that he and his Taxpayer Union get airtime and space on TV and radio, and in the print media, and are taken that seriously.

    I look forward to the legal actions Colin Craig has taken against others, which seems to be due to be heard next year.

    This will not be the end, and I think the damages now demanded off Colin Craig are unreasonably high, given the controversial evidence that was put before the jury. It should have been a close and difficult verdict, and much lower than what is being imposed.

    Wikipedia on Colin Craig:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Craig

    • +100…seems like the woman concerned was exploited by both men in power who should have known better ( WOMEN BEWARE OF THE POLITICAL POWER GAMES OF MEN)

      …an employer should always be careful not to let their emotions get away with them with a younger person in their employ

      ( professionals like doctors and lawyers know that the power imbalance precludes equal free relationships…’Mills and Boon’ fantasies are to be absolutely avoided )

      …and Jordon Williams has a track record of ‘Dirty Politics’ playing people and their private confidences in an end political game…a servant of the right wing

      ….if I remember correctly Colin Craig was having serious thoughts about the ethics of jonkey Nact and whether his party would actually go into coalition with them

      ….so Colin Craig was turning from a potential coalition partner like Act into a potential threat to jonkey Nact

      (Jordan Williams territory)

    • It should have been a close and difficult verdict, and much lower than what is being imposed.

      Precisely MIKE IN AUCKLAND.

      I chose not to go into the detail of the reason for my initial comment because I simply didn’t have the time. But you have made the points that I would have made.

      Colin Craig did some foolish things and the most foolish was to produce and disseminate that pamphlet in the first place. He played directly into the hands of the Dirty Political gang by doing so. I wasn’t surprised he was found guilty for that incident alone, but the failure of that jury to take into account all the mitigating circumstances presented when assessing the reparation amount was appalling.

      And I stand by my statement that the case was beyond their intellectual capabilities as a whole, and that is why they “b*****d up so badly. Cases such as this one should only be heard before a judge/judges because they have the knowledge, wisdom and experience to take all aspects into account when passing judgement.

  6. We live in a great democracy where you can be sued for telling the truth and treated like a public hero for telling lies.

  7. Williams comes out of it with a lot of money. Anything else? Yes.

    He came out of it with people knowing who he is and what he is like. Now he is not just someone in the background tagged with the important sounding label, Jordan Willams- New Zealand Taxpayers Union Executive Director & Company Founder. Sounds grand, some great knight fighting for us all.

    The irony is that while Craig has been found guilty of defaming Williams and causing injury to his reputation, what came out about Williams and what he showed of himself was enough to do anyone’s reputation in.

  9. How on earth did John Key influence the jury selection process so that hand picked national supporters made up the jury? I mean, they must be national supporters, right, as Williams won? Or have I taken this way too left? Nope, definitely John Keys fault.

    • Dirty politics is what John key stands for. Are you in denial of the dirty politics that came from the PM’s office?

  10. Shocking. As for jury verdicts apparently in the USA they have consultants who can buy justice by picking the right jury to deliver their result. Not sure how that works here, but who knows what the hell is going on.

    Oh well another win for a misogynist and psycho, Williams gets away with it and actually rewarded.

    • @ LOWERSTANDARD

      NO!…Craig might be conservative and foolhardy

      …but NOT ‘misogynist and psycho’

      …nor does he have a track record of DIRTY TRICKS!

  12. if I remember correctly Colin Craig was questioning some of their jonkey Nact’s ethics ie ‘Dirty Politics’ and policies and questioning whether his Party would form a coalition with Nact (but can’t find the link)

    Craig was turning his Party from a potential coalition partner into an adversary

    http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-politics-daily-national%E2%80%99s-future-coalition-colin-craig%E2%80%99s-conservatives-ts-148573

    Conservatives opposed to Nact selling of State Assets

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/conservatives-want-mandate-for-asset-sales-2013111611

    “During the campaign the party portrayed itself as able to work with either of the two main parties, National and Labour.[25]”

    “opposition to sales of rural land to foreign interests[9]”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_of_New_Zealand

    ( all these things would make Colin Craig and his Party an enemy of the interests of jonkey Nact…or at very least unreliable, hence the attacks by Slater…but Craig had other reservations also …the links which I can not find)

    • not that funny…i don’t think a lawyer should be exploiting a young woman he is having an affair with to further his ends in a court case…

      professional ethics?

  14. It looks like to me that Colin Craig was a goony stupid guy who hankered after his secretary which made her uncomfortable. He didn’t know when his attentions were not wanted. This Justin fellow saw where he could dig some dirt and deliberately “did it for the team” and had a relationship with her so he could elicit information out of her to hurt poor old Colin. A bit like the Lewege guy with the mayor’s fling with his lady. These guys are just cheap tawdry people with no morals and have no pride in themselves and are cheap. Colin was just stupid like a lot of guys who are led by their p….ks and end up in doggy doo.

    Moral of the story for anybody who is in Government or public office – keep your pants on, stay true to your partner and hope like crazy you haven’t done anything in your past which could come up and bite you on the bum. If you want to play away from home, do the decent and divorce your partner for her/his sake first as they end up on the receiving end of unfair humiliation. Dirty Politics is here to stay and you can betcha if there is dirt to be found these sleaze bags will find it and use anybody they can to get it.

    • “Moral of the story for anybody who is in Government or public office – keep your pants on, stay true to your partner and hope like crazy you haven’t done anything in your past which could come up and bite you on the bum.”

      Good comment, but (on a lighter note), didn’t Colin Craig state, no pants were taken off??!

      He certainly made a fool of himself, but nearly 1.3 million in damages, that is far too high. He has already been so embarrassed through the whole trial and the earlier fall out of his actions and inactions, he will never have another future in “politics”.

    • Why didn’t Key get a court hearing for affronting women with his advances of pony tail pulling???

      That makes this case look like a choir back row snogging, and key was adventurist in his constant sexual advances the twisted maggot.

      He did this over and over with many women and children too!!!!

      So Key was involved with this jury tampering as I smell a rat called key.

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