SIMON BRIDGES this morning delivered the political performance of his career. Controlling his anger (but not hiding it) he sheeted home the blame for one of the most spectacular political omnishambles New Zealanders have witnessed for many years. Quite rightly, he demanded the resignation of the Treasury Secretary, Gabriel Makhlouf, and (with only marginally less justification) that of the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson.
There had been no hack. Bridges, his colleagues, and the National Party’s parliamentary staffers had known that from the moment they began releasing Budget details to the news media on Tuesday (28/5/19) . How had they known that? Simple. They were the ones who had located the supposedly secret Budget summaries by executing a simple Google search. At the media conference he called for 8:30am this morning (30/5/19) Bridges even showed the assembled journalists how it was done. (The person who advised making a video of the whole process deserves a hefty bonus!)
Small wonder, then, that Bridges came out swinging against Robertson and Treasury when they began prattling on about a “systematic and deliberate” hack of the Treasury website and shunted the whole matter off to the Police. He knew it was all bullshit. He knew there was no illegality in what National’s staffers had done. And, most importantly, he knew he could prove it – live – on television. Which he did.
All of which means that I owe Simon Bridges an apology – which I now duly tender. He may see it as his first duty, as Leader of the Opposition, to behave like a wrecking-ball, rather than to present himself as New Zealand’s next Prime Minister. But, crikey! What a wrecking-ball! Bridges has almost certainly demolished Makhlouf (whose new Irish bosses must now be scratching their heads) and Robertson, himself, is not out of danger. As an exercise in smashing things up, it doesn’t get much more comprehensive than this.
It’s taught me a valuable lesson about writing political posts. Specifically, that it is always advisable to wait for the smoke to clear before telling people what – or who – has been burnt down.
It has also reminded me of the extreme unwisdom of relying on “official sources”. In the light of the Treasury Secretary’s allegation that his department’s website had been hacked, it was hard to judge Bridges’ actions as anything other than idiotic. Equally difficult was refusing to draw the obvious conclusion that he had been set up. That this was a classic “Sonny ambushed at the toll-booth” situation.
Well, when the smoke cleared from this ambush, Sonny was still standing, tommy-gun in hand, and his would-be assassins were either running for their lives or bleeding-out on the pavement.
Assumptions can be dangerous things.
I really should have known better. Treasury has been making the wildest and most implausible claims ever since it unilaterally unleashed the top-down neoliberal revolution we call “Rogernomics” upon an unsuspecting New Zealand way back in 1984. I suppose, over the course of 35 years, I have come to regard them as immensely powerful and essentially unbeatable foes who just don’t make mistakes. Watching this story unfold has been like watching Tolkien’s Nazgul, the fearsome Black Riders, falling off their horses and breaking their magic swords!
There are still some niggles, though, which I would be remiss to ignore.
First of all, this whole affair was not only never a “hack”, but it was also never a “leak”. To call it one, as Bridges initially did, conjured-up images of somebody arranging for a plain brown envelope, containing a number of Budget summaries, to be left on the Leader of the Opposition’s desk. (Or, more likely, an anonymous memory stick!) Except, of course, it was never that. It was National who had gone looking for this information, and it was National who, against all the odds, found it. And all by doing no more, as Bridges later said, than what a grandchild, or grandparent, does on-line every day.
Mr Makhlouf is, therefore, not the only person who can be charged with misleading the public.
Moreover, I still maintain that the ethical – and politically responsible – thing to have done was alert the Government to the fact that its Budget information was accessible to the most basic Google search – and then inform the news media. Bridges could even have given the Press Gallery copies of National’s “How To Get A Sneak Preview Of The Budget” video and watched the Government squirm with embarrassment. It’s when people start laughing at your enemies that you know you’re on the road to victory.
However. If Bridges had taken the ethical and responsible course, he would not have been handed the opportunity to let the country witness his righteous wrath at the perfidy of Treasury and the failure of its political master to carry out due diligence on Makhlouf’s spurious hacking claims.
Today, Budget Day, Grant Robertson’s much ballyhooed “Wellbeing Budget” lies in tatters on the ground. What should have been a crowning moment for Jacinda and her closest political ally has been turned into a tawdry damage-control exercise – at best. Realistically-speaking, no Opposition leader can be expected to let a chance like that go by.
So, once again, Simon: “I’m sorry.”
Finally, and on a Godfatherly end-note, Newshub’s Political Editor, Tova O’Brien, has reported on being handed a copy of the entire Budget by a young Treasury staffer outside the official “Lockup”, where journalists are kept, incommunicado, while they digest the Budget’s contents before the Finance Minister’s set parliamentary speech at 2:00pm.
“Should I have a copy of this outside the Lockup?”, asks the startled Tova.
“Aren’t you with Treasury?”, responds the flustered staffer.
Honestly, it’s now become impossible to work out who is ambushing who.
No need to apologise to Weasel Bridges–ever!
Mr Robertson should be sacked, and the neo liberal State Sector top echelon sent packing–it would be the fitting conclusion to this–so that the fiscal cap can be disposed of and some “transforming” done.
Is calling the cops even a fireable offence? Is any of this actually a fireable offence. I think Makhlouf should be demoted immediately. Should we be taking food off the mans table. Bridges did this. Let’s take food off his table.
What an appalling attitude.
Regardless of your obvious vitriol towards Bridges, clearly falseallegations were made against him and Chris has shown himself to have much better character than you by apologising.
Good on you Chris.
What are we sacking Mr Roberston for what exactly did he do ? cause I can’t see any justification for this what i see and hear is a lot of childishness and pettiness not fitting behaviour for people we expect to run our country.
It’s easy Chris to know who was ambushing who!!!!
This was the method setup by ‘National insiders’ to ambush the treasury to show incompetence and Bridges was their “stool pidgeon”
National insiders did this to RNZ.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/102664391/clare-curran-says-she-did-not-discuss-upcoming-board-meeting-or-rnz-leadership-at-hirschfeld-meeting?rm=m
Dont you remember when Clare Curran was on the cusp of announcing a “free to air public affairs channel” in 2017 akin to Channel saven, when they leaked the “Carol Hirschfeld talk with Clare Curren” outside of operating rules debarkle. National wouldnot agree to Labour having their own media platform so the ‘Nats’ needed to kill that plan, and they spectacularly succeeded.
So National are a “sabotage attack dog” to destroy any labour plans they dont want to see happen.
Withn this budget being “the welll-being budget” National savegely attacked treasury to kill any discussion about any ” Public well-being”.
You said;
“Honestly, it’s now become impossible to work out who is ambushing who”
Good point
FFS!! i heard Bridges on RNZ this morning
What he says is that as long as it’s not illegal, its ok to do it
Is that tge new standard National has set for itself?? No wonder its a party of bed hopping hypocrites
Adultery isn’t illegal so a bit of extra marital cross-shagging is just tickety boo??
The amorality of the National party beggars belief and the media are slow to pick up on it
Bridges would shag your daughter if she was 1 minute past turning 16
Cos, you know, its not ILLEGAL
I know I’m repeating myself but these shitty little hypocrites are not worthy of being our representatives They should all hang their heads in shame and just fuck off
As for Treasury. Effing useless pricks!!
national appointed the treasury head, now they want to sack him,
I respectfully disagree with Chris here.
I doubt it’s the melodrama he and Bridge’s, in their different ways, make it out to be.
Over the top to demand Robertson’s resignation. Baby, bath water, &c. A slap on the wrist will do.
I rather imagine Bridges will come to be seen more as a smarty-pants ‘gotcha’ than a crusader for responsible government in this one.
Robertson shouldn’t be sacked for the original leak, but should be for the allegations.
He won’t be though. I doubt he will even get a stern talking to.
Well done Chris . It takes a strong person to own up to a mistake. You are one of the few journalists that have not predicted Simons immediate fall from power at least once a week. Despite being left leaning you are not one eyed.
Really Trevor?
Is this the same Simon Bridges who *railed* against the premature release of his travel expenses:
“”It may not be a National MP or a National Party staffer. And if it isn’t, because the Speaker won’t lead the wider investigation – which on Thursday he said he would – we won’t get to the bottom of it.
“Nothing’s changed since Thursday. Friday afternoon, he came out and said, ‘We’re not having one.’ All that had changed is the Prime Minister had said, ‘Oh no, look – this is an internal matter for the National Party.’ Well, why? On what evidence? On what basis does she say that? I’ve seen nothing that’s changed.
“If the Prime Minister or Trevor Mallard knows something different to me, please tell me so we can move on with this and focus on real things that matter.” https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/08/please-tell-me-who-leaked-my-expenses-simon-bridges.html
His hypocrisy is boundless.
BS. If I or any other regular person had done what they did, I would have been prosecuted. If Labour had done this, we would never hear the end of it. This country is a complete joke.
It doesn’t matter how you access confidential information, just that you do so knowingly–that’s what the law says.
Of course the police don’t care, because they only care about the law when it’s someone like Nicky Hager on the other end.
This is a two way street, if we accept Chris Trotter’s apology, will he have the decency to quit with tendentious articles where one side is default believed and the other side is default corrupt lying tossers?
I say this as an aged, what used to be called lefty, but the terminology is now irrelevant given the creation of an administration which claims to be of similar ilk, but whose true priority is staying in power, to which end the primary objective seems to be “do not rock the boat”.
The number one issue for Aotearoa is in the shortfall of what Ardern would probably term, ‘residential infrastructure’.
After the government had been in power for a few months, my trips to major population centres became continuous running gauntlets of beggars.
It seemed that no matter how many gold coins and $5 bills I stuffed in my pockets before going out for a stroll around what I still consider to be my home town, all would be gone by lunchtime. It seemed an impoverished person would appear around every 10 meters.
The growth in homelessness (for most of these unlucky kiwis were in fact homeless) since the creation of the new government was obvious and heavily commented on by the more fortunate many of home did as I did only better, by engaging with these hapless kiwis. Most agreed it was time to do something Jacinda.
The next time I went back to the big smoke there were a lot less people asking for money on the streets of Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, The CBD, Mt Eden, Epsom or Remuera.
“Great!” I thought, “they must actually be doing something”.
Yet when I got home and checked, the numbers of homeless Aucklanders had increased between the two visits. I dunno what “the something” was, because every time I checked with people who should know I got two totally divergent but equally depressing responses.
The first was that the importuning poor had simply given up, that Aucklanders had grown used to them, hardened their hearts and closed their wallets.
The second option was that the Auckland City Administration leaned on the coppers using that well worn phrase “Do your job” and the boots on the ground staff had been persuaded to ‘Move the unfortunates along”.
I suspect it was a mixture of the two since even on the first visit a senior journalist had regaled me with the urban myth about how a close friend/relative (I cannot remember which, and it doesn’t matter as urban myths inevitably involve either or both) lived next door to a bloke who left his ‘luxurious’ home each day to beg on queen st.
He became quite angry when I pointed out that yarn dated back to the Victorian era – not Dickens but Conan-Doyle.
This government measures its success in column inches of hagiography published in the foreign media/websites. It is a classic kiwi pol move, playing to Aotearoa’s foolish and undeserved sense of cultural inferiority.
The bullseye may appear to be middle class liberals in New York, London or Paris, but the true target is to be found in Mt Eden, Kandallah or Riccarton who are alerted to the puff piece bt their fawning local rag.
This year I have been stopped by broke kiwis in the small South Island regional center where I now live. It is plain that things are getting worse for a big segment of our compatriots, yet the diverse mob of careerist truth benders currently at the controls are doing exactly the same as their immediate predecessors.
That is closing their eyes and hoping that somehow as if by magic, things will get better. They won’t.
Apparently you have been away for a year Mr Trotter. I strongly suggest you make up your mind about which way you will jump asap and either back the least fortunate or continue in your support of this mob of duplicitous arseholes.
Neither choice is without cost altho sticking with the husk of a political movement which NZ Labour has become might seem to be blowback free right now, that most certainly will not be the case in the near future.
Just because the Labour hacks are getting about with blinkers, the fact remains that given a choice between the ersatz conservatism of NZ Labour or real high tory tosh such as the Natz peddle, as I’m sure you are aware, the voters pick the real movement every time.
They refuse to go with pretense. Unless NZ First, Labour and the Greens actually institute the sort of policies that Aotearoa’s impoverished citizens desperately require, this government will be history next year regardless of how many superficial dorothy dix question interviews Jacinda does in the exotic glossy fishwraps.
Over to you Trotter.
Careful with the gun analogies Chris.
You will trigger the snowflakes and go on the confiscated list.
Chris – you don’t EVER have to apologise to members of a political party that prides itself, and has an extensive history, of utilising Dirty Politics and entities like Whaleoil to smear innocent targets.
The 40% of mouth-breathing knuckle-dragging morons who unthinkingly support such a political body actually owe the rest of us a f@cking apology.
I don’t think you should stop making predictions just because you get one wrong occasionally Chris. The only folk who never make a mistake never do anything.
Robertson this evening following you on talk back radio said that he knew about the “hack” one hour before everyone else, and got the same information as everyone else, and that the treasury called in the police before informing him of the “hack” or the police involvement.
Though The Treasury guy let everyone assume a hack had been successful , I think he was right to call in the police to determine what had happened so that the determination would be independent .
He (Makhlouf) , is leaving in a few weeks . I wonder what his political and economic philosophies are. Maybe he doesn’t give a hoot if he gets an early holiday before taking up his next post.
D J S
I think Bridges in a spirit of good sportsmanship will be on here apologising for standing in the foyer of Parliament misrepresenting things, saying things pretending that he didn’t know of other things that he knew had already happened.
Be patient! It’ll happen! You just watch.
(An arsehole isn’t not an arsehole just because for once it performs its expected function.)
Chris someone has hacked into your computer and written the above article in your name.
I think.
Chris, 1. why did you enter this fray, 2. why did you leave it. Reports on each.
The story is this govt wasn’t willing to overthrow the rule of the rich, even with mainstream financial approval! The least have waited 40 years and a Labour Govt tells them to wait some more in the most favourable situation. Isn’t this like prior to Labour, waiting for eternity?
I’m basing my opinion on your views on budget balancing’s effect on the people’s best interest.
Have we all forgotten that most of what happens in that place is nothing more than a publicity stunt?
Is it not possible that a morsel offering of information was strategically placed on the website to be ‘found’ by Bridges and co – purely to create political fiasco and drama?
Or shall we continue to believe that those who work in the IT department at treasury are nothing more than bumbling loons who have no clues how to safeguard state secrets?
“The political performance of his life”
Thats funny as my son and I thought he looked like an absolute knob. It was so embarrassing I actually felt sorry for him. His understanding of civic duty is truly difficult to fathom.
But Simon reflects who we are as a people now, he is who we have become.
ORBITALPANDA Absolute knob. I couldn’t agree more.
as for:”SIMON BRIDGES this morning delivered the political performance of his career.” No! It was faux indignation and a performance reminiscent of Trump’s childish lack of ethics.
Someone once said , If you can fake sincerity you’ve got it made.”
Chris. I used to admire you but your coat has tuned from red to blue.
What are we sacking Mr Roberston for what exactly did he do ? cause I can’t see any justification for this what i see and hear is a lot of childishness and pettiness not fitting behaviour for people we expect to run our country.
How is the system supposed to work in New Zealand? In this instance, does treasury control the Minister of Finance and PM and Government? Or does government by way of the Minister of Finance act as treasuries boss?
Does it fact work in one of those ways?
Can someone tell me what the two parallel governments in NZ are called?
The permanent government who run the country, the ‘civil service’ – the ministries and the limited liability companies that the non permanent government set up, e.g. the rather opaque Education Payroll Ltd. The sole share holders with fifty percent each of the shares being Grant Robertson and Chris Hipkins.
Then there is the temporary Govt. The political parties that buy and lie their ways in and out of power.
Which of the two governments has the most power?
I know I have asked more than one question.
Also as I feel more and more that other than very small cosmetic differences between the main parties i.e. Those that get to 5%. There is no meaningful choice. Is the only sane thing for me to do next time I am in a voting booth to spoil my vote by writing ‘give me a choice you bastards’ across my voting paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhoemq-d-mw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o2f9ETivas
Apologies should be reserved for those who deserve it.
Bridges keeps making a fool of himself because he is suffering from voluntary amnesia.
His record and that of his colleagues is a shameful one and i just can’t see him getting cut through on his contradictory argument’s when he and his accomplices did far worse for nine years.
When the head of the treasury is being paid $600.000 a year then he must take responsibility for this debacle and the investigation by state services will be interesting.
I hope there is no golden handshake before he departs for the Irish bank.
Brilliant. @ CT.
You’re a rare kind of thing.
It takes a fellow with balls that requires a wheel barrow to go to the movies to admit to a sworn enemy that you were, shall we say, presumptuous. You’ve gone up many notches in my estimation and you were well up there anyway.
I worked with a German director years ago who said, somewhat direly, “Azumptions ! Zey are ze mozer off all fock ops ! “ Coming from a German, I took that seriously and have tried to remember to never ‘assume’.
But you know what? Fuck that. Chuck [it] out there and see what wretched thing comes up from the depths to bite it.
Apologising to a lessor takes serious guts. So, go you @ CT
And can I write? ‘The Budget’? Who gives a fuck? No, really. What, about it, that can’t be discussed during its incubation? Are we not all adults here? Get the missus prego’s but don’t say nothing about it or…. Or what ? The world, as we know it, suddenly stalls in its turnings? The moon falls off? To where? What a sad wee thing the AO/NZ budget will be for most. A stipend here, a few dollars there… Jesus ! It isn’t a Rolling Stones concert so relax. No one’s going to have their bits fall off if they jump up and down too much.
( roger douglas? I have my minds eye on you, fucker! No apologies forthcoming. )
sumsuch says:
May 30, 2019 at 9:59 pm
“this govt wasn’t willing to overthrow the rule of the rich, even with mainstream financial approval”
Perhaps, Sumsuch, you should read Bernard Lagan’s Sydney column in the listener.
‘At its core, (Aust) Labor’s policy was designed to move money from the rich to the poorer; the well-off, including the comfortably retired, would pay more tax. The proceeds would then be used to hike Government spending on education, health, childcare, combating climate change and more – the things voters FOR YEARS have said THEY WANT.’
And did Labor win the winnable race – no.
Helping the poorer and powerless has to be done slowly because greedy NZers, just like the Aussies, will wax lyrical about doing the right thing until they’re handed the voting form. It happens every election here.
Every time a person says ‘open up the surplus and give it out, MP Robertson’, at election time they’ll be standing in line believing nats and their (Aust) ‘Labor can’t manage money, so they’ll come after yours.’ I can only surmise now that nats will get back in, based on the blogs like yours.
And I’m still laughing out loud at the nonsense of Robertson being expected to resign. This set up (Bridges called it a ‘leak’ so he lied to New Zealanders) was a classic IT hole for future use, and now it’s been used. I just hope Labour realises that those that work for all governments don’t necessarily work on behalf of them or us.
Unashamed speakers for revolution, Jum, and this election was a fluke. Just the premier pulpit for a time, ‘as it ever was’. When does demo-cracy have another chance? When has revolution been more justified? You say it’s not doable, but it is necessary. 20 years out … do you think this mod-con plump midriff nonsense will be carrying on?
Oz isn’t NZ, that was our founding principle in 1907, that we were better.
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