Labour steps up attacks on Pansy Wong and the travel perks controversy...

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• • Labour steps up attack on Wong 

Labour has continued its attack on Pansy Wong, revealing new photos which it says show the MP for Botany using her ministerial title to promote her husband's hovercraft business in China.
 
Prime Minister John Key concedes this could have been enough to get her sacked from Cabinet even without her abusing the taxpayer travel perk
.
Wong resigned as a Cabinet minister last Friday, admitting she misused her taxpayer-funded travel subsidy by paying for her husband Sammy Wong's travel to China in 2008, while he was on personal business.
 
Labour said the issue is black and white, claiming photos from a Chinese website show Wong using her ministerial position to promote her husband's business.


And the Opposition is calling for her to be ousted from parliament.

Labour leader Phil Goff said it is vital to prevent corruption that MPs do not merge personal business interests with parliamentary entitlements.

But Key does not have the power to sack Wong as MP for Botany because she was elected to the position.
"If Pansy Wong was a Minister today, then there would be a question that needs to be answered. On the face of things it appears to be in breach of the Cabinet manual, but she's not a Minister, and I can't sack someone that's quit," Key said.

In March last year, former Minister Richard Worth also came under fire, accused of promoting his business interests on a trip to India.

Labour MP for Dunedin North, Pete Hodgson, said the issue has been ongoing.
 
"Pansy Wong's been doing it and nobody thought to go to Cabinet and say stop doing if after Richard Worth. I wonder who is next?" Hodgson said.
Speaker's decision delayed
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House, Lockwood Smith, said he will meet with authorities tomorrow night to discuss scrapping the international travel perk that sparked the controversy.

Smith had been expected to make an announcement on the matter today, but instead, he has decided to consult with the Parliamentary Service Commission before deciding if changes will be made.
Smith will meet with the Commission tomorrow night.

Smith recently moved to make international travel expenditure by MPs less transparent, before backtracking after party leaders, including Key, spoke out against it.

Smith has defended MPs' use of the subsidy, taking the view that seeing it is funded out of their own salary packages it should be their business what they do with it, as long as it is not abused.

Earlier today, Prime Minister John Key said MPs' travel perks were a "relic of the past" and should be sc
He wants an end to the subsidy system and the Remuneration Authority to be charged with looking at how MPs' salaries could be adjusted to counter it.

"Realistically, I think it's hard to justify to the New Zealand public that the taxpayers out there should be paying for an MP to take a holiday," Key said on TV ONE's Breakfast this morning.

Other MPs have also got themselves in hot water over questionable use of the subsidy and Key said it was destroying public confidence in the way the system worked and undermining the institution of parliament.
"The strong view of National Party MPs is that this entitlement has outlived its usefulness and should be abolished as soon as possible," Key said.

Related articles

• More questions about Pansy Wong raised (nzherald.co.nz)
• "Cabinet minister Wong steps down over travel perk" and related posts (business.scoop.co.nz)
• Sammy Wong named wife's office as his business base (nzherald.co.nz)
• Wong in dire straits (nzherald.co.nz)
• Should Pansy Wong have resigned as a cabinet minister? (nzherald.co.nz)

Green and Green - NZ Greens congratulate Australians Greens on their success

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NZ Green Party Congratulates Australian Greens on their success...




 Russel NormanNZ Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman today congratulated his Australian Green counterparts on their involvement in Australia's next government.



"This is a great opportunity for Australia to begin moving ahead on climate change," said Dr Norman.



"11% of Australian's voted for the Greens in the recent election. Due to Australia's parliamentary system this did not result in proportional representation for those voters who supported the Green Party.



"However there is now a real opportunity to move ahead on tackling climate change due to the deal the Australian Greens signed with Ms Gillard."



Under the Australian Green Party's agreement with Prime Minister Gillard a well resourced climate change committee will be set up. The Committee will be resourced like a Cabinet Committee. Reducing carbon pollution by 2020 will likely require a carbon price according to this agreement.

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Foreshore and seabed bill around the corner...

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Foreshore and seabed bill around the corner?



The Government have made good progress on a bill designed to repel the existing law and guarantee access to the foreshore and seabed for all New Zealanders.


Prime Minister John Key says New Zealanders will find out what rights they have to the foreshore and seabed next week.



The Government has been seeking feedback on a proposal to repeal the existing law and replace it with a public domain regime where no one would own the foreshore and seabed.



Mr Key says the bill will likely be introduced into Parliament next week.



He says good progress has been made with the bill, and when it's released it will guarantee access to the foreshore and seabed for all New Zealanders.


Key can say what he likes. Will Maori support him? The Maori Party was formed because greedy radical Maori want it for themselves. They don't seem to understand they are not the owners of this land, just the caretakers of their few hectares.  Maori are not indigenous to NZ anyway; their ancestors came from East Polynesia. Nobody can own the land below the high-tide mark anyway!

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Was Chris Carter right - Phil Goff is not the right man to lead Labour...

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One has to really feel for Labour MP Chris Carter. What a stupid thing he did writing eo rgw mwsia in a self addressed envelope which revealed his identity.

Now about the comments he made about Labour leader, Phil Goff. Was Chris right about Goff's ability as leader and an alternative prime minister to lead New Zealand? At this stage I would have to agree with Chris Carter, Phil Goff is not the right man - but who else? David Cunliffe? With some leadership experience I would say yes.

David told me on Facebook that Labour's leadership was all decided and supported by the caucus through to the next election. Mmmmm! But things and times change!

We know what National intends to do after the elections, sort of. There will be some form of privatisation of state assets or government departments. Some PPP's, most likely in education.

What we need is a leader who will come out and state that all privatisation will be reversed; only compensation will be at original cost! The old fashioned re-nationalisation! If Key and his cronies know this, they will be very careful setting up PPP's and other privatisation programs.

So we will finish the way we started - was Chris Carter right about Phil Goff not being the right man to lead Labour? And I would have to agree with him at this stage.

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PM gives Maori Party ultimatum - like it or lump it - Bwana Key has spoken...

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PM gives Maori Party ultimatum - like it or lump it...





Maori Party given an ultimatum by PM John Key - accept the proposals for a new Foreshore and Seabed Act or the staus quo remains


The Government is moving closer to finalising its plan for replacing the controversial 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act.



The issue was discussed at Cabinet yesterday.



John Key has laid things on the line for the Maori Party. He says if it does not agree to his proposals to replace the foreshore and seabed act, the 2004 act will stay the same until a later government can find a resolution..



The Prime Minister believes negotiations are nearly complete. He says while in theory he may get approval for the government's plans from other parties, he is insisting he has to have Maori Party support.



There are three conditions for the Maori Party - that the 2004 act is repealed, Maori customary rights are restored and iwi are given the right to go to court or negotiate with the government directly over the foreshore and seabed.


So there Maori Party, like it or lump it - Bwana Key has spoken!



Acknowlegements. © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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A foolish prime minister and his cannibal joke...

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PM makes Tuhoe cannibal joke - just a foolish man...




Prime Minister John Key has joked about Tuhoe being cannibals during a speech to a tourism audience in Auckland.



Mr Key angered Tuhoe this week when he ruled out the return of the Urewera National Park as part of the iwi's proposed treaty settlement.



The row has dogged the Prime Minister all week, with Tuhoe accusing him of betrayal and Maori Party Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia accusing the Government of acting in bad faith.



In a speech on Thursday to about 200 people from the tourism sector, Mr Key alluded to the dispute in a joke.



"The good news is that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighbouring iwi, which is Tuhoe, in which case I would have been dinner," he said, "which wouldn't have been quite so attractive."



Asked about the comment after his speech, Mr Key said he was sure Tuhoe will get the joke, but Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger says it was in poor taste, and that the relationship between the iwi and Mr Key is getting worse each day.



"I'm just astounded that the Prime Minister can make light of what we regard as a very, very serious situation regarding ... our future relationships with the Crown.



"I don't think it's becoming at all of a Prime Minister."



Tamati Kruger says Tuhoe is still waiting for contact from the Crown, following John Key's decision to rule out the return of Te Urewera.



The Maori Party MP for Waiariki, which includes Tuhoe country, says the joke is unfortunate.



"Well the first thing to say is, it's probably correct, and the second thing is (it's) probably not wise in the current climate," says Te Ururoa Flavell.



Mr Flavell says Mr Key is generally a happy-go-lucky person and uses humour in a good way, but he's underestimating the treaty discussions with Tuhoe by treating it as a joke.



The Prime Minister has defended the Government's decision on the Urewera National Park, saying vesting it in the iwi would be a step too far for most New Zealanders.


The fact of the matter is John Key is a fool and not a prime minister's backside!

Acknowledgements: Radio NZ

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The Court found David Bain not guilty at his retrial - they didn't find him innocent...

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The David Bain saga continues.  One of New Zealand's (alleged) worst  family mass murderers was found not guilty at his retrial. It was a legal point that eventually set him free, but much of the original evidence was lost and unavailable at the retrial  His lawyer has put forward a claim  to the Ministry of Justice for compensation for illegal arrest and imprisonment, or words to that effect. This claim will be heard by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice  and a Cabinet committee. Is it warranted, many people will ask? He was found not guily, not innocent!

After the original trial found him guilty and sentenced him to eleven or more years imprisonment, I was one of those who sat on the fence and thought, yes he could be guilty. But later I read a number of books about the trial, David Bain and his slain familty. From thereon I was convinced of Bain's guilt, and I still believe he was and is guilty of the mass murder of his parents and siblings -  two sisters and a younger brother. I did not read his supporter, Joe Karam's books, because they were in my opinion  just biased spin doctoring.

So now it is up to John Key and his Cabinet to decide if David Bain is innocent and deserves compensation. Political consideration is not a point here - they represent the Government and the people of New Zealand. I don't envy their task.

However the souls of the slain Bain family cry out for justice. Would compensation for a freed David Bain be just?

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We know the Tories will be crapping on the conservation estate very soon...

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Anti-miners "jumping the gun" claims John Key. Yeah right!



PM Key says mining opponents jumping the gun by assuming plans for mining conservation land set in stone



The Prime Minister says people opposed to mining conservation land on the Coromandel Peninsula are jumping the gun by assuming a leaked document sets out the government's plans in stone.



Forest and Bird has released what it believes are the government's intentions to mine conservation land, raising concerns about ruining the environment and increasing the risk of flooding in the area.



John Key says Forest and Bird is wrong to assume anything has been decided.



"Cabinet hasn't even made those decisions yet. They've jumped to conclusions. What we are going to do is get a balance between our economic opportunities and our environmental responsibilities." Its obviously been discussed previously and is just a matter of signining it off officially. Does Key think we are all stupid like his colleagues?.


Mr Key says Forest and Bird is being typically hysterical, but he concedes a small piece of land will be opened up, if it is warranted, and will be mined using modern techniques. Hysterical?  Favourite comments of the powerful!



Forest and Bird believes the land planned for mining includes:



- Te Ahumata plateau on Great Barrier Island (about 700ha) - Otahu Ecological Area (396ha) and Parakawai Geological Reserve (70ha) near Whangamata and 2500ha near Thames township - Eastern Paparoa National Park, near Inangahua (3000ha). Probably a reasonable list built on knowledge of the subject.









ACknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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Key Government a one term government...

The John Key led National government is a one term government if there was ever one, but is Phil Goff the answer to a Labour led government? Is he pressing the right buttons and getting onside with voters?

Apolgising for the alleged sins of the last Labour Government isn't something i would be doing if I was Phil Goff, a man who was incidently a delegate to labour party conferences I attended nearly thirty years ago.

Remenber this Phil, you will never be fit or good enough to lace up Helen Clark's shoes now or in the future,

Are you a future prime minister?

Helen Clark right to apologise for the 4th Labour Government...

I congratulate and as a New Zealander, accept Helen Clark's apology for the excesses of the Fourth Labour Government, of which she was a cabinet minister. That government had never been given a mandate for its market economic policies. Some have said that retrospectively speaking its economic policies were badly needed. I don't know about that, but New Zealand as we knew it was changed for ever in many respects.

What the Fourth Labour government did was to provide a springboard for the subsequent National Party government's even more excessive economic and social policies, such as the Employment Contracts Act, which harmed new Zealand socially more than any policy in sixty years, outside the 1951 Holland Emergency Powers regulations during the Watersiders Lockout.

The ECA on its own disempowered the trade union movement, reduced real wages, gave employers the flexibility to totally change the hours of work from 40 hours to a seven day week economy without, in many cases, any compensation for extra hours worked; and destroyed many full time positions in the process, replacing them with part-time and temporary positions, something not changed to this day . Double overtime rates have become a historical curiosity - many workers lost 100-200 dollars a week from the initial changes. Senior workers became the biggest casualties of such changes. Employers were very happy and grateful for the millions of dollars in savings made because of the imposition of the ECA on the New Zealand workforce.

The Lange/ Douglas regime used its anti-nuclear legislation to hide the affects of its market economic 'Rogernomics' from the New Zealand population. Initially Lange didn't want a bar of the anti-nuclear legislation, but soon came around to the Douglas cliche way of thinking. Lange became an ardent public supporter of the anti-nuclear legislation, using his impressive oratory powers to convince doubters of its value to NZ. Even the following National Government was loath to make any changes, because of the value of the legislation to NZ as a country.

Helen Clark was a female member of a sexist cabinet and was advised to keep her head down, perform her duties and not to interfere in other portfolios. Being politically ambitious she wisely accepted the advice given, and has politically outlived the others in that government. She has become a survivor and the New Zealand people have benefitted from her three terms as one of New Zealand's most capable prime minister's of a most progressive government.

As I wrote earlier, I thank Helen Clark for her apologies of being involved in the excesses of Rogernomics. She must be elected for a fourth term as prime minister. We must continue with a progressive left of centre government. We can not afford as a nation and a society to a return to a reactionary right wing administration.