Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, January 6th, 2011 - 53 comments
What’s to stop a government minister taking taxpayer money and giving it to, say, a family friend or a political slush fund? In theory, lots. There’s a formal budget-formation process through the ministeries and Cabinet, the Budget then has to be approved by Parliament, and the PM would sack any minister who tried such blatant corruption. Wouldn’t he?
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, December 24th, 2010 - 30 comments
The day before Christmas, in what will surely be a forlorn attempt to bury the story, Bill English’s office has finally relented after months of resistance and released under the OIA papers on how the unknown Pacific Economic Development Agency was awarded a $4.8 million blank cheque in the Budget. This looks serious.
Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, August 21st, 2010 - 9 comments
Quite suddenly, the government has pulled the plug on the contraversial $4.8 million in uncontested funding it awarded to the previously unknown Pacific Economic Development Agency in this year’s Budget.
It all stinks to high heaven.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, June 17th, 2010 - 53 comments
More information is emerging about PEDA director Anthony Joseph Pereira (aka. JR Pereira). His connections with National, especially English, are deep and go back to before the last election. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs warned of “risks for ministers” in dealing with PEDA. The government’s refusal to give straight answers is just making the situation worse.
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 am, June 16th, 2010 - 45 comments
Details on PEDA are still very thin but it is increasingly looking like public money has been hijacked to help the political prospects of National’s Pacific Islanders. The service delivery aspect of the Pacific Island Affairs Ministry seems set to be turned over to this private organisation. The lack of honest answers from the minister only deepens the suspicion that something very dodgy is afoot.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 pm, October 6th, 2009 - 4 comments
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 pm, September 30th, 2009 - 1 comment
I think I can safely speak on behalf of all of the Standard when I offer my condolences to those who have lost family and friends in today’s tsunami. We forget sometimes that we are a pacific island nation but the grief that is being felt throughout New Zealand tonight reminds us exactly how much …
Comments