john banks

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Who says cancel culture is a bad thing?

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, January 28th, 2021 - 84 comments

It may be that we have heard publicly from John Banks for the last time.  If so this will be a good thing.

Bye bye Banks

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, July 26th, 2019 - 8 comments

John Banks has announced that he will not be standing for Auckland’s mayoralty.

The return of Banks?

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, July 14th, 2019 - 28 comments

John Banks is reported to be considering another run at the Auckland mayoralty.

Banning Rambo weapons not a knee-jerk

Written By: - Date published: 5:35 am, March 21st, 2019 - 185 comments

Passing stringent gun controls is far from a knee-jerk reaction to the Christchurch massacre – our politicians of all stripes have procrastinated over this ever since the 1990 Aramoana massacre. We already have the 13 recommendations of the 2017 Law & Order committee that were rejected. Let us at the very least now accept those.

Dotcom’s open letter to Banks

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, May 21st, 2015 - 59 comments

Last night Kim Dotcom released an open letter to John Banks.

John Banks; Conviction Quashed

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, May 19th, 2015 - 198 comments

John Banks has been acquitted of electoral fraud and his re-trial has been abandoned. Kim Dotcom has once again failed to follow through. Banks vs Goff in next year’s mayoralty race?

Teapot tapes released!

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 9th, 2014 - 7 comments

As the matter seems to be heading for trial now is a good time for the audio from the teapot tapes to be released.

Why John Banks must never be the Super City Mayor

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 3rd, 2014 - 60 comments

The Herald today suggested John Banks is thinking of another tilt at the Super City Mayoralty. This video shows why he should never be trusted with this position.

Nothing to hide nothing to fear?

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, December 3rd, 2014 - 93 comments

I guess we can conclude that Key has something to hide, otherwise what could he possibly have to fear?

Jackal: A coalition with Winston Peters

Written By: - Date published: 3:54 pm, September 14th, 2014 - 79 comments

Jackal has compiled a number of the reasons why NZ First and particularly Winston Peters are unlikely to form a coalition or even to support National and John Key. Probably the way that National through their sockpuppets Act, David Farrar, and Whaleoil attacked with spurious charges  in 2008. That he came back must have been a shock…

Christine Rankin is standing in Epsom

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, August 4th, 2014 - 86 comments

The Conservative Party’s Christine Rankin has announced that she is standing for the Epsom seat.  This will add an extra degree of chaos to what is already an interesting battle.  But will she help the National candidate or the ACT candidate?

John Banks convicted

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, August 1st, 2014 - 86 comments

Updated John Banks has been sentenced to 100 hours community work and community detention for electoral fraud.

Updated links to reactions.

National wanted Dotcom to stay in NZ

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, July 15th, 2014 - 202 comments

The Herald is reporting that direct political pressure was applied on Immigration NZ to grant Kim Dotcom and his family residence in New Zealand. And the SIS tried to block the application but dropped their objection after being told there was “political pressure”.

Updated with more links

NRT: An abuse of the OIA

Written By: - Date published: 4:14 pm, June 20th, 2014 - 39 comments

So it turns out that Immigration released letters from David Cunliffe and Chris Carter in support of Donghua Liu. However, the Department of Internal Affairs refused to release the letters sent by Mr Williamson and Mr Banks under the privacy and commercial provisions in the Official Information Act.  This looks like a blatantly political release decision to advance the interests of the government of the day.  Transparency of official information applies to everyone, not just the government’s enemies.

 

No Right Turn: Electoral donations, corruption, and transparency

Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, June 11th, 2014 - 37 comments

Writing in the Herald, Fran O’Sullivan tells us what we all knew: that political donors have expectations, and want favours in exchange for their cash. She’s too polite (and Establishment) to call it corruption, but that’s what it is. Its time we forced parties to do so as well. Transparent public funding if required. If the choice is spending public money or permitting corruption, the choice is pretty clear.

NRT: Good riddance to John Banks

Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, June 9th, 2014 - 62 comments

The government has been stripped of its legislative majority and its policy programme, especially employment relations “reform”, is now in tatters. Now that Banks has going, we are seeing an extensive rewriting of history by the National government. Kind of pathetic really.

John Banks announces his resignation

Written By: - Date published: 6:23 pm, June 8th, 2014 - 108 comments

John Banks has announced his resignation from Parliament effective from this Friday …

Through the looking glass

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, June 8th, 2014 - 93 comments

Banks look very likely to be gone by Monday. But, some journalists are going to bat for John Banks, claiming he hasn’t really done anything wrong with respect to the verdict of guilty for filing a false election funding return.  They are ignoring the facts of the case, and trying to rewrite history. [Update: Banks to resign]

Imperator Fish: Move along please, sir

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 pm, June 7th, 2014 - 8 comments

As a senior member of the New Zealand Police, I would like to respond to allegations that the police were remiss in not prosecuting ACT Party MP the Hon John Banks. There is no police corruption here.  We may have been disgracefully, eye-wateringly incompetent, but we are not dirty. Now please move along, as we wish to put this entire incident behind us as quickly as we can, before too many questions are asked.

David Farrar badly needs night school

Written By: - Date published: 3:08 pm, June 6th, 2014 - 45 comments

In Kiwiblog this morning, David Farrar appeared to be running a 9th floor pre-pump for John Banks to resign. But I was rather incredulous when I read this “I don’t think the Judge has actually helped the Government by delaying the decision on entering a conviction. Now that it is the Judge’s role to care about the impact on the Government.”. Huh? DPF badly needs to go back to do some adult education. Perhaps to night school?

Dotcom 2 Banks 0

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, June 6th, 2014 - 88 comments

Justice Wyllie’s written decision in the John Banks case makes compelling and damning reading.  Banks has been found guilty because he engineered a situation where a false return was produced and he signed it knowing of this defect. His continued presence in Parliament must be untenable.

John Banks must resign

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, June 5th, 2014 - 105 comments

It is untenable for someone to remain as an MP after being found guilty of electoral fraud. For the integrity of Parliament, John Banks must go: now.

Banks found guilty of Electoral Fraud

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, June 5th, 2014 - 278 comments

John Banks has been found guilty of filing a false expense return in the Auckland High Court today.  Will update with details …

D Day for John Banks

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 5th, 2014 - 99 comments

D Day for John Banks is today. Is he guilty of making a false declaration of his electoral expenses? Will he be convicted? And what are the political repercussions?

LocalBodies: National Slumps in Polls As Ministers Struggle

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, March 24th, 2014 - 22 comments

There is danger of reading too much into polls months out from an election. Commentators were claiming that National was too strong to lose the next election based on a rogue poll. Few looked at multiple polls, accounted for the margin of error nor the trends over past months. The last fortnight has seen a National with the latest Roy Morgan Poll plummeting from the Colmar Brunton result of 51% to 45.5%. And it is based on a lack of ministerial performance…

Wally of the Year

Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, December 22nd, 2013 - 12 comments

The Fairfax Political Team has released their annual list of prizes for some of the most and least deserving efforts in politics this year.  There was intense competition for Wally of the Year and somehow they did not think that John Banks deserved this award.  But I am not so sure …

The new right wing party

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, December 10th, 2013 - 172 comments

With ACT’s imminent demise, the Conservatives appearing to be decided flakey and National losing its free market credentials by engaging in crony capitalism the temptation to set up a new political party on the right is increasing.  And you can be assured that money will not be a problem.

John Banks set to quit at next election

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, December 4th, 2013 - 126 comments

John Banks will not seek re-election at the 2014 general election.

Banks to go to trial: confirmed

Written By: - Date published: 5:57 pm, December 3rd, 2013 - 117 comments

John Banks will stand trial over an alleged fraudulent electoral return.  Meanwhile Key, running out of untainted friends, is looking to re-instate the, now vindicated, Peter Dunne.  Bit John Key’s role in the inquiry into information leaked to Andrea Vance is looking dodgy. [Breaking: Banks press conference 11am]

Good news me, bad news you

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, October 31st, 2013 - 14 comments

Clare Trevett details in today’s Herald how Key has taken to bringing Ministers with good news to his Monday news conferences “to lambast the media with good news about the progress being made in a certain area.” Sources tell me that the good news goes well beyond the Monday presser. Ministerial staff run a filter across all portfolio announcements: if it’s  good news, the Minister gets to make the announcement. If its not such good news, the job goes to the Departmental head.

What’s in a glance?

Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, October 26th, 2013 - 50 comments

David Jones QC argues Banks could not have signed a false declaration of election donations because he did not read it. But  Banks’ campaign manager’s evidence was that Banks  “glanced at it before signing it.” The Oxford dictionary defines “glance” as “take a quick or hurried look;” “read quickly or cursorily.” So Banks did read the donations return. It would have been hard to miss the $15,690 recorded as both a radio expense and an anonymous donation which he had personally solicited.

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