Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, March 7th, 2008 - 59 comments
Categories: Media, national, workers' rights -
Tags: Media, national, workers' rights
There is more to the John Key “we would love to see wages drop” story than you have been able to read in the blogs or the mainstream media.
We’ve been in contact with a large number of people who have been connected at various levels of this story as it has developed. Unfortunately, none have been allowed to go on record and because we take their trust in us seriously, we can’t identify them or pass on the particulars of what we know. But what we have been told is enough to make us damn sure we are right on this story.
We continue to stand by what we have always said:
Key did say that he would love to see wages drop, he was talking in all seriousness, and he was talking about New Zealand wages. The journalist, the editor and the publisher have all backed this version of events.
National demanded APN get rid of the story and senior APN management pressured and coerced its editorial staff into making a ‘clarification’. This was not a decision of the journalists and editors. The journalists and editors have been gagged by APN from speaking to the media.
The ‘clarification’ stinks of pressure from APN management at the behest of National. In a free and open democracy this kind of behaviour is simply unacceptable, and we expect both National and APN to be held to account.
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Scoopit!
This is a new ‘standard’ in the amount (or lack) of evidence required before you guys are willing to make an accusation.
I presume this now means that you’ll believe anything said by the National Party if they make an accusation but say “we can’t tell you the source of our information but its reliable”
All it takes to make this story go away is to have an interview with either the editor or Journalist involved.
If there is nothing to hide why are they being gagged ?
If they come out and say we have independently changed our stance from last week, what were we thinking, must have been too much whiskey , or some such reason … then fine
But to instruct them not to talk to the meda, WTF
I expect a statement from the “free speech coalition” very soon
intrigued. We can’t break people’s trust in us, sorry
We would love to have an interview with Robertson but his is gagged.
Well then the responsible thing to do is not to blog insinuating something that you’re not able to prove.
Yourselfs and blogblog have made a point of saying that you’ll cut through the spin and fact smudging of farrar by presenting the facts.
Surely it’s hypocritical to then post in this fashion.
No, intrigued, these are the facts: we know the clarification has come at the APN management’s behest becuase of National, we know that the orginal quote and it’s clear meaning are correct, we know that APN has gagged its staff from going on the record. This post is written to tell you those facts without giving away details of people who have been forced to stay off record.
If you want this all out in the clear, as I do, you should be asking why APN has the gagging order in place.
I have rock solid evidence that John Key eats puppies. With HP sauce. I would love to tell you more but, because I am so morally pure, I can’t. Trust me.
Billy, you know that’s total bullshit and you know it.
HP sauce is for kittens. You use dijon mustard on puppies.
The credibility of an anonymous blog known to be written by labour party and EPMU employees, using anonymous sources, saying: “Trust us, we can’t tell you, but it’s true”, is dead.
what an incredibly naive post. This is what you should have written.
“We’ve contacted lots of people but none are prepared to go on record. So we can’t write the story but we can tell you that there is a story. But we can’t tell you what the story is. We cant even tell you why we cant tell you what the story is.
So, we`ll do a post telling you that ther is a story. But we cant write what we cant tell you and then you can criticise us for making wild accusations – but you`ll never know they were wild accusations because you dont know what you are accusing us of”.
This post adds nothing- you`s be better writing about the real story of the day – about how Labour’s distribution of Chris Knox’s CD ” You`re better off with Labour” breaches the Electoral Finance Act.
So either the standard is lying or it isn’t
Lift the gagging order APN, and we would find out
Freedom of the press is a fundamental concep.t I would have thought
Steve are you kidding? You have become the lefts version of Ian Wishart.
Steve says If you want this all out in the clear, as I do, you should be asking why APN has the gagging order in place.
mike says Steve are you kidding?
Seems to be a reasonable question
don’t you want it out in the open Mike?
I’m saying why we’re standing by our posts.
APN should just lift the gagging order. Who here objects to that?
dave. The Labour material was printed and paid for last year and so not subject to the EFA, just as National’s donation transfers from anonymous trusts last year are not covered by the EFA
“You have become the lefts version of Ian Wishart”
Nonsense.
IW contends that there is a conspiracy of millions of people throughout the west. Under the guise of ‘promoting evolution’and defending ‘civil liberties’ and ‘human rights’, these millions of people actually are demonically destroying the west by infecting them with gay.
OTOH Steve is saying that the National Party has pressured a newspaper to “clarify’ a story. In support of this claim there is some evidence based on timelines, inconsistencies from Key, statements from Bill English and other Nat folk, and a gagging order.
Not the same.
Look at section 95 of the EFA. Party’s election expenses mean “the total expenses in relation to a party whether paid or incurred before, during or after the regulated period”.
That means if it’s distributed this year, despite the fact it was paid for and printed last year it counts.
Your interpretation is ludicrous – it would mean that you could buy millions of dollars of advertising last year, print it last year and then distribute it this year and it wouldn’t count towards your cap
What other gagging edicts have been issued ?
Re this emotive term “gagging order” – it is what every modern organisation does on controversial issues. Government does it all the time – Madelaine Setchel and MfE colleagues were gagged and I’m sure EPMU employees are too on matters to do with the reputation of the union where Andrew Little takes the lead.
I don’t expect to be able to ring EPMU and demand the office lady tell me all the details she knows of their internal activities and nor should you.
So this is the Standard’s new standard of credibility: APN have not said there is a gagging order. Therefore, people must be gagged from discussing that there is a gagging order. Therefore, a gagging order must be in place. APN should just lift the gagging order.
What a joke.
Occasional observer. ring the Bay Report or Northern Advocate yourself ask if anyone cnnected withthe original piece is allowed to go on record with their version of events regarding the quote.
wrong again. I understood the material was distributed last year. If that’s you’re, you’re correct.
Reporter Greg Robertson has been instructed not to talk about the issue and Mike Regan did not return calls by Radio New Zealand.
if it looks like gagging, sounds like gagging then it probably is
I should add that it’s not a gagging order if it is the normal practice of the paper. I would agree if it has been specially put in place. Are staff at the Bay news usually allowed to publically give their opinion on controversial editorial and management decisions of their paper?
captcha = ordered think
Is there no real news. This story is as inane as reading a blog about Paris Hilton – please can we move on to a policy issue.
Admittedly Higher Standard, this is indeed not news. National spent the 1990s driving wages down, only to see Labour spend the last 8 years trying to push them up. So it certainly wasn’t news to me that Key wants to see wages drop – of course he wants that, it’s what his party does.
Are staff at the Bay news usually allowed to publically give their opinion on controversial editorial and management decisions of their paper?
why is it controversial ?
What The Standard should be asking is if such alleged behaviour is illegal because if it is two things become essential. 1.) The Standard takes whatever evidence it has to the police and 2.) All those gagging orders become null and void because no contract can break the law.
One other thing: If there is evidence of impropriety then those gagged will have whistle blower defense anyway (Although I’m not sure on how good it is).
Psycho
Once and for all there is no political party in NZ that wants wages to drop.
In other news:
At least John Boscawen has some integrity, he has called for a march for free speech on this issue on Sunday
the free speech coalition has also issued a press statement
criticising the the behaviour of the National Party ,APN and the Herald
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2008/03/march_on_sunday_at_2_pm_.html
Psycho
I’d Also like you to provide proof of the wages going down in NZ under National and up under Labour if you could.
Tony O’Reilly was in town last week. Senior nats talked to him privately about this issue. APN Australasian CEO Brendon Hopkins facilitated the meeting. Martin Simons was told to shut the story down.
If you really want an interesting story I suggest you follow that up.
By Gods it’s a plot ! its a plot ! they’ll have us all drinking Guinness if National wins the election
of course Key would Love to see wages drop in NZ – how better to serve his business constituency other than with tax cuts?
of course he wouldn’t love to be exposed to the whole country for having said it.
Bean
Yes I hear Key and the National party are on a 3.25% kickback for every 5% they drive wages down.
higherstandard. if you don’t think wages are a policy issue I despair for you.
if you don’t think National pushes down wages you need to check out the graphs in our workers’ rights catagory, and my explanation of the mechanisms a government can use to affect wages also therein.
Hey HS/TDS – tell me mate, why are all your comments on this issue variations on the “it’s not a story” theme? I figure you’ve probably made 50 or so like this. That’s a lot of effort for something you think isn’t a story.