Written By:
Mike Smith - Date published:
9:02 pm, May 2nd, 2012 - 4 comments
Categories: accountability, act, brand key, john banks, john key, national, national/act government, you couldn't make this shit up -
Tags:
There’s the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and blind adherence to Banks’ reliance on legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely.
As for legal opinions, Legal Beagle Graeme Edgeler says “I’ve re-read the Local Electoral Act a few times over the last few days, and reached a different conclusion each time over what obligations it actually imposes”.
All of which means that we need to stick to the facts and the questions, not the opinions. Andrew Geddis at Pundit makes it clear that legal opinions are just that. Sometimes they are not worth relying on. What counts is answers to the questions that establish the facts and explain the actions. As Andrew points out, we have yet to hear them.
The Police need to ask all the relevant questions that have so far not been answered by Banks or asked by Key, then their veracity and reliability should be established by a judge. They are the people who do it best, and can also apply the law properly in its terms.
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Your faith in our police is touching.
+1 after teapot tapes and some very very slow inquiring and backdated laws passed to help nz’s finest who dont even seem to know the laws themselves that’s probably where shonkey is hoping it will end up.
Good things take time ya know. Why the Banks enquiry outcome will be out pretty soon. As soon as maybe December 2014? OK?
Reading the electoral law this way or that is just trying to apply ‘black letter’ law standards.
A lot of finance company directors were convicted in-spite of their defence relying on a black letter law interpretations.
The idea that anonymous means nothing for the person receiving the money and its only there to deceive the voters is absurd. A court case is required to establish what it all really means.
Perhaps if the police end up applying black letter law standards to a former Minister of Police, then a private prosecution might be in order
The shoe is on the other foot now !