corruption

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Toad asks: Who paid for what, Nick?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 13th, 2009 - 1 comment

Following my post yesterday, toad on g.blog raises some questions about Nick Smith’s expense claims: In the Dompost article, Nick Smith said “I had to spend $152,000 to make [his electoral office, which he owns] usable I don’t dispute that. But who paid the $152,000? Was it Smith personally? Or was at least some of it from a […]

Lee admits she stole taxpayer money

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 pm, October 12th, 2009 - 20 comments

Just two hours after TV3 revealed that Melissa Lee had stolen $100,000 from NZ on Air, Lee announced she will pay the money back. Just a few hours earlier she had been insisting it was her money, just a confusion over accounting. Her tune has only changed because TV3’s story exposed that cover story as […]

Lee’s fingers in the till covered up by Coleman

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 pm, October 12th, 2009 - 4 comments

A leak has revealed that Melissa Lee is under investigation for pilfering taxpayers’ money. Before the Mt Albert by-election she was cleared of a different rip-off, but it turns out that NZ on Air was still investigating her for keeping $100,000 of contingency funds that should have been returned to NZ on Air. Lee denies any […]

Six years jail for Field

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, October 6th, 2009 - 119 comments

Taito Philip Field has been sentenced to six years jail for bribery and corruption. Field is a prime example of the ability of power to corrupt. He let down all those who put their trust in him – his community, his former party, and the voters. We are fortunate that in New Zealand corruption by […]

Bill vs Greens

Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, October 5th, 2009 - 55 comments

I love that, after studiously ignoring Bill English’s housing rort, Farrar’s now got unending questions for the Greens. Pretty desperate stuff too – ‘sure, you paid the money back of your own accord after you yourselves discovered you had over-claimed but why did it take so long? huh?! huh?!’. Hilariously, he claims that the superannuation fund […]

It’s not about Dipton, it’s about corruption

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, October 3rd, 2009 - 29 comments

Colin Espiner: “To start with the ironical, Acting Prime Minister Bill English had no sooner hauled his protesting family back to Dipton for the parliamentary recess to prove that it was still really his home than he had to come straight back to Wellington again [to deal with the tsunami]. It neatly illustrated his argument, […]

The walking dead

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, October 3rd, 2009 - 23 comments

Fran O’Sullivan has laid out the business elite’s preferred successors to Bill English: At this stage English is not mortally wounded. But his reputation as one of the Mr Cleans of New Zealand politics has been damaged. And – more importantly for the Deputy Prime Minister’s political future – some of the more ambitious among […]

Caption Competition

Written By: - Date published: 3:53 pm, October 1st, 2009 - 57 comments

Corruption must never be tolerated

Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, October 1st, 2009 - 95 comments

I have to disagree with my comrade Zetetic’s post arguing that it’s best if Bill English stays in office. Yes, this scandal has permanently destroyed English’s credibility and I can see how having a lame duck Deputy PM and Finance Minister plays into the Left’s hands. But I do think our touchstone should always be […]

He’s good where he is, thanks

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, October 1st, 2009 - 42 comments

Around the media, they’re talking about the growing odds English will be sacked. The other day, my mate Marty asked ‘who would replace Bill?’ and I said Key should show him the door. I’ve changed my mind. The corrupt prick’s clearly set up his finances to scam the max out of the public. He tried to get away with […]

Johnnie’s Boys

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, September 30th, 2009 - 6 comments

subversifpoet sent us this song about our corrupt government:

‘If it happened in Zimbabwe, we would call it corruption’

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, September 27th, 2009 - 19 comments

Trev on the money laundering bill. Has a go at a certain Bill who has been laundering a lot of our money. Very good:

Billalice in Wonderwelly

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, September 27th, 2009 - 4 comments

Things must be getting decidedly trippy for Deputy PM Bill English about now, and not in a good way. While his glorious leader is off overseas playing the Jester Statesman, back home Bill’s future is looking gloomier by the day. With the Auditor General looking into English‘s Krishna-like claims of being able to exist in […]

Armstrong takes on Double Dipton

Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, September 26th, 2009 - 5 comments

John Armstrong joins the list of commentators saying Bill English shouldn’t get a cent for his housing rort: The time has come for Bill “Double Dipton” English to end the charade. Now, being Armstrong, the reasons aren’t principled, it’s all about limiting the damage to National: The possibility of the watchdog of public spending investigating the Minister […]

Billy and the Baroness

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, September 23rd, 2009 - 10 comments

In an extraordinary coincidence, the Attorney-General in the UK is about to lose her job for pretty much the same rort as Bill English has been pulling here: [Baroness Scotland] receives a £38,280-a-year “night subsistence allowance” widely understood to be for ministers whose primary home is outside London even though she owns a large house […]

Double standards for Double Dipton?

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, September 23rd, 2009 - 39 comments

Our readers pointed out some interesting quotes in yesterday’s thread on Bill English’s attempt to bully journalists into silence over his housing allowance rort. Key on why he fired Richard Worth: “The test of whether someone enjoys my confidence is not a legal test and I have never argued that Dr Worth broke any legal test.’ […]

The story Bill English doesn’t want you to see

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 43 comments

On Wednesday last week, Labour released new information on Bill English’s housing allowance rort. Naturally, the media raised the issues with English. TVOne and TV3 ran stories that night. They weren’t particularly harsh stories. They didn’t really editorialise. They didn’t even say English should give the money back or resign. Later that night, in a fury […]

Bullying the media

Written By: - Date published: 6:21 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 15 comments

National are up to their old tricks again – bullying the media to try and shut down critical comment. This time the culprit is Bill English, lashing out* at those who are covering the story of his ongoing hypocrisy and greed: Radio New Zealand’s political editor reports that Mr English rang journalists from TVNZ and […]

English’s story disintegrating

Written By: - Date published: 5:12 am, September 17th, 2009 - 29 comments

Pete Hodgson is continuing to chip away at English’s ministerial allowance story. English looks very uncomfortable as Brownlee and Key cover for him. To my mind, this is yesterday’s crucial exchange: Hon Pete Hodgson: If the Hon Bill English has no pecuniary interest in his ministerial residence, then how come the email I have here, dated […]

Key’s lies on housing rort exposed

Written By: - Date published: 5:54 am, September 9th, 2009 - 13 comments

As I alluded to yesterday, the claims from John Key that he has slashed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the cost of ministerial housing are rubbish. The media did a pretty good job of exposing the lie (except TV3 who just had some junior reporter toeing Key’s line). Here’s how it works. Ministerial services […]

A rort is a rort is a rort

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, September 8th, 2009 - 48 comments

And by any other name it smells as bad. John Key has annouced a reform of the rules for ministerial accommodation allowance. A fixed, automatic allowance will now be paid to all out of Wellington ministers of $37,500 a year for their Wellington accomodation (or $30,000 if they own the house), slightly less than the highest spending ministers […]

More National sleeze

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, August 19th, 2009 - 62 comments

There’s been an attempt to force Peter Goodfellow, the brand new President of the National Party, to step down. The move came from the party’s board, worried that negative news around Goodfellow would damage the party if he hangs around. However, it looks like John Key has decided to back Goodfellow and that’s put the […]

What a coincidence

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 6th, 2009 - 72 comments

So there I was, just a walking down the street, and $47,000 just fell out of the sky in tax free readies, bam, right in to my lap! Like I was Bill English or something! What – that never happened to you? Me neither. We have to work for our money. Actually I guess Bill […]

The house built on sand

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 6th, 2009 - 26 comments

English, now known by the moniker Double Dipton, has decided to give back half the amount to has rorted so far from the taxpayer. Rather than claim the full ministers’ allowance, he’ll pocket ‘only’ $24,000 a year for living in his own family home, thank you very much. His claim that he didn’t know he could charge […]

One law for all?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, August 5th, 2009 - 46 comments

Are you? a disgraced former minister who resigned from Parliament in shame? a National MP who rents from a National minister (Judith Collins or Anne Tolley for example), claiming that expense back from the taxpayer while the minister simultaneously rents another place, again on the taxpayer’s tab? a private citizen who dares to publicly oppose […]

Why don’t they just stop ripping us off?

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, August 5th, 2009 - 26 comments

Key admits his ministers are rorting the system – exploiting the allowance not for need but just because it gives them a chance for a bit of free cash: “In some instances you’ve got ministers moving out of homes where they might otherwise stay there but the rules don’t really encourage that” So, they’re moving […]

The lies keep coming

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, August 5th, 2009 - 15 comments

Read this: Hon Phil Goff: What analysis did Treasury do on the cost-effectiveness of the national cycleway scheme in producing jobs, and is he prepared to provide the Treasury analysis, oral and written, to members of this Parliament; if not, why not? Hon JOHN KEY: Rigorous analysis was done. Having read that, do you believe […]

Worth the Bill

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, August 5th, 2009 - 35 comments

What would you call it when you collect $900 a week by false pretenses? What would you call it when you tell the Electoral Commission and Ministerial Services that you live somewhere other than where you, your partner and your children actually live and work? And if you did those things while holding an office presumably subject […]

Field’s guilt and Farrar’s shame

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 pm, August 4th, 2009 - 128 comments

Over at Kiwiblog DPF has wet himself with excitement at the Field verdict. Sadly however, he doesn’t get two bullet points into his post before he starts lying. DPF damply reports: 13 Sep 05 PM Helen Clark says ‘the only thing of which Taito Philip Field is guilty is being helpful’. Yes the PM immediately […]

Taito guilty

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 pm, August 4th, 2009 - 109 comments

No surprises and a good outcome. That man betrayed everyone who ever supported and trusted him. He exemplifies how power can corrupt, something that evidently still afflicts government. Good on Clark for sacking him as a minister when the allegations first came out. Different standards back then I guess. Pity it took so long to […]

Accountability then and now…

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, August 4th, 2009 - 47 comments

Then: Labour Minister David Parker accused of financial wrongdoing (filing incorrect returns). He resigns Ministerial portfolios and as Attorney General while the Companies Office investigates. Cleared of all wrongdoing (the returns were correct) and later reinstated as a Minister. Now: National Minister Richard Worth accused of financial wrongdoing (using Ministerial position to seek personal gain). […]