Colinoscopy

Written By: - Date published: 6:32 pm, October 3rd, 2016 - 41 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, class war, colin craig, conservative party, john key, Politics, workers' rights - Tags:

It turns out that Colin Craig had already lost a legal battle months before his disastrous libel fight with Jordan Williams.  Craig had to pay his ex press secretary Rachel MacGregor more than $128,000 after painting her as a “mistress, trouble maker, mentally unwell, a liar, and a blackmailer”.

He was forced to pay her $128,780 in damages plus costs, the largest sum the Human Rights Review Tribunal has awarded for emotional harm.

The payment was made after Craig was ruled to have repeatedly breached their confidential agreement by giving interviews about her.

The matter had been suppressed while the libel case was heard.

There are a couple of questions that spring to mind.

Firstly, why didn’t he take the hint from the HRRT result and just settle with Williams?

And, secondly, was he entirely truthful in his evidence in the libel case?

I ask the latter question because some of his evidence seems to me to be a repetition of the kind of statements that had been found by the HRRT to be harmful to McGregor. Milder and more careful, perhaps, but still presumably intended to paint himself as a naive man with a minor infatuation.

The ruling was also gives the lie to his claims during the trial that he couldn’t properly answer the sexual allegations made against him to Conservative Party board members specifically because of the confidentiality agreement.

The HRRT found he had purposely withheld information from Conservative Party board members that would show Williams was incorrect in some of his details and that he did so out of self interest.

Of course, the issues around his behaviour will not go away. He’s is appealing both the libel verdict and amount of the award. No doubt the amount will be slashed on appeal and then probably negotiated down further. That’s as it should be because it’s foolish to let juries decide the quantum.

So we’ll be laughing at the man who wanted be the kingmaker of NZ politics for some time to come. But we shouldn’t forget that, for a while, John Key was mulling over giving him an easy ride into Parliament. Key’s judgement might be marginally better than Craig’s, but they both have a fundamentalist’s urge to tell others how to live.

We dodged a bullet with Colin Craig.

But Key is still with us.

 

 

tereoputake@gmail.com

https://tereoputake.wordpress.com/

 

And now … a song

41 comments on “Colinoscopy ”

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  1. Anne 1
    3 October 2016 at 6:53 pm

    Two down, one to go? The next trial he is the complainant is he not? If so, it will be interesting to see if he uses the latest Rawshark revelations and any more Rs may choose to reveal. It might be the difference between success or failure, but only time will tell.

    The big question mark that still hangs over Ms MacGregor (imho) is how much influence Jordan Williams had on her and… why did she turn to him for support?

    • Chuck 1.1
      3 October 2016 at 7:11 pm

      Anne I know you hate Williams and co. and still cannot understand why “dirty politics” had no cut through with anyone other than the activist left.

      Williams / Slater / Stringer will enrich their bank accounts via Craig.

      And its great that Rachel McGregor received a tidy pay-out from Craig.

      • Anne 1.1.1
        3 October 2016 at 7:36 pm

        Anne I know you hate Williams and co…

        For once I agree with you. I despise them. They are the lowest of the low.

        Why did DP have no cut through? Because it takes your average punter a long time to cut through anything if it doesn’t include a weird shaped ball and boots with spikes on them. And it helps to actually read the book which most punters would not dream of doing… might shake them out of their complacent haze.

        • Groundhog 1.1.1.1
          3 October 2016 at 9:53 pm

          Ah, the old cry of the left…’everyone else is ignorant’. Well done Anne. But here’s some news for you. The reason DP had no ‘cut-through’ was because it was a load of hit air, a beat up designed to sell books and line the authors pockets.

          • RJL 1.1.1.1.1
            5 October 2016 at 7:58 am

            Have you read it?

            • Anne 1.1.1.1.1.1
              5 October 2016 at 8:04 am

              Course he hasn’t RJL. The last thing Groundhog and his equally low level mates want is to be shaken out of their below ground mentality and be “hit” by the truth.

              • Nessalt …
                5 October 2016 at 10:16 am

                truth in the instance of dirty politicss is a relative concept.

                you seem to imagine that the ordinary punter can’t see any dirty politics, so must be stupid. Maybe they are smarter than you and can see that all parties / sides play the same game? that’s the real truth of the matter and that’s why it had no cut through with the general populace. once again, anne is below average.

                • Crashcart …
                  5 October 2016 at 11:16 am

                  That’s an interesting assertion. Of course you have proof that other parties have participated in Dirty Politics to the level that was detailed in the book.

                  Other wise you are just perpetuating a myth based upon nothing to excuse proven and deplorable behaviour. I have enough faith that you wouldn’t accuse someone of being below average with out meeting a bare minimum of proof.

            • Groundhog 1.1.1.1.1.2
              5 October 2016 at 3:02 pm

              Of course not! I read the first reviews, the critiques that ripped it’s claims apart, and gave it away.

              • RJL …
                5 October 2016 at 6:18 pm

                @Groundhog…

                I see. So, you realise this makes you a victim of the exactly the tactics described in the book?

          • Baepsae 1.1.1.1.2
            5 October 2016 at 8:15 pm

            Most people are actually ignorant. It’s a little depressing tbh!

      • reason 1.1.2
        4 October 2016 at 11:55 pm

        We all know that jordan williams is a sleazy prick who exploit relationships …. this super creep even even brags about some nurse he is having sex with to get some dirt for a political hit job that he and whalesoil were doing ……….

        But regarding this ‘victory’ for him ….. and based solely on what his mother was reported to have said in court ….. is she just stupid which causes her to say nasty Dirty policitcs smear points ……. or horribly dishonest and immoral ???

        She spewed out the usual sick old smears against Nicky Hager …….. “Hager published “stolen information” from her son’s private emails and took the communications out of context, she said.

        “It’s the most unethical thing you can do,” she said.”

        This so called mother should know that it was cameron slaters sick ethics in gloating over the death of a young new zealander whose crime was to be sitting in the back of a car which crashed ,,,,,,,,,,,

        “WhaleOil was hacked some time after he posted a blog post with the headline “Feral dies in Greymouth, did world a favour.” Three other children in this family had already been killed in accidents and the post provoked a ‘furious public reaction’.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Politics

        Now Jordans mum obviously isn’t like other mothers …. because most new zealanders were sickened by Slaters ……………

        But while normal new zealanders were offended or angered by slaters vile opinions ……. John Key was ring Cam to offer support ….

        As the mother with 3 dead sons was a ‘bitch’ for criticizing Key for the false promises he made to her and others about the pike river mining death trap that had killed another one of her boys ….

        Its in the Dirty politics book ………… I can not recall if it was Key or slater who called her a bitch ……

        But you have to ask is jordans mother [Deleted. No, you don’t have to ask that question, nor do you have to use misogynist language to question her role. TRP] ??? ….. or just a bit retarded to try and tell people Nicky hager is unethical ……… while her son is a ‘good boy ‘ ?.

        Some mothers will do an7ything for their rotten little bastards ………………

        The examples are everywhere ………. http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/322609/The-mother-from-hell

        I hope Jordans victory money makes him feel better ….. with everyone everyone now knowing about his ‘mother’…… yuk

        Rotten tree …. rotten fruit

  2. Tory 2
    3 October 2016 at 7:02 pm

    “And, secondly, was he entirely truthful in his evidence in the libel case?”

    Does that statement also include his star witnesses (including Bradbury and Hager) who gave evidence on behalf of Craig?

    • te reo putake 2.1
      3 October 2016 at 7:07 pm

      No. And there’s no reason to believe that those two witnesses gave anything other than complete and truthful responses to questions put to them. After all, they had nothing to gain and and at least one, Hager, didn’t even want to be there.

  3. Tory 3
    3 October 2016 at 7:24 pm

    Well at the reported coverage, it appears Bradbury was using this as an opportunity to score a hit on Slater and WO
    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11715434
    Given the size of the loss, it certainly reflects poorly on those who gave evidence on behalf of Craig, especially Bradbury who appears to support Craig’s actions. This is by no means over and the next defimation trials (unless settled out of court) will certainly be a battle between bloggers with Cameron Slater having everything to win and Bradbury having everything to loose.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1
      3 October 2016 at 7:40 pm

      I note you dropped your smear against Nicky Hager – did you realise that lying about people makes your entire argument look very shit, no matter what we think of the self-serving Bradbury?

      • Tory 3.1.1
        3 October 2016 at 7:59 pm

        Where did I lie about Hager?, His evidence does not get as much coverage as Bradbury but he still testified on behalf of a purported lier (as per this post) which at least calls into question his evidence and motives.

        • te reo putake 3.1.1.1
          3 October 2016 at 8:11 pm

          Hager was subpoena’d. He didn’t want to be there and only legal force compelled him to testify.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1.1.2
          3 October 2016 at 8:33 pm

          Tory, please exhibit personal responsibility for your smear and tell us whether it was born of ignorance, or malice and bias.

          “Front-foot” your mistakes.

  4. Tory 4
    3 October 2016 at 7:29 pm

    TRP, “they had nothing to gain”
    WTF!, Bradbury was almost foaming at the mouth in his review, he wants nothing more than taking down WO, instead he is the one who lost any credibility he may have had defending Craig’s actions
    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/24/that-time-in-the-high-court-when-i-argued-how-much-i-loathed-cameron-slater/

  5. One Anonymous Bloke 5
    3 October 2016 at 7:33 pm

    Wow! He’s even more of a vile scumbag than Jordan Williams and that’s saying something!

  6. James 6
    3 October 2016 at 7:35 pm

    Whilst the poster and I disagree on almost everything – I just wanted to give a big ol “shit that post heading is hilarious”. It really did make laugh out loud. Thanks.

    • te reo putake 6.1
      3 October 2016 at 8:27 pm

      Cheers! It was going to be Mysterex because of the pen name he used, but Colinoscopy was just too funny not to use. And pretty apt, given the arse he’s made of himself.

  7. Richard Rawshark 7
    3 October 2016 at 8:26 pm

    All these people are making a mockery of democracy, all of them as far as I can see, so stuff em long may they sue each other and stay out of rigging elections.

    • left for dead 7.1
      5 October 2016 at 2:46 pm

      For the two males, yes. Ms Mc, foolish. But please, not at our exspence (court time) etc

  8. Enviro Gal 8
    3 October 2016 at 9:05 pm

    Re: the wider context of these trials,
    it seems obvious to me that this is a continuation of dirty politics.
    Anne asks the question why did the revelation of Dirty Politics not have more cut through? because there is a long time lag for complex political issues, and outcomes have not finished.
    The National Party might have Jordan Williams working hard to eliminate the Conservative Party and damage Colin Craig, after all they are serious competition
    for their votes. The wheels of Dirty Politics could be still rolling —– .

    • Anne 8.1
      3 October 2016 at 9:56 pm

      The National Party might have Jordan Williams working hard to eliminate the Conservative Party and damage Colin Craig, after all they are serious competition
      for their votes.

      Certainly that was the view in 2014 but Michelle Boag on Q&A was of the view the Conservative vote will go to NZ First next year. I’m inclined to agree with her. Peters is actively courting them with is anti-immigration stance in particular.

      • dukeofurl 8.1.1
        4 October 2016 at 7:34 am

        Competition for their votes ?

        hardly, it was the serious donors behind Craigs Conservatives who they were in competition with.
        We arent talking about $20K donors , we are talking $0.5 mill donors.

        On the tory side of politics thats where the titanic struggles are, for the wallets of the 2%

    • Nessalt 8.2
      5 October 2016 at 9:01 am

      and there goes the sisterhood.

      Colin Craig is a powerful creep, abusing his privilege of wealth and position to harass and then destroy a young female working for him and to silence her helpers. Who cares what side of the political fence the helpers are on? doesn’t it strike you as a little strange your theory that national would go after the conservative party? a little too machiavellian when all the current theory goes on about national needing minor party lap dogs.

      pull your head out of your arse and take a stand against predatory males. Colin Craig, Trevor Mallard, Julian Assange, Donald Trump. Not just those who don’t share your political views.

      • Anne 8.2.1
        5 October 2016 at 9:24 am

        Why the venomous response to Enviro Gal @ 8 Nessalt? She makes a reasonable comment about the way she sees the political machinations playing out in the present climate – not 3 plus years ago. Throwing in the names of individuals who have no bearing on the subject matter is pathetic.

        The “sisterhood” – as you apparently like to refer to women who comment on political matters – have as much right to express an opinion as yourself.

        • Nessalt 8.2.1.1
          5 October 2016 at 10:19 am

          By somehow excusing the power of colin craig in the relationship with Rachel McGregor because he is then going after your political enemies. you have a right to an opinion, just be prepared to accept that it’s the morally wrong one as you’ve abandoned every woman in an abusive relationship to score political points.

    • Chuck 8.3
      5 October 2016 at 9:42 am

      “Anne asks the question why did the revelation of Dirty Politics not have more cut through? because there is a long time lag for complex political issues, and outcomes have not finished.”

      Enviro Gal in other words you are saying NZ voters are dumb, which is the standard go to line when the left gets no traction.

      It is not complex…most understood at the time and did not care as they see politicians from ALL sides of the house on TV or in the media accusing each other of this and that…trying to score a “hit” on each other.

      Politicians from ALL sides of the house “leak” information to friendly media buddies.

      “The National Party might have Jordan Williams working hard to eliminate the Conservative Party and damage Colin Craig, after all they are serious competition”

      The only person that has damaged Colin Craig is himself. And Bomber Bradbury 🙂

      • Crashcart 8.3.1
        5 October 2016 at 11:28 am

        I always wonder why people choose to equate low information with Dumb. Some people choose not to bury themselves in politics. Their interest is only during an election and even then normally limited to what they feel they need to know to make an informed decision.

        This doesn’t make them dumb just not as engaged. Political parties know how to exploit this to varying levels. They understand that what could be a scandal backed by evidence can be blunted by simple repetition of statements that seem fair but require no evidence to back up. In the case of DP the oft stated line that we have seen here was “both sides do it”. No attempt to offer evidence or back the statement up. However the general publics lack of faith and trust in politicians helped them accept this with no evidence. Add a large German with a shady back ground and it is not surprising that DP had little effect.

        So it has less to due with stupidity, and more to do with engagement. The dropping voter turn outs show that either parties are trying to engage and failing, or are quite happy for a general disinterest.

    • Chooky 8.4
      5 October 2016 at 11:04 am

      +100 Enviro Gal…pertinent observations

  9. mosa 9
    3 October 2016 at 11:29 pm

    Key was never going to give Colin Craig an easy ride into parliament.
    Slater had his instructions and set about taking him out of the frame in case Craig made the magical 5% and took votes of the North Shore National party.
    Craig has fallen hard and its a warning to anyone else thinking about a new right wing adventure in NZ politics and telling their assistant their most secret desires and expecting them to keep their mouth shut.

    • Cricklewood 9.1
      4 October 2016 at 1:20 am

      FFS Craig has done all this to himself with his odious behaviour…
      Wouldn’t suprise me if Keys reticence to deal with him was due to behind the scenes whispers before it was made public…
      If anything and loathe to say it Slater and Williams have done the voting public a favor outing him given what has been said seems to be true.

      • Chris 9.1.1
        4 October 2016 at 10:54 pm

        Williams doesn’t give a stuff about Craig’s behaviour. Just look at the filth he gets into in his exchanges with Slater. It was the potential that Craig would take votes from the nats and either prevent a right-wing coalition or become part of that coalition that was behind all of this. And there’s no way Williams was the main man. Williams is a bit player. A wannabe that commands no respect from anyone. Even Slater treats him like an idiot.

        • dukeofurl 9.1.1.1
          5 October 2016 at 9:22 am

          Votes and even more importantly some really big money donors were pushing their money Craigs way.
          Williams turn will come, after all he was described in the news – as holding his mothers hand waiting for the jury verdict-

  10. taxicab 10
    3 October 2016 at 11:40 pm

    Dirty politics is in overdrive on Slaters hate site no fewer than 6 story hits on Craig since this afternoon . Interesting that Graigs party haven’t pulled the plug on him the door seems to still be open to him so I guess some of them have smelled a rat in terms of a hit job from the get go .

  11. Nessalt 11
    5 October 2016 at 9:06 am

    Another of Bombers fine messes. can that man touch anything without it turning into poo?

    He’s like a reverse rumplestiltskin.

    All his fine talk of big news and promises to come at the end of the court case that would blow up in National, John Key’s, WO, Jordan Williams etc faces.

    I can’t wait to see which party he sends down the electoral gurgler this election cycle.