Gilmore’s position now untenable

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, May 8th, 2013 - 72 comments
Categories: accountability, john key, national - Tags: , , ,

I feel a bit sorry for Aaron Gilmore. He’s a dickhead, yes indeed, but there’s a lot of that about, and not many dickheads get forced to stare into the mirror the way that Gilmore has.

Be that as it may, Gilmore’s position is now untenable. When it was claimed that he had threatened a barman with having the PM get him sacked, Gilmore denied it. How then does he explain this text exchange with lawyer Andrew Riches (one of the dining companions that Gilmore tried to dump on) – as leaked to Newstalk ZB:

AR: I didn’t write that note because I thought we were boisterous, I wrote it because you told the guy he was being fired, said the pm would be involved and I didn’t want the poor guy to worry about his job

AG: I know. They are trying to make it seem bigger than that. Its bullshit. ive taken the blame and apologised. Just say nothing.

When talking about the allegation Gilmore says “I know”. Clearly he has lied to the PM. As Key has already stated such a lie would be a “serious issue”. So, the ball is in Key’s court now, he’s been lied to, Gilmore should go.

72 comments on “Gilmore’s position now untenable ”

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  1. One Anonymous Knucklehead 1
    8 May 2013 at 9:45 am

    “I take him at his word. I will not be reading the text exchange.”

    • paul andersen 1.1
      8 May 2013 at 10:04 am

      yep ,you got that right. key is spending more and more time not reading things. he may even get to be like george bush and have to have things read to him(little golden books etc)

    • mickysavage 1.3
      8 May 2013 at 12:41 pm

      I think this may mark a change in the PM’s attitude. He got the texts from somewhere then whammo they are in the public domain.

      And in a couple of days time Gilmore will resign in disgrace. This is so choreographed …

    • mickysavage 1.4
      8 May 2013 at 12:56 pm

      Jessica Mutch just tweeted “Just finished speaking with Aaaron Gilmore. He says he’s handed over his version of texts to the Prime Minister’s office.”

      You mean there are two different versions of the texts?

      LOL!

      And so it appears that Key is not taking the honourable member’s word on this particular occasion …

      • veutoviper 1.4.1
        8 May 2013 at 1:08 pm

        Just reported on RNZ National news that Gilmore has given the PM the texts but

        “… Mr Gilmore is re-iterating that he never made threats about the barman’s job.

        He says his text conversation differs from the one released on Wednesday and it has been shown to the prime minister.

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/134579/text-messages-about-hanmer-alcohol-incident

        ??? Murkier and murkier.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 1.4.1.1
          8 May 2013 at 1:23 pm

          I wonder if Andrew Riches will respond to the obvious insinuation that he forges text messages. 😀

          • Jackal 1.4.1.1.1
            8 May 2013 at 1:39 pm

            If Gilmore is saying that the leaked text messages are somehow forged, he needs to stump up and prove it. Otherwise we should take them at face value… It appears that the intoxicated National MP threatened the staff members employment because he wasn’t being served more alcohol. Aaron Gilmore should therefore resign.

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 1.4.1.1.2
            8 May 2013 at 2:15 pm

            Bugger! I was hoping for a couple more days at least.

        • Ben 1.4.1.2
          8 May 2013 at 4:16 pm

          Surely the GCSB have these texts on file for verification?

  2. mickysavage 2
    8 May 2013 at 10:00 am

    It makes you wonder who leaked the text exchange and who had it. I presume it came from the lawyer’s phone, the one who has gone all quiet on it.

    There may be an explanation to show that Gilmore’s response text was not an admission that he had threatened to get the PM’s office to fire the poor waiter. Pigs may also fly …

  3. Dv 3
    8 May 2013 at 10:01 am

    But Aaron is right he is very important.

    It his his vote that allows the Nacts to ‘govern’

    May be he should have told the PM ‘if you don’t give me what I want I will resign from the NP, and cause havoc for you on the cross benches’.

    • ianmac 3.1
      8 May 2013 at 10:18 am

      Did I read somewhere that there would have to be a by-election rather than go to the next on the List?

      • toad 3.1.1
        8 May 2013 at 10:27 am

        If you did, it was wrong. If a List MP resigns, the place is taken by the next on the List – by-elections occur only when Electorate MPs resign or die.

        • Dv 3.1.1.1
          8 May 2013 at 10:33 am

          >>If a List MP resigns
          That is from Parliament.
          Not from the Nats though?

          • Lanthanide 3.1.1.1.1
            8 May 2013 at 12:32 pm

            There is nothing National can do to forcefully remove him from parliament, they can put pressure on him to resign, but he doesn’t have to.

            He can however be forced out of the National Party, at which point he’ll be in the same position as Brendan Horan. National would still be the government, as even without Gilmour’s vote, they get 63 votes for confidence and supply thanks to the Maori Party. Where it would leave them in trouble is passing legislation, as often the MP vote against the government’s bills, so if Gilmour chose to vote against or abstain, the government could have a hard time passing new laws. But it’s fairly unlikely he’d do that, because although his parliamentary career would be dead at that point, it wouldn’t make his life any easier once he leaves parliament.

  4. King Kong 4
    8 May 2013 at 10:22 am

    He should have made his apology on radio. The press have been living on stock images of him but yesterday he turned up and everyone realised that this guy looks like a sex criminal.
    This has completely sunk him.

    • fender 4.1
      8 May 2013 at 11:56 am

      Keen to know how you are able to tell a “sex criminal” by looking at someone, animal intuition maybe.

      The thing that tells me this Gilmore fool is unfit for parliament is that he has shown a tendency to be corrupt. Expecting favours because of his ‘status’ suggests he would also perform favours for personal gain. Not forgetting of course that he has lied to our lying PM, and trying to pass the buck onto his ‘friends’, he’s a low life ass.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 4.1.1
        8 May 2013 at 12:38 pm

        …which is how he came to be suitable for the National Party in the first place, and the circle is complete.

        • fender 4.1.1.1
          8 May 2013 at 1:05 pm

          Yep, his only crime as far as his fellow party members are concerned is his inability to hide his true National Party characteristics.

        • yeshe 4.1.1.2
          8 May 2013 at 1:50 pm

          someone wrote on NBR website he is the son of one of John Key’s best friends which is how he got on the list in the first place ! Don’t know if it’s true. Also, I read there (or was it here?) that the ChCh lawyer Riches is an employment law specialist and would have a critical awareness very finely tuned to the threats made by Gilmore, which is why he was compelled to write the note for the waiter.

          More to come for sure.

          • J'Accuse 4.1.1.2.1
            9 May 2013 at 7:04 am

            I think he was reflecting John Key’s ‘Master of the Universe’ persona which has filtered down to the lower ranks, under the influence of whatever substances he had imbibed.

            I have seen others act similarly ..

    • geoff 4.2
      8 May 2013 at 1:30 pm

      everyone realised that this guy looks like a sex criminal.
      This has completely sunk him.

      I think he just looks like a fatter version of John Key. Hmm…

    • paul andersen 4.3
      9 May 2013 at 10:34 am

      I thought he looked a lot like john keys younger smarter brother.

  5. Matthew Hooton 5
    8 May 2013 at 10:37 am

    His position is not as untenable as it will be this time tomorrow.

    • mickysavage 5.1
      8 May 2013 at 10:41 am

      What next Matthew?

      Nefarious business dealings?

      Inappropriate personal relationships?

      Please tell.

      I must say us lefties are rank amateurs at the undermining and exclusion of people deemed to be past their use by date.

      • felix 5.1.1
        8 May 2013 at 10:47 am

        That’s for sure.

        When these halfwits go to Hoots or Lusk for their services the first question is always “Is there ANYTHING in your past present or future that would damage you if it got out? We need to know all the details now so we can protect you if it ever does.”

        Lolz idiots.

      • King Kong 5.1.2
        8 May 2013 at 11:01 am

        My bet would be that he is Cam Slaters love child. Same greasy ringlets and fat droopy face.

        • Hayden 5.1.2.1
          8 May 2013 at 11:05 am

          Probably not feasible, but what about illegitimate half-brother? Throw in a bit of blackmail to get him on the list, very salacious and exciting.

    • felix 5.2
      8 May 2013 at 10:41 am

      Is that when the sexual stuff comes out?

    • Bunji 5.3
      8 May 2013 at 10:42 am

      You tease!

      Go on, give us a clue of what you’re hinting at…

      • mickysavage 5.3.1
        8 May 2013 at 10:50 am

        Of course this could be a cunning plan to divert the media’s attention away from the giving the GCSB carte blanc to spy on Kiwis. Expect Gilmore to dominate the media while our rights are legislated away.

        Interesing that Key is happy to throw a back bencher MP under the wheels to provide a diversion …

        • SpaceMonkey 5.3.1.1
          8 May 2013 at 11:03 am

          I suspect that’s exactly what will happen. List MPs are cannon fodder.

        • Colonial Viper 5.3.1.2
          8 May 2013 at 11:09 am

          Weird thing tho…Key was on radio yesterday chaining himself to Gilmore…that Gilmore had contributed a lot as an MP and despite needing to re-earn the trust of NZers still had a lot more to contribute…

          There’s a game afoot and the Gilmore incident has sparked something off

          • felix 5.3.1.2.1
            12 May 2013 at 7:08 pm

            Perhaps not so much chaining himself to Gilmore as distancing himself from his muckspreading machine.

        • mickysavage 5.3.1.3
          9 May 2013 at 10:40 am

          So where is the big exposure?

          Or is this a plan to soften Aaron up to make him go quietly?

          “Resign now and all this humiliation will stop … “

      • King Kong 5.3.2
        8 May 2013 at 11:08 am

        Rhymes with speedo.

    • andyS 5.4
      8 May 2013 at 11:57 am

      WhaleOil has been intimating that there is more to come. Don’t keep us in suspense!

    • McFlock 5.5
      8 May 2013 at 12:32 pm

      et tu, Hoot-ay?

      The funny thing is that the nats could have made a lot more ground with the asset sales petition kick-back if it weren’t for Gilmour. As it is, they now have to answer why they gave such a plonker a job in the first place.

  6. happynz 6
    8 May 2013 at 10:47 am

    Aaron Gilmore’s job is safe. No way will Key sack him. Expect another distraction soon followed by silence on the matter.

  7. gobsmacked 7
    8 May 2013 at 10:49 am

    I feel a bit sorry for Gilmore too.

    Or more accurately, I feel no respect for journalists who are fearless in pursuit of a nobody, but useless in pursuit of the truth. Anyone see Rebecca Wright on Campbell Live? Sharp, fierce, direct questioning of a National MP. Taking no crap. Which would be great except … I have never seen her – or anybody else – tackle Key the same way.

    Aaron Gilmore’s biggest mistake: not giving out free bottles of wine to the press gallery.

    • amirite 7.1
      8 May 2013 at 11:25 am

      He may be a nobody but he holds that vote that gives National a majority in the Parliament. About time for journos to give’em grief. As for tackling Key FGS, he won’t even go on Radio NZ for the fear of being butchered. I suspect that his cohort of bodyguards won’t allow any journo to get too close.

      • Jim Nald 7.1.1
        8 May 2013 at 11:42 am

        Key won’t need to front up on Gilmore. My understanding from sources within the inner sanctum is that the twit (for clarification, the latter) is being cut loose and there should be one more day to run in the media before the unceremonious dumping, just before the weekend.

      • gobsmacked 7.1.2
        8 May 2013 at 12:33 pm

        he holds that vote that gives National a majority in the Parliament.

        True for Banks or Dunne, not true for a list MP who simply gets replaced. Of course Gilmore could “do a Horan” and go independent, and then vote with the opposition – in theory. In practice, Key would be overjoyed, and Shearer would be horrified. “Look, sleazy Gilmore has found a home with Labour!” – a slogan made in Nat heaven.

        I suspect that his cohort of bodyguards won’t allow any journo to get too close.

        He is interviewed on dozens of regular slots every week. The interviews are soft, and the contrast with Gilmore (and their respective influence) is precisely my point.

  8. veutoviper 8
    8 May 2013 at 10:50 am

    The Herald now has put up an article with the full text exchange, which includes additional ones to those quoted in the post above.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10882235

    The Stuff article also includes the following

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8644577/Aaron-Gilmore-texts-to-lawyer-revealed


    “Riches, who won a bravery award for rescuing survivors from the collapsed PGC building after the 2011 earthquake, stood by his original statement yesterday.

    “I will be making no further comment and will allow the public to draw their own conclusions.”

    A spokeswoman for Key said he was unavailable for comment last night.

    MP’S NO-SHOW

    The revelations came amid news the under-fire list MP did not show up to a regular meeting at Parliament this morning.

    He was expected at a procedures meeting in the Beehive office of Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee this morning.

    The meeting, between ministers’ advisers and backbenchers, is usually held after 8am to discuss that afternoon’s Question Time. Beehive sources say Gilmore is usually present and “very vocal,” and his absence was notable.

    Gilmore could not be reached for comment this morning. “

  9. toad 9
    8 May 2013 at 11:24 am

    Gilmore appears to admit in the texts he was carried out of the bar. After 2 beers and 3 glasses of wine. Yeah, right!

  10. NickS 10
    8 May 2013 at 12:38 pm

    The revenge of the Riches is harsh, but so totes justified.

  11. freedom 11
    8 May 2013 at 1:04 pm

    exhalations of relief are heard from the 9th floor 🙂
    http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/taliban-claim-responsibility-for-rude-hotel-comments/

  12. Te Reo Putake 12
    8 May 2013 at 1:06 pm

    If I were in Parliament, I’d be asking a simple question to the PM.

    ‘Did Aaron Gilmore contact you, or try to contact you, on that Saturday night?’

    I think there’s every chance he did txt Key while in a drunken funk. And Key has ‘forgotten’ about it or, in the alternative, said nothing ‘because I haven’t been asked that question’. Arrogance has bought Gilmore down, it’d be lovely if he took Dunnokeyo with him, too.

    An FOI request for Gilmore’s taxpayer funded phone records could be very revealing.

  13. Rogue Trooper 13
    8 May 2013 at 1:10 pm

    What I would like to say about “positions untenable” is this;
    It is no longer tenable for me to observe at the Anglican parish (oh Sarah, sigh) due to the Auckland hypocrisy over Gay ordinations, when it is CLEAR that many Gay folk are permitted to ordain, while others are denied. Talk about an “own goal”.

  14. NickS 14
    8 May 2013 at 1:26 pm

    And I see the stuff.co.nz editor(s) has chosen to use the most gumby-ist of the gumbys photos of Gilmore available.

  15. Pete 15
    8 May 2013 at 2:28 pm

    I wonder if Gilmore will go feral, stay on in Parliament and vote against the budget out of spite. Would that mean the Nats would have to court Brendan Horan? If the stars align, the government could fall over this.

    PM signals Gilmore should stand down

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