Shane Jones and Chris Carter are for the chop. Labour will lay down the gauntlet to John Key to apply those same standards to Murry McCully and Tim Groser. Key is desperate to avoid that, we know how lax his standards are.
There will be some who say that it is overly harsh on Jones (Carter on the other hand…). After all, the taxpayer isn’t out of pocket like we are having paid thousands for McCully and Groser’s late night drinking habits, or Bill English’s house. But Jones must know his fate in inevitable.
He can take solace, though, by looking across the debating chamber. There he will see on the government benches Maurice Williamson, who was once suspended from the National party caucus, John ‘Hone’ Carter, who was sacked as government whip after ringing John Banks’ talkshow pretending to be a workshy Maori, Bill English, who led his party to its worst ever defeat, Steven Joyce, who masterminded the strategy that lost National the unloseable election, and, of course, Phil Heatley. Jones will realise that rehabilitation is possible, in time.
He can even look at the speaker Lockwood Smith, who would now be a senior minister if he hadn’t told a reporter that Asians make good fruit workers because of their small hands and Polynesian seasonal workers don’t know how to use toilets, and remember that sometimes there are second prizes in life.
Labour’s going to need to clean up its act and some heads will roll. Expect Key to squirm as he refuses to hold his ministers to account, once again.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress