Govt’s instances of abuse
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11:53 pm, June 8th, 2010 - 26 comments
Categories: accountability, corruption, Politics -
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Over the weekend, I read the right wing blogs with interest and their frequent references to left-wing politicians troughing at the taxpayers expense and other such instances of abuse. I then lent my mind to the National-led Government and how they have fared in this regard over the last 18 months.
This is what I came up with:
14 May 2009: Melissa Lee used taxpayer NZ on Air money to make National Party advertisements
1 August 2009: Bill English received $1000/week to live in his Wellington home while claiming his primary place of residence as Dipton. English later made changes to his family trust to claim a $900/week accommodation allowance
4 August 09: Phil Heatley rented out an apartment to another National MP while claiming $24,000/year from the taxpayer. Meanwhile, Heatley lived in another house with the taxpayer being charged $53,000 in annual rent
September 2009: Gerry Brownlee used his ministerial credit card to pay for a $151.90 lunch
11 September 2009: Bill English requested an extra hours home help from ministerial services on the same day that he warned that the Government’s books would get worse before they got better, but that “the National-led Government is bringing responsibility back to fiscal policy’
21 October 2009: Rodney Hide invited regional councillors and members of the public to an ACT Party fundraising event to hear about the future of local government. Invitations were sent on ACT Party letterhead and charged at $45 per head
30 October 2009: Rodney Hide charged the taxpayer $52000 for business-class flights for him and his girlfriend to go on a trip to London, Canada and the USA
27 November 2009: Bill English’s Diplomatic Protection Squad car was found illegally parked over mobility space while English got a haircut
30 November 2009: Bill English spent $4051 on flowers from January to November 2009
23 February 2010: Murray McCully held shares in Widespread Portfolios, a NZ investment company with mining interests here and overseas while the Government planned to receive submissions on mining projects
23 February 2010: Phil Heatley used his ministerial credit card to spend $1716 on a family holiday, the movies, a trip to Burger King, etc.
8 April 2010: David Carter did not declare his conflict of interest to Cabinet when discussing ECAN. Carter owns a farm near where the building of a dam has been proposed. The passing of the ECAN Act in March makes it more likely that the construction of the dam will go ahead. The dam would enable Carter’s farm to financially benefit from irrigation
12 April 2010: Marlborough wool exporter Richard Bell, facing the Court of Appeal, swore an affidavit alleging that Colin King told him Chris Finlayson would not act against Justice Wilson because they were friends
20 April 2010: Shortly after Nick Smith’s brother had 21 charges brought to his large South Island construction company by ECAN, Nick Smith abolished ECAN’s democratically elected board and replaced it with government appointees
12 May 2010: Nathan Guy’s ministerial accommodation was empty during August and September 2009 but was leased with taxpayer money totalling $7000
Quite a list.
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- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
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- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
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- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
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The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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- Child Protection Investigation Unit established
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Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...3 hours ago
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- District Court Judge appointed
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- Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses
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- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
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- First arrests made under gang patch ban
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- Better support for victims of sexual violence
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- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
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- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...1 day ago
- Fighting for Kiwis in Trade
Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...1 day ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
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- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
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- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...2 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...3 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...3 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...3 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...3 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
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- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
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- New diplomatic appointments
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- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
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- Red Tape Tipline goes live
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- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
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- Police stats show promising change
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- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...4 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
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A new poem by Art Nahill. Boyhood I hate the way the dog cowers when I raise my voice. After all this time together she’s still not sure what I’m capable of. As kids with too much time we sprinkled salt on slugs plucked from summer gardens watched them shrivel ...3 hours ago - The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 22
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The prime minister says it wasn't appropriate behaviour but that Erica Stanford had apologised. ...4 hours ago
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The first arrest was made just three minutes after midnight, with 11 more to come. ...4 hours ago
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The committee plans to hold hearings in the week starting Monday, 27 January and the weeks starting 10, 17 and 24 February 2025. ...6 hours ago
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...12 hours ago
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but but but hulun signed a pitcha for chaarity and rode in a fast car and i reckun shes not even rully married to that man its all fake dpf told me so there
Don’t forget, Ian Wishart says she was high the whole time.
27 November 2009: Bill English’s Diplomatic Protection Squad car was found illegally parked over mobility space while English got a haircut
..OMG !!! OMG !!!..thats serious abuse alright…ppfftt..you gotta be kiddin.
haha…
Love how RWNJs can’t handle a little of their own medicine.
duh
Its illegal and we get ticketed and towed but not that pig
. . . not to mention its terribly inconvenient for the disabled – oh, hang on, that’s right, National Ltd think the disabled and their family are only worthy of scorn and laughter.
Read the rest of the list SB.
That’s what I call abuse!
Imagine – substitute Helen Clark for English. Howls of outrage.
“..OMG !!! OMG !!!..thats serious abuse alright ppfftt..you gotta be kiddin.”
Exactly. Almost as trivial as buying a cartoon, autographing it and donating it to charity, or being a passenger in a car which may or may not have broken the speed limit. Utterly inconsequential.
Oink oink oink
My question is this??
Was Brownlee\’s lunch all for him==probably
Fat obnoxious pig
Was Brownlee\’s lunch all for him==probably
Fat pig
Hmm speaking of fat pigs…what was the name of your maori affairs minister again ?
A week’s dole worth of panini.
Don’t forget Worth and Groser’s dodgy trips to India to promote their private interests in aviation training.
…and of course Koru club carters all too frequent trips to disaster zones , wish washy ceremonies , dubious educational institutes etc etc…trougher extradonaire !
Imagine the list if it contained all the conflicts of interest the likes of Sideshow John etc have failed to declare when returning favours…err I mean making policy in such interests as mining/dairy to name just a couple of industrys that ministers have absoulutely no interests in as they’ve given their hard earned over to the blind.
We should also mention the big transfer of tax cash upwards to their mates……not illegal or corrupt, just venal.
“21 October 2009: Rodney Hide invited regional councillors and members of the public to an ACT Party fundraising event to hear about the future of local government. Invitations were sent on ACT Party letterhead and charged at $45 per head”
Could someone remind me exactly what was wrong with this? I ask because I saw a poster in a shop window over the weekend where another minister of the current government seems to be doing the same thing later on this month. I want to be sure before I put details up, though.
The problem was that Hide was speaking as a minister of the Crown while fundraising for his party. It’s permissible to charge for attendees to hear a minister speak, as long as it’s just to cover costs and the party isn’t fundraising off it
If ever there was a symbol of abuse of position to achieve an undemocratic outcome then it’s all wrapped up in one minister for all to see….Rodney Hide.
But then we all need to step back and remember that the people voted in a corpratocracy led by a currency trader in 08, supported by the ultra’s in ACT rather then a democratic gov’t so it’s no surprise really.
And let’s face it, Hide is really just a convenient scape-goat bogey for National.
It’s National that gave him his warrant to do their work, and I don’t hear National complaining about what Hide’s done for the Supershitty.
agree Sprout….just shows what a un-democratic troughing moral vacum wodney is.
taken as read 😉
1 August 2009: Bill English received $1000/week to live in his Wellington home while claiming his primary place of residence as Dipton. English later made changes to his family trust to claim a $900/week accommodation allowance
Can just imagine the slimy prick laughing all the way to the bank thinking, that’ll teach you ordinary NZ for rejecting me as PM.
Why cant the public see that by voting Key in, they just let English in to control the country through the nations pursestrings anyway ? We didn’t want him before so i imagine we certainly don’t want him now !
If someone can tie these two hogs together and show up the failings of one, as that of the other, then it might get more mileage than just trying to continuously smear Key.
Targetting Key all the time takes the heat of what a spiteful, greedy failure English is.
Ah, the two wrongs make a right defence.
Not to mention all their friends waiting to get their hands onto ACC, mining, and all the SOEs. Who are the National party’s funders?