Strong piece in The Herald this morning:
Heather du Plessis-Allan: ‘This rot goes right to the top’
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But Barclay’s exit will probably cauterise the crisis. At least that’s what the National Party is hoping. … Except, the most junior National Party member involved should not be the only one held accountable. This rot goes right to the top.We got an insight into how the National Party runs and, folks, it’s ugly. There are claims of hush money, claims of interference with a police investigation and claims of a cover up. It’s like a plot from House of Cards, minus a murder on the train tracks.
Where’s the accountability from the Prime Minister? Bill English said Barclay had privately confessed to making the recordings, yet he allowed the junior MP to deny the same fact publicly for a year.
Where’s the accountability from board member Glenda Hughes who allegedly advised the staffer to withdraw the police complaint? If proven, that seems like obstruction of justice. That comes with a jail term of up to seven years.
The National Party is a party that knows how to silence a crisis. We saw it in 2014. The party sacrificed then Justice Minister Judith Collins in an attempt to shut down the Dirty Politics questions. Fast forward three years, Judith’s back and the questions remain unanswered.
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Also, we’ve seen again how divided the National Party really is. John Key managed to make it look supremely united, but really, the backbenchers are angry at the senior ministers for imposing decisions on everyone else like generals issuing orders.
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The more divided a party is, the more it leaks and undermines itself. The less it’s able to hide cover ups and scandals from the public. The more likely we are to find out when things like this happen, and hold those responsible to account.This time though, it looks like the most junior guy’s taken the fall. Alone.
Read the whole piece on The Herald.
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