I wish to complain…

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 pm, June 3rd, 2009 - 31 comments
Categories: activism, blogs, crosby textor, humour, spin - Tags: , ,

Too ethical (damnit)

It turns out that Phil Goff was aware of an allegation about Richard Worth weeks ago that may relate to the current investigation.

Labour leader Phil Goff took an allegation of Richard Worth’s inappropriate behaviour towards a woman to Prime Minister John Key about a month ago, it emerged tonight.

This was apparently not the allegation that the police are investigating.

Mr Goff had decided not to raise the issue publicly and allow Mr Key to deal with it as the woman had not wanted to be in the public arena.

The complaint was about “inappropriate behaviour. . . in the nature of unwanted attention.”

Phil – don’t you know that the correct approach is to leak it out through a blogging source (like Whaledreck for instance), then escalate it it through ‘concerned’ more ‘respected’ bloggers later as a dog-whistle. If the main-stream media decide that it is capable of exciting the talk-back crowd, then move it up into a full-scale ‘scandal’ with a lot of smoke even if there are no flames. Just like the pattern we have seen for the last few years in the wingnut blogs?

But nope. This is the Labour party, not NACT. Phil Goff didn’t do those things….. Oh it is hard running a left-wing blog when the leaders are so scrupulous <sigh />. You could have at least given some of us a heads up. We are just an e-mail away – check out the contact page.

However as rOb said earlier

Well done Phil. While the right wing hires private investigators and feeds its pet attack bloggers, Phil Goff just quietly did the right thing. My opinion of Phil just went up three notches.

Way more sensible than the approach of the NACT / Crosby-Textor play-book because it concentrates more time on pushing the policy debate rather than personalities and lynch-mobs.

A lot less fun for the left bloggers – but I’m sure Phil didn’t consider us in his decision making.

31 comments on “I wish to complain… ”

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  1. the sprout 1
    3 June 2009 at 11:13 pm

    All the more frustrating when sh*t for brains at TVNZ decide to put Whaleoil on close Up as their principle interviewee. Very informative having National’s number 2 propagandist providing the ‘inside information’. How stupid are you Mark? I thought you were a comparatively good journalist. It was a shit interview and definitely not worth the cost to your credibility.
    What’s next I wonder? Will Ian Wishart soon being getting a regular slot?

  2. Outofbed 2
    3 June 2009 at 11:16 pm

    I wish to register a complaint ??

    • lprent 2.1
      3 June 2009 at 11:41 pm

      Arggh… Now you know why it is rare for me to allow my other half to proof-read my posts (and she is damn good at it). Now I have to look forward to Felix looking for the wording as well. At least the comma fetishists seem to be on the wane.

      Everyone is a critic…. I’m a programmer not a writer. No-one has successfully built a compiler for english. I figure that if it is an interpreted language and doesn’t have a formal parseable syntax, then my interpretation is as good as (if not better) than say Johnson.

  3. Outofbed 3
    3 June 2009 at 11:18 pm

    Yes particularly ironic when Slater is a proven pornographer

  4. calltoaccount 4
    3 June 2009 at 11:21 pm

    Words fail really on the way Goff is handling this. Integrity, respect… Looks like he tried to get a solution, and Key made it worse.

    (No need to complain lprent, your site is a a great place to watch this story unfold.)

  5. climate 5
    3 June 2009 at 11:47 pm

    Any likely links between Groser and Worth on this one?

    previusly they shared headlines and buisness deals:

    ‘they are joined by the fact that both Richard Worth and Tim Groser were founder shareholders and directors of the India Trade Group, which was formed by the Indian business community in Auckland.

    Some members of the ITG organised a mission to India led by Mr Worth, to pursue some specific business objectives, some of them associated with New Zealand Aviation, a company formed to attract young Indians to an aviation school run by Invercargill-based Southern Institute of Technology, and Indian Overseas Group, a company liked to the ITG.-see article at bottom of page’

  6. Outofbed 6
    4 June 2009 at 12:04 am

    Yes the famous parrot sketch as sprouts link 2
    nothing to do with your syntax lprent,
    fuck i would be the last to complain about that

  7. calltoaccount 7
    4 June 2009 at 12:17 am

    This from Key’s press conference:

    “I’ve had someone bring an allegation to me, of that nature, and all I can say is I treated that allegation seriously, I investigated it and I was satisfied with the answers I received.”

    And that ‘someone’ was Goff! Kind of a big secret to keep…

  8. Anthony Karinski 8
    4 June 2009 at 1:06 am

    One can see how this whole thing has the potential to blow up spectacularly for the Nats. Key got alerted by Goff some time ago about a woman who obviously felt she was being harassed by Worth. Key investigates and receives answers he’s happy with. One wonders what this investigation involved – questioning Worth and taking his word for that nothing happened? Did anyone else get interviewed etc…

    Worth goes on and apparently may have caused more mischief. Key investigates for a week (fair enough, he needs the facts on the table) and lets Worth resign for private reasons. Then he thinks better of it and holds a pressie to let us know it’s not exactly family matters that made the minister resign and that he would have been fired anyhow.Still no word on what the alleged offense is.

    Could it be that Key’s initial investigation was so flimsy (i.e he asked Worth “did you do what Goff told me” to which Worth replied “no” = Key satisfied that all is ok) that it now at best would appear to be extremely poorly managed and at worst a blatant cover up that lead to another crime down the road?

    Be interesting to see what happens. Maybe the other woman decides to launch a complaint. Maybe Key’s investigation skills will be exposed. Remember, Key may come to be seen as partly responsible for the second (and unknown) offense if it could have been avoided had he given Worth the boot after the first incident.

  9. Dean 9
    4 June 2009 at 1:18 am

    Can we compare and contrast this to, say, Clark’s handling of the Dover Samuels situation?

    Yeah, I thought not.

    • calltoaccount 9.1
      4 June 2009 at 1:30 am

      Ask Key. (I don’t think dredging up overstated distractions is going to work this time.)

      • Dean 9.1.1
        4 June 2009 at 2:11 am

        Ask Clark. It seemed to work for her. (Pretending Labour weren’t as bad at this as National are is just plain stupid).

        • Maynard J 9.1.1.1
          4 June 2009 at 10:13 am

          So Dean, the people you hate with a passion (and what a passion!!) are in your eyes just as bad, now, as those I presume you support. Sucks to be you.

        • calltoaccount 9.1.1.2
          4 June 2009 at 11:04 am

          Dean: My point, as you missed it, is it would be suicidal if Key (and you) play politics with an issue like this.

          But, ignore my advice, go on, ask Key. Please.

  10. bobo 10
    4 June 2009 at 2:02 am

    Didn’t Therese Arseneau on closeup look like a child that’s just found out Santa isn’t real… And if we had a actual media that had done some digging instead of just parroting what Key said in his media release we would have more of an idea of what NZs own Les Patterson minus snot stains on the tie has actually done by now.

  11. SHG 11
    4 June 2009 at 3:55 am

    If this is true, then good on Goff. He will have gone up in my estimation.

  12. Outofbed 12
    4 June 2009 at 6:56 am

    It seems that Key waited till the summing up in the Bain trial to drop the “Worth” bombshell

  13. gobsmacked 13
    4 June 2009 at 8:02 am

    Sources close to the Beehive have leaked the following transcript of the Prime Minister’s investigation:

    Key: “Sorry, Richard, Goff’s on my case. Pompous prick.”

    Worth: “Oh dear, what am I supposed to have done now?”

    Key: “I dunno mate, I wasn’t listening. He does go on, doesn’t he?”

    Worth: “Yeah. So, is this a – er – bollocking then?”

    Key: “Yeah, consider yourself bollocked, and thoroughly investigated! If the media ask, I’ll put my game face on – “Up with this I will not put”, the usual crap. They lap it up.”

    Worth: “And you do it so well. So, another drink?”

    Key: “Yes, Minister!”

  14. Tom Semmens 14
    4 June 2009 at 8:30 am

    According to Sean “I want to suck John Key’s unmentionable” Plunkett’s two unbiased commentators – Dick Griffin and Richard Prebble, it is all Phill Goff’s fault.

    When anyone wonders why National is so popular, I would look at this scandal. John Armstrong unilaterally declaring victory for John Key; Two hard right commentators interviewed by a hard right interviewer in an interview which descended into a Fox News farce; And who is on Close Up? Why, the slimiest right wing shyster of all, Cameron Slater.

  15. The Voice of Reason 15
    4 June 2009 at 9:38 am

    A bit tough on Sean Plunkett, Tom. I don’t think he’s a right winger at all, but it struck me as piss poor work on the producer’s part to get two genuine righties to comment on this matter. Perhaps RNZ were fooled by Richard Griffin’s supposed ‘independant commentator’ status?

  16. Juana Atkins 16
    4 June 2009 at 9:57 am

    Labour had their chance to put the boot in and they blew it!

    WHY? because Phil the Wuss cannot handle one round in the ring with Whaleoil.

    Well done. He has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

    • The Voice of Reason 16.1
      4 June 2009 at 10:28 am

      Er, are you Tim Ellis in disguise?

      Despite the best efforts of the desperate right spinsters, Phil Goff has come out of this looking like a leader. The wuss is Key, who should have dumped his minister after the India trip, but lacked the nous to spot the unguided nature of Worth’s rocket.

  17. wil 17
    4 June 2009 at 10:51 am

    Incredibly, this site banned robinsod, numerous times. And you have the audacity to now say you want Goff et al to email you tittle tattle so you can out the offenders like Whaleoil and other rightcrapwing blogs?

    Robinsod was the only leftwing blogger who could compete with whalearsehole and his ilk on their terms, and you banned him. You want politically correct discourse, fair enough and kudos to you. But see the contradiction here.

    Wanted: A left wing blog that is prepared to kill. Present url online so I can find it. Thankyou.

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