It’s wrong but I’ll do it anyway

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 3rd, 2009 - 24 comments
Categories: act, national/act government, parliamentary spending - Tags: ,

Just saw this in the SST. Hide on the spousal travel allowance:

This perk is wrong, I’ve never agreed with it

So why claim it? If you don’t think it’s right, it’s not ethical to do it. ‘Meat is murder, but as you’ve killed the animals anyway…’

I had the opportunity for this trip and I wanted to do it because I didn’t want to make a mistake with the Auckland [super city proposal].”

You did make a mistake. Lots of them. None of which explains why you took an allowance you don’t think is right. Or how you managed to spend $25,000 on a few flights.

Look, you try to hold a new relationship together. You are very busy as a minister. I hardly see the young lady and it’s pretty tough.

Cry me a river. Wish I could have $25,000 of taxpayer money when my job takes me away from my beau. If he doesn’t support the perk, he could pay out of his $243,700 salary.

Face it Hide, you’re in the trough with the rest of Key’s piggies. And you’re worse because you claim to be better.

24 comments on “It’s wrong but I’ll do it anyway ”

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  1. tc 1
    3 November 2009 at 12:21 pm

    Our very own Homer J Simpson…….greedy and dim with that post harbour swim figure long gone.
    However unlike Homer, there’s no remorse or genuine desire to do the right thing as his snout’s not moving till it’s voted out.
    As Wodney’s brilliant argument goes in true Homer style….” why not me…” Why indeed.

  2. outofbed 2
    3 November 2009 at 12:26 pm

    I really don’t see why I have to help pay for a Minster to able to screw his or her partner in flash foreign hotels when….
    Hyde in particular is already screwing me here in NZ

  3. BLiP 3
    3 November 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Poor Wodney is blubbing to any journo he can find that he’s been getting called nasty names for taking his girlfriend on a business-class jaunt around the globe.

  4. Tigger 4
    3 November 2009 at 12:42 pm

    “he still wanted to remove the 90% subsidy MPs received for their wives and girlfriends to travel overseas”. I’m sure there are some men who benefit as freeloaders from the scheme…

  5. Daveski 5
    3 November 2009 at 12:50 pm

    Two separate issues in my view.

    On the one hand, Rodders deserves whatever he gets for his perk buster antics while in opposition and his perk abusing antics in office. Plonker.

    On t’other, this isn’t about perks available to Ministers but perks available to ALL MPs and on this basis, no party will win seeing they’ve all got their nose in the trough.

  6. felix 6
    3 November 2009 at 12:52 pm

    There’s something about these ACT people.

    Check out my mate burt defending Roger’s troughing – he reckons Roger only made us pay to publish his book in order to point out how ridiculous it is that we have to, umm, pay to publish his book.

    No, really.

    Rodney displays a similarly weird way of justifying his little scams.

  7. Lew 7
    3 November 2009 at 12:56 pm

    “It’s wrong but I’ll do it anyway’

    I knew it! Rodney Hide is secretly a lyric writer for girl-pop bands!

    L

    • felix 7.1
      3 November 2009 at 1:07 pm

      Yep, I think he penned this one for Christina.

      After all of the stealing and cheating
      You probably think that I hold resentment for you
      But, uh uh, oh no, you’re wrong
      ‘Cause if it wasn’t for all that you tried to do
      I wouldn’t know just how capable I am to pull through

      (more lyrics in the side panel)

    • snoozer 7.2
      3 November 2009 at 1:12 pm

      I took my girl and I liked it
      The cost of the flights fantastic
      I took my girl just to try it
      I hope my electorate don’t mind it
      It felt so wrong
      It felt so right
      Better than economy flight
      I took my girl and I liked it
      I liked it

    • Lew 7.3
      3 November 2009 at 1:16 pm

      Cracker. Keep ’em coming ; )

      L

    • BLiP 7.4
      3 November 2009 at 1:30 pm

      Was an old MP name Hide
      Mean, he was, malicious and snide
      On a trip to the UK
      He made you’n’me pay
      And took his lover along for the ride

      The lass’s name was Crome
      She didn’t want to stay home
      They flew first class
      With champagne in a glass
      So someone could polish his dome.

  8. So Bored 8
    3 November 2009 at 1:04 pm

    Love doth strange things to a man…and to my tax dollar. So sweet isnt it, bit like Beauty and the Beast.

  9. Walter 9
    3 November 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Maintaining relationships is obviously very important to this little man, I’m sure he would have taken his wife on such trips before they separated?

  10. torydog 10
    3 November 2009 at 3:02 pm

    oh where all the right wingers banging on about “how little MPs get paid” blah blah, jeez!

    These MP’s must be bloody idiots if they arent aware of the wages/entitlements before they get into Parliament….and anyway I thought public service was exactly that…..if they want to make millions piss off to the private sector…..

  11. richgraham 11
    3 November 2009 at 3:57 pm

    But is this accusation in fact correct ?
    Did he spend $25000 of the taxpayers money on travel for the girlfriend ?
    Did you check this ?

    • Pascal's bookie 11.1
      3 November 2009 at 4:24 pm

      Seeing the man hisself is claiming that he’d be a martyr not too have done so, and the man is not for martyring, and the figure has been out there for some days, and he’s not questioned it when interviewed about it, I’d say that it’s close enough for government work anyway.

    • snoozer 11.2
      3 November 2009 at 5:00 pm

      where are you coming from? This has been in the news for days.

  12. DeeDub 12
    3 November 2009 at 5:16 pm

    There was a mean bastard named Hide
    who carried a small voice inside
    it told him to pay
    or his girlfriend should stay
    but a nice man named Key did confide . . .

    He said ” C’mon Rodders, you know
    that the gallery all need a show
    and all that besides
    if they’re kicking your hide
    we’ll be hiding the things they don’t know!”

  13. Anthony Karinski 13
    3 November 2009 at 6:10 pm

    “Look, you try to hold a new relationship together. You are very busy as a minister. I hardly see the young lady and it’s pretty tough.”

    So Rodney agrees with the reason for giving MPs’ spouses travel allowances, but still thinks its wrong? There’s just no logic to it.

  14. RedLogix 14
    3 November 2009 at 6:41 pm

    Hide’s years in Parliament are numbered. He knows this, Key knows this.

    Key is just using Hide to take the heat for pushing out the barrow on some hard right policies he doesn’t want to squander political capital and his nice poll ratings on.

    At the end game Key can put on a goofy grin and say, ‘well it’s what I have to put up with under MMP’.

    Hide, understanding this perfectly, is snuffling for all he’s worth while it all lasts.

  15. Deemac 15
    3 November 2009 at 8:48 pm

    now Crome knows how much he values her: not enough to pay for her trip himself!

  16. prism 16
    3 November 2009 at 9:58 pm

    RedLogix I think that National is doing on the further right with J&H what Labour did with the left MP Jim Anderton. He seemed convenient for them, pushing various policies through which they would have resiled from without a push (shove).

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