I realise that journalists have to show some column inches sometimes to justify their existence on the payroll. However the “Investigations editor” Jared Savage at the the NZ Herald appears to be overdoing that and just dropping journalism to new lows of stupid reporting.
The latest is Jared’s attempt to puff up three routine immigration letters in 2005 from then Associate Minister of Immigration Damian O’Connor to ex National MP Warren Kyd. Warren Kyd was acting as an advisor to Donghua Liu. trying to help him get residency under the Investor category of the immigration rules at the time.
It appears that Warren Kyd was trying to explain some problem with a photograph on Donghua Liu’s application, and Damien O’Connor accepted the explanation. Later Warren Kyd was suggesting that the english language requirements should be waived.
These are pretty routine matters and anyone involved in the immigration field will tell you that this kind of lobbying of the immigration department and ministers goes on all of the time. Perhaps Jared Savage should also ask the NZ Heralds parliamentary reporters to give him an idea of the lack of significance of this kind of letter.
What is more difficult to explain is why this is worthy of column inches in one of the major metropolitan newspapers. It seems to appear in the last paragraph.
Mr O’Connor has told the Herald he cannot remember the circumstances in which he granted Liu’s application.
Yeah right. Remembering some minor correspondence from 9 years ago when a minister was in the midst of an incredibly busy brief is hardly surprising. Since Damien O’Connor doesn’t have access to those files, he can’t easily even look up the correspondence that his staff wrote for him.
While writing this post, I was trying to remember what code I was working on 9 years ago in 2005. The best that I can remember is that I was starting to learn how to write web services over an existing server application.
Never the less, Jared Savage keeps producing innocuous routine letters gained from OIAs and trying to build meaning into them without any real underlying facts. That is when he isn’t running bullshit stories about worthless unsubstantiated statements alleging donations to Labour that have no detail on them.
He really must be desperate for those extra inches. I’m just surprised that the NZ Herald editorial staff bother with this drivel. There doesn’t appear to be anything about it that holds much public interest apart from a simple desire to smear. Hardly journalism.
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