Key’s mining plan a pay-back for Crosby/Textor?

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 am, March 24th, 2010 - 43 comments
Categories: crosby textor, john key, Politics - Tags:

John Key is pushing ahead with his mining plan despite all the political trouble that’s brewing. The flames of the argument are flicking at his shorts, and as John Armstrong notes, the battle for public opinion “is already half lost”.

Why then is Key determined to push on with this immensely unpopular plan, which will destroy some of our most precious conservation lands?

The answer could be quite simple: Pay-back.

National’s chief spin doctors are the men from Australia’s PR firm Crosby/Textor, the chair of which is one Robert de Crespigny.

de Crespigny is a man with huge financial interests in mining and nuclear energy, and whose company ceaselessly helps the election of conservative parties with ‘friendly’ policies. Long associated with the international mining industry, de Crespigny is known as a “prominent mining sector identity”.

The Crosby/Textor chairman’s international mining interests are incredibly numerous – from Australia, to the UK, to Greece. Most recently de Crespigny has been appointed to the advisory board of Barclay Capital’s Natural Resource Investments business. And if you’re looking for something a bit closer to home, de Crespigny founded Normandy Mining, which was responsible for the modern Waihi mine.

de Crespigny is a mining man; a Crosby/Textor man. Why is that so important?

Crosby/Textor help those who help them. That means helping the conservatives who implement policies prying open new markets for their unidentified clients. They helped John Howard achieve victory in 2004, tried to help former UK Tory leader Michael Howard win in 2005, and of course helped John Key with his NZ win in 2008.

So what does Crosby/Textor get out of John Key? Will de Crespigny’s companies be mining our conservation parks for gold? ill other clients of Crosby/Textor be mining those lands?

We don’t know who those other clients are because, unusually for a PR firm, they keep their clients’ identities secret. As with MPs trusts, a veil of secrecy prevents us seeing the true extent of the links between National and mining interests. But it’s a fair bet that plenty of mining companies use Crosby/Textor seeing as they have de Cresigny chairing the board.

Is that why Key remains so silent about National’s relationship with Crosby/Textor? Why won’t Key come out and confirm the nature of his relationship with the company, how payments are being made, and the extent to which he relies on them?

I think we need to be watching with very close interest see to whether any of de Crespigny’s numerous companies or other companies linked to Crosby/Textor apply for mining permits on our conservation lands. Because if this story rings true then Key is taking on huge political risk for the financial benefit of his PR masters.

Worse, Key’s doing the wrong thing at expense of what the vast majority of Kiwis believe to be the right course of action.

43 comments on “Key’s mining plan a pay-back for Crosby/Textor? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. pollywog 1
    24 March 2010 at 12:28 am

    Have any of you eurocentrists ever wanted to know how it felt for pasifikans to be dispossessed of their lands and rights by colonial governments using the rule of law and the forces of the state for the benefit of their foreign overlords ?…well now you know !

    …the game remains the same only the names change and the game is to be sold not told.

    The question is, have times changed so much that we can now use the power of righteous information to throw the shackles of oppressive govt off in as much as those use the power of disinformation for the opposite ?

  2. luva 2
    24 March 2010 at 6:14 am

    Eddie, what do you mean when you say “pay back”. Crosby Textor did not work for National out of the goodness of their heart, or on the promise of some future policy favours. They were paid a very handsome sum in Australian dollars at, during and post election.

    There is no pay back, they have already been paid and believe me they were paid a lot.

    This is not like the insurance industry, the business round table or the Unions paying large sums to influence their favoured party. This is the party paying the large sum to them.

    By all means attack the policy for what it is. But in my opinion you start sounding like some JFK, moon landing, h bomb, 9/11 conspiracy nutter whenever Crosby Textor is mentioned.

    • lprent 2.1
      24 March 2010 at 8:17 am

      Perhaps some transparency on the dealings between the C/T and John Key/National would help dispel this illusion that you seem to think that Eddie sees?

      But in the meantime I don’t think that you’re a credible source. This theory sounds pretty damn plausible to me bearing in mind how little the potential returns on mining in s4 are (essentially peanuts), at least compared to the political damage it is going to cause. It seems very strange…

      • Mark 2.1.1
        24 March 2010 at 8:59 am

        perhaps some transparency between Labour and the unions would also be in order.
        Cant have it both ways Lprent.

        • TightyRighty 2.1.1.1
          24 March 2010 at 9:18 am

          and who are the labour strategists? you can’t honestly expect us to believe that what national do, labour don’t in this regard? labours holier than thou attitude is rarely matched by their actions
          and actually, why the fascination with Crosby/Textor? if they are as awesome as you make them out to be, why don’t they just scrap government and rule in their own right. if they are as awesome as you make them out to be, the public would have no problem with that.

        • IrishBill 2.1.1.2
          24 March 2010 at 9:22 am

          There’s massive transparency between the unions and Labour. Any member of a union can get a full set of union accounts which include political donations.

          In fact last election a least one union publicly released on how much it donated.

          The day we see that level of transparency from the waitemata trust will be the day you tory hacks can start talking about transparency without being laughed at.

        • The Voice of Reason 2.1.1.3
          24 March 2010 at 9:27 am

          Huh? The relationship between Labour and the minority of unions who affiliate couldn’t be more transparent. It’s in the rules of the unions involved, union members can attend Labour partry meetings, including candidate selections and donations are a matter of record within each union.

          Compare that with a bunch of superstitious nutters secretly funding the Nats in an attempt to rort an election, Mark. There’s the problem; the right aren’t transparent, but we can still see right through them.

        • lprent 2.1.1.4
          24 March 2010 at 10:00 am

          It is transparent and all in the accounts of the affiliated unions and for that matter the NZLP. In other words members of both can see it. For that matter the NZLP and some of the affiliated unions declare it publicly.

          The donations to the Nats and Act using blind trusts are not transparent. Perhaps you’d be better looking at those…

    • travellerev 2.2
      24 March 2010 at 9:35 am

      Luva,

      You might want to watch this lecture from G. Edward Griffin. I had the chance of talking with this very interesting author, film director and researcher two years ago this month. This was six months before the NZ elections. He also wrote the book titled the creature of Jekill island about the New York Federal reserve more than twenty years ago.

      I asked him two questions. I presented him with some of the details of John Key’s Wall street career and his wish to become the new Prime minister and asked him what we could expect. He answered:” This man will sell your country to the highest bidder and throw in his mother with the deal.”
      When I asked him could he have been groomed by his money masters he answered with a slight smile: ” It has happened before.”

      So far I have seen nothing to make me doubt his words.

    • Eric C. 2.3
      24 March 2010 at 9:41 am

      Interesting how so far the only defence of Crosby Textor is that they were paid in “cold hard cash” and “lots of it”. But we can’t “know” that at all when National won’t admit they use them.

      Crosby Textor is more a lobbying firm than it is a PR firm in the normal sense. For that reason they can afford to give their political clients, like National and the Liberals, a break on the fees and they make their money by getting their business clients what they want from the politicians they get elected.

      There is an industry of these firms in the States, but it is new to New Zealand where the market can’t really sustain a political industry like the one based on Washington’s K-Street. That’s why National uses an Australian firm rather than a New Zealand firm. New Zealand firms just can’t afford to do things this way.

    • the pinkpostman 2.4
      26 March 2010 at 3:39 pm

      Luva your knowledge of Textor/Crosby is poor.
      Textor /Crosbt are in intergral part of the political Right in na number of countries

  3. travellerev 3
    24 March 2010 at 7:21 am

    Amazing. I have been giving you this info for at least a year. In fact I did so the last time on the open mike 19th of March. You could at least do me the honour of acknowledging this but perhaps it is embarrassing to have to acknowledge that perhaps the elite does conspire. You may have to reconsider the fact that 911 could not have been perpetrated by 19 Muslim hijackers next and how frightening would that be?

    However in the same comment I wondered who would be doing the mining so by publishing the fact that de Crespigny is involved in NZ mining confirms my worst suspicions so I’ll do the polite thing and say thank you for that.

    • Michael Foxglove 3.1
      24 March 2010 at 7:46 am

      To be fair to Eddie, I don’t think 9/11 conspiracies really are the forte of any authors here. And I don’t think any of us would consider ourselves part of “the elite”.

      • travellerev 3.1.1
        24 March 2010 at 9:19 am

        Michael, I concur, you and any of the Standardista’s are not what I would call THE elite.
        In fact I would not even call John Key a member of the global ruling elite. At best he is a sort of reasonably well paid foot soldier.

        You Michael, I would call an outright ignoramus. Maybe you should acquaint yourself with the many thousands of highly educated and intelligent Americans who reject the official Conspiracy theory and want a new and independent investigation in the impossible 6.5 seconds lasting collapse of building 7.

        You see you dimwit, we are not the conspiracy theorists. We want a proper and independent investigation into what happened that day and than we will make up our minds as to what happened.

        You on the other hand seem to believe hook line and sinker the impossible stories of the US government as to how 19 fools with box cutters lead by an untraceable man with a beard and a dress in a cave in Afghanistan (did I mention the kidney dialysis he had to have several times a week?) could have brought down three huge skyscrapers with two planes all in free fall speed 6.5, 10 and 11 seconds) into the path of most resistance into a pyroclastic flow now killing tens (and trust me the number mentioned in this article is very conservative) of thousands of first responders and New York citizens.

        Maybe you should get your money back from your science teachers who clearly was unable to teach the few simple rules of motion we all have to live by (even the US empire can not escape them)

        Also shame on you for trying to ridicule my comment and diverting attention from the fact that I gave the Standard the information about the Crosby and Textor, de Crespigny, CIS connection more than a friggin year ago and the fact that only now after having had it rubbed in their faces multiple times by me and the simple fact that it is just common politesse to acknowledge those who bring in important information. They after all did not have to spend precious hours of their time going through endless amounts of websites to get this titbit of precious info.

        If they had run with this earlier we might have had a better chance at fighting these bastards but like you they are to stupid and scared to be called “conspiracy nutters”.

        (Yes, whoever is the moderator today, I’m pissed off)

        Cheers Salsy and thanks

        • Michael Foxglove 3.1.1.1
          24 March 2010 at 9:30 am

          I think the links in Eddie’s post prove he did a fair bit of investigating.

          But calm down, I didn’t mean to ridicule your position on 9/11. I’m just saying, from what I can tell, it’s not a topic that the Standard authors traverse (and it is slightly off-topic here).

          • travellerev 3.1.1.1.1
            24 March 2010 at 9:47 am

            I’m quite sick of being abused by you. Use language like that again and you’ll be banned for a week – MF

            • travellerev 3.1.1.1.1.1
              24 March 2010 at 10:04 am

              LOL. Don’t worry I won’t be back for a while. What a silly man you are. You can’t ridicule nor patronise me into silence and now you just stop publishing my comments and just plain bullying me.

              Just remember in a while when you guys are looking at the disaster unfolding when NZ is bankrupted by the international ruling elite and John Key walks away into the sunset to Hawaii that you could have done something about it had you followed up on the info I’ve been trying to bring in the last couple of years.

              I wonder if you have the balls to let this one get through but judging by your previous actions I doubt it.

              Have nice day

              • The Voice of Reason …
                24 March 2010 at 11:31 am

                “You can’t ridicule nor patronise me into silence and now you just stop publishing my comments and just plain bullying me.”

                Gotcha! You’re Kiwiteen’s mum and I claim my 5 pounds.

                Anti-spam: ‘planes’. It’s all part of the conspiracy, I tells ya.

        • Eddie 3.1.1.2
          24 March 2010 at 9:59 am

          travellerev – just to set the record straight. My information leading me down this path came from elsewhere. Though I’m happy to acknowledge after looking at your previous comments that you did notice these connections before I knew of the issue.

    • Salsy 3.2
      24 March 2010 at 8:36 am

      @travellerev I saw your previous posts on this topic. I found all your research fascinating. I must say I was surprised not to see your referenced. But anyway, good on you and keep digging…

  4. singularian 4
    24 March 2010 at 7:40 am

    1st of April?

  5. Smokie 5
    24 March 2010 at 7:59 am

    I think this post raises some serious questions that we’ve all forgotten. What in the hell do crosby textor do for Key (and what’s the price)? Cause if we don’t know that, we don’t know buttons of his are being pushed.

    It is pretty dodgy that ct won’t say who ANY of their clients are.

    • travellerev 5.1
      24 March 2010 at 10:48 am

      Maybe that is because de Crespigny is hand in glove with the banking mining conglomerate as is clear when you check out the board of the Centre for independent studies in Sidney. (Love how they come up with these names) This think tank also has very cozy connections with Don Brash and has none other than Ruth Richardson on the same board.

      Crosby and Textor are just a couple of unscrupulous PR boys directed to were they need to go by these kinds of think tanks. They are well paid and don’t care one way or another how their machinations affect you and me and the rest of us.

      The real power is behind their façade and they want payback.

  6. Pakeha 6
    24 March 2010 at 8:20 am

    I commend the standard on its investigative, balanced and logical reporting. I am glad that we have one source of political reporting in New Zealand that is not twisted by the murky underworld of tory dealings. Your fair and balanced journalism is a sight to behold.

  7. Scott 7
    24 March 2010 at 8:26 am

    The mining plans are bad enough without the need to invent a shadowy conspiracy. As someone has already said, Crosby Textor was paid back in hard cash.

    And it would be no surprise to find that a top Australian businessperson had extensive mining interests. After all, mining is a huge part of the Australian economy. I’m sure most Australian businesspeople with money to invest will have extensive mining interests.

  8. vto 8
    24 March 2010 at 8:32 am

    Interesting letter in The Press this morning from a chap who was involved in placing the Paparoa National Park boundaries not too long ago. He said they asked for and received substantial input from the mining industry (public and private) over those boundaries so the mining could be left out. The mining industry was listened to and catered for in those boundaries.

    He now asks a perfectly good question – wtf going on now then? (well, not quite in those words. they mine).

    But that is another angle for attack by those willing and able …

  9. tc 9
    24 March 2010 at 9:07 am

    But it’s not sideshow john alone, he’s just a smiiley wavey frontman, it’s the nat backroom boys and I reckon it’s part of a strategy that was hatched after they threw away 2005 and showed themselves as politically skilled as a flock of sheep.

    Planned…yup, known before 2008….and the rest, all JK’s own work…..you give him far too much credit however the fascinating issue will be how much control does he and cabinet do have if they decide it’s too hot to handle going into 2011 election as the mining interests will not be interested in a backdown.

  10. Joshua 10
    24 March 2010 at 9:11 am

    Oh dear lord you are becoming the left’s response to Ian Wishart!!!

  11. Jum 11
    24 March 2010 at 9:34 am

    “The day we see that level of transparency from the waitemata trust will be the day you tory hacks can start talking about transparency without being laughed at.”

    absolutely.

  12. quasimodo 12
    24 March 2010 at 10:56 am

    Key taking a risk ?

    I read somewhere that he held shares in a gold miner in NZ before the election.

    Does he care about publicity ?

    He can always retire when he has turned NZ into a new Bolivia – or should that be Haiti .. ?

    Q

  13. Jim Nald 13
    24 March 2010 at 11:41 am

    Put the interest of the NZ people first, not cronies!

  14. freedom 14
    24 March 2010 at 12:23 pm

    no-one said it was going to be easy

    all we can do is point people to information, such as the fact that right now one of the most

    academic and heavily regulated information sites on 9/11 Truth is once again unavailable on

    the net in NZ. The site which last week presented a new legal challenge to the Official story

    and was signed by 1,000 members.

    A site that to be a member of, you must be a qualified Architect or an Engineer.
    read that again and let it soak in

    1,000 qualified Architects and Engineers challenging an Official declaration from their

    Government. A challenge based on questions of the physical events, nothing else. No

    Politics. No accusations, just the facts people, nothing but the facts. Why would they do that

    if the Truth was not in question?

    http://www.ae911truth.org
    http://www.infowars.com

    ATTENTION: both of these sites have been experienced lack of access from NZ internet

    services in recent weeks. Otherwise called censorship. This is not a conspiracy this is just

    our reality. These things are actually happening right now.

    ========
    There is a lot of ignorance about the facts on 9/11 being thrown about

    I would respetfully request that you give one hour of your life and spend it researching some of the available facts. No-one is telling you what to think, only asking that you think with actual information instead of manipulated soundbites.

    all we can do is point people to information, such as the fact that one of the most academic and heavily regulated information sites on 9/11 last week presented a new legal challenge to the Official story and was signed by 1,000 members.

    A site that to be a member of, you must be a qualified Architect or an Engineer.
    read that again and let it soak in

    1,000 qualified Architects and Engineers challenging an Official declaration from their Government. A challenge based on questions of the physical events, nothing else. No Politics. No accusations, just the facts people, nothing but the facts. Why would they do that if the Truth was not in question?

    http://www.ae911truth.org
    http://www.infowars.com

    ATTENTION: both of these sites have been experiencing occassional lack of access from NZ internet services in recent weeks. Otherwise called censorship. This is not a conspiracy this is just our reality. These things are actually happening and 9/11 is a principal catalyst for the current difficulties facing all governments and all peoples.

    [lprent: Boy – the anti-spam engine doesn’t like those links (and I’m constrained in admin functions today because I left the iphone at home). Since they’re dups, I’ve let the longest one through. ]

    • travellerev 14.1
      24 March 2010 at 6:11 pm

      Hi Freedom,

      You can sign the petition on AE911truth.org in any capacity but you are only named in the Architect and Engineers group if they can verify your professional status. In fact Richard Gage greatly appreciates anyone signing on to his petition.

      Also this blog in all fairness has been, after initial shock and resistance, increasingly tolerant and even somewhat supportive with regards to the odd 911 insertion. It is greatly appreciated.

      Iprent since the “anti-paedophile” filter has been activated we have been experiencing increasing problems with all kinds of sites related to 911. Thanks for finding these comments back.

  15. freedom 15
    24 March 2010 at 12:31 pm

    gravity works
    2+2 =4
    yellow and red make orange
    see a pattern of truth here?

  16. John A 16
    24 March 2010 at 2:45 pm

    The Herald wrote about Crosby/Textor’s interest in helping companies benefit from their insider knowledge of the National government last year: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/print.cfm?objectid=10543183

  17. the pinkpostman 17
    26 March 2010 at 3:50 pm

    Luva ,your knowledge regarding Crosby /Textor is very poor.
    Crosby /Textor are an integral part of the Political Right in many countries.
    This includes National/Libs in Australia , Conservatives ,UK , Conservatives, Sweden , and many others including the USA Republican Party. not forgeting the NZ National Party .
    They are all members of the Republican dominated Democratic Union ,formerly Chaired by Lord Michael Ashcroft.
    Very suspicious and it will be interesting to see who get the contracts if the mining takes place

  18. marsman 18
    28 March 2010 at 5:30 pm

    There is also the “about time I was given my Knighthood” ex-Beer-Baron.

    He has interests in a ‘Charitable Company’ advising mining companies working in ‘under-developed’ countries.

  19. RAWIRI 19
    29 March 2010 at 7:07 pm

    WHO CARES ABOUT TOURISIM AND THE SO CALLED MILLIONS WE SHOULD BE PROTECTING OUR HERITEGE AND THE HEART OF OUR LAND .IT MIGHT BE UNDERGROUND BUT CAN YOU LIVE WITH A HOLE IN YOUR HEART . SO IF THIS HAPPENS THEY ARE TAKING OUR CULTURE AND OUR BELIEFS. KIA KAHA
    PMS DONT CARE
    THESE ARE WORDS BY DAVID PUATA
    “IN THIS TIME OF NEED, WE EXPECT ALL, BUT GET NOTHING BUT GREED’

    [lprent: Don’t SHOUT – it offends my eyes (and it is totally unnecessary). Similarly dropping the same comment across posts is a fast way for me to start considering that you might be a troll – read the policy about trolls. ]

Links to post

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.