Once a bully always a bully

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 15th, 2011 - 43 comments
Categories: john key, Media, national - Tags: , ,

Key is now using the police to intimidate journalists at The Herald and at 3 News to keep the “game changing” teapot tapes from being released.  What a surprise!  Not.  John Key and the Nats have a long, long history of this kind of attack:

  • In 2008 Key tried to shut down the “we would love to see wages drop” story by putting pressure on a journalist and his employers (to the extent of trying to get him sacked?). This led to the unprecedented response of Herald journalists writing a letter of protest over Key’s political interference.
  • Bill English, bullied journalists who were covering the story of his personal hypocrisy and greed with his double dipping housing rort.
  • Nick Smith has tried the same bully tactics, so has Gerry Brownlee.
  • “Bomber” Bradbury was banned from RNZ for criticising the PM after Key threatened to sue.
  • Last election the Nats tired (repeatedly) and failed (repeatedly) to silence the 50,000 Kiwis represented by the EPMU.
  • They have threatened school boards over national standards, and threatened school principals not to speak out against them.
  • Key attacked journalist Jon Stevenson over his coverage of the SAS in Afghanistan.
  • In other examples: National tried to shut down a KiwiSaver story, to muzzle the DHBs and NZAID, they’ve even had a go at The Standard, and there have been assorted other cover-ups.
  • All of that is not even to mention their attacks on individual rights, attacks that constitute “such an indelible stain on the parliamentary lawmaking process as to call into question that institution’s legitimacy to act as supreme lawmaker for our society”.

Oddly enough, however, Key was quite relaxed about Paula Bennett releasing the private details of beneficiaries in a blatant attempt at intimidation.  The complaint to the Human Rights Commission is still ongoing (more of this later).  “The public’s right to know” eh – only when it suits them to use it as a weapon.

That’s the real story of the teapot tape fiasco, the story that the media will somehow never step up and tell.  That the current attempt by Key to shut them down is nothing new.  Its just the latest example in the long history of intimidation and bullying from this National government.

[Post updated as more examples were noted!]

43 comments on “Once a bully always a bully ”

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  1. Akldnut 1
    15 November 2011 at 8:28 am

    This could all a set up creating a divertion away from the major policy issues that National have’nt got, theres probably nothing on the tape at all.

    Look over there!

  2. The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 2
    15 November 2011 at 8:39 am

    What a surprise! Not.

    What are you? A 13 year old? In 1995?

  3. ianmac 3
    15 November 2011 at 9:00 am

    For Key to publish or not must be a judgement call.
    To prevent publishing because he knows the effect on the trust of the electors would be very bad.
    Balanced this against the electors having a suspicion that there might be something to hide (Hide?) because he prevented publication.
    For Key/Joyce to choose to prevent publication before the election, certainly suggests that the tape would seriously damage Key and or Banks. Intimidate. Hammer the right to Privacy. Ignore the political reality at your peril.
    Bad call. Truth will out.

  4. KJT 4
    15 November 2011 at 9:06 am

    Bit of a sick joke.

    Key going on about privacy when they are passing laws such as the search and surveillance bill and internet interception bills, to remove every one else’s rights to privacy.

    Don’t see why public employees, in the course of their employment, have any more right to privacy than they allow normal employees at work.

    We can see it in Keys face. He knows we are idiots if we vote for him.

  5. Tangled up in blue 5
    15 November 2011 at 9:06 am

    Can the Herald release the recording “legally”?

    • Lanthanide 5.1
      15 November 2011 at 9:11 am

      If they believe they have done nothing illegal, yes.

      An on-going police investigation just means the police are investigating, nothing more. If the police decide that the recording and the release of it is illegal, then they’ll come under much harsher punishment if found guilty. But if they’re 100% convinced that it’s legal, then they can go ahead with it and it’ll all come out in the wash.

      The point of the police complaint was very much to stifle the media.

  6. Lanthanide 6
    15 November 2011 at 9:10 am

    You forgot Paula Bennet releasing private details of beneficiaries, which John Key was completely happy with.

    Apparently her behaviour wasn’t anything like NotW.

  7. Ianupnorth 7
    15 November 2011 at 9:15 am

    A question, if this were dirt on Goff would blubber boy Slater worry about having it on a website somewhere?
     
    Who has a copy, lets get it out there by whatever means!

  8. toad 8
    15 November 2011 at 9:49 am

    John Key, 2 September 2011:

    Security experts warned the automatic recording system was an invasion of privacy.

    But a statement from the Government said the ITOC would enhance the government’s ability to protect the safety and security of New Zealanders through more effective border control, 24 hours a day.

    Prime Minister John Key said today: “Anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear“.

    • vto 8.1
      15 November 2011 at 11:54 am

      Yes. Can someone please quote that back to him – the hypocrite.

      Can’t stand it when politicians lay out a position in one circumstance and then completely change when another circumstance arises which does not suit.

      In fact, following on from that link to the intrusive Customs detecting machine for th public… similar information detection devices should be placed all around Parliament and party offices and Newmarket tearooms in order to “protect New Zealand from undesireable behaviour”. After all, as Key the hypocrite said “anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear”……………………..

      Bloody pricks.

  9. Enough is Enough 9
    15 November 2011 at 9:53 am

    Scandalous or not, this whole episode is becoming a tabloid type distraction. At this stage of the election campaign we should be pulling the Nats to bits over their record in government and their horrific plans for the future. (the Standard is but noone else seems to be).

    What are we all talking about though. Scum ball Key and what he did or didn’t say during a media stunt. The man just makes me angry.

    I don’t believe he would have said anything as revealing as Bill English did in 2008, during the infamous ‘dead rats’ conversation. And in any case that episode showed that middle of the spectrum voters don’t really care.

    Key will drag this out for as long as possible and take the moral high ground because the longer the media talks about it, the less they will examine his agenda. The media is playing distraction for him.

    PS if they were really talking about rolling Brash, ACT would probably get a bounce in the polls. He is electorate poison.

  10. hoom 10
    15 November 2011 at 10:29 am

    Bomber booted from RNZ because ‘Key might sue’.

  11. vto 11
    15 November 2011 at 10:50 am

    Bullies are great fun – such good sport. Might I suggest standing straight up face to face to the bullies? Call their bluff and get right in their face. Publish everything and tell them to go right ahead and sue. Get stuck into bullies – it is the only way.

  12. randal 12
    15 November 2011 at 11:25 am

    diddums kweewee.
    calling the cops.
    what a jerk.
    binky aint much better.
    how the people of epsom can accept such a horrible little man as their representative is beyond me.

  13. Sunny 13
    15 November 2011 at 11:41 am

    If the HoS does not publish the information they hold on Key and Banks then it could be seen to be doing those politicans, and their parties, a (large) favour… What do you call that? Certainly not ‘journalistic ethics’…

  14. Richard Down South 14
    15 November 2011 at 12:57 pm

    The police are said to have ‘ushered’ the press out of the cafe… is this legal without the express permission and request of the owner? what if someone wanted to buy a coffee or a scone?

  15. marxbrother 15
    15 November 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I agree but… people polled seem to either not care, not understand, or see this type of arrogance as ‘strength’. As I have said before we have a history of electing bullying thugs in NZ. Very unsophisticated electorate overall and, in general, too lazy to make an informed decision. The fact as presented by various polls is that Key and his bunch of pirates are popular, or at least more popular than an alternative.

  16. Mike - move2nz 16
    15 November 2011 at 1:37 pm

    Back in 2009 I got into the media (newspapers, radio and TV) because of some rather nasty treatment of hundreds skilled migrants who were being kicked out of the country at the start of the recession – a foolish knee-jerk reaction.

    At the time I was co-director of a free help service and many came asking for support. I tried to go through official channels, but the Minister wasn’t interested so I got busy.

    Following an appearance on TV3 news in which I criticised immigration practice (not policy because no policy changes had been made) I was served a notice which stated I had broken the law – up to 7 years in jail to be won. This destroyed my centre (which was helping 7,000 families a year at no cost to the taxpayer), my business and my reputation. Of course this effectively silenced me too.

    It took 18 months to get the papers to find out what I was supposed to have done because they wouldn’t tell us. Turned out I hadn’t done anything wrong at all, it was made up – all they had in their file were some seriously unprofessional comments about me talking on TV. Free of speech still is (for the time being anyway) perfectly legal.

    This issue is like an iceberg – the majority of the bullying which has gone on is still below the surface and may never see the light of day. To get this far I had to use the Official Information Act, complain a few times to the Ombudsman when the department illegally withheld information, and threaten legal action. All the way they’ve been pressing down on me to stop.

    If the whole truth was known about government bullying under National…

    Mike
    move2nz.com

    • ianmac 16.1
      15 November 2011 at 1:50 pm

      Mike:”I was served a notice which stated I had broken the law.”
      Who or on whose authority was the notice served?

      • Draco T Bastard 16.1.1
        15 November 2011 at 4:18 pm

        This.

        If it’s not an official charge by police then you haven’t broken the law (and you haven’t broken it then either – that’s for the courts to decide). If they continue hassling you about it then go to the police.

    • r0b 16.2
      15 November 2011 at 4:19 pm

      Sorry to hear it Mike.  Thanks for sharing your story here.

      • Mike - move2nz 16.2.1
        15 November 2011 at 9:02 pm

        To reply:

        ianmac: it was the Immigration Advisers Authority, a section of the Department of Labour sitting next to the immigration department but separate.

        Draco: Doesn’t have to be a charge by the police, the IAA police the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act with penalties of up to 7 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The allegation would have had to relate to either pretending to be licensed which I clearly wasn’t, or providing advice to an individual somehow through a national TV broadcast.  

        Of course under the Bill of Rights making allegations without explaining the charge would be illegal because it would remove the right of defence, but I guess the rules are bent for government departments.

        R0b – thanks, it’s been pretty tough but I’ll never give up until justice is done ;o).

        Mike 

  17. ianmac 17
    15 November 2011 at 1:53 pm

    Somewhere on Public Address yesterday someone, (can’t find it again.) reminded of the time Joanne Black wrote about the time that Geoffrey Palmer was caught out by a mike left on after a press conference. The other MPs and the media ridiculed Geoffrey who soon resigned. So there is a precedent.

  18. Maggie May 18
    15 November 2011 at 3:08 pm

    Thank you Anthony Robbins for your honest assessment of intimidation by a political party.
    The society we live in is dictated by the social policies of the current political system in power.

    below is part of an article I read in 2008, whats it like now.

    This text is from a thesis written by Olivier Hetzel titled “ The future of the economy”

    Who Owns the Mass Media?9
    In 1982, 50 corporations controlled over half of the media
    businesses; by the end of 1986 this number had shrunk to 29, and
    by 1987 to 26. In 2003, the number was less than ten. On June 2,
    2003, the FCC was set to wipe out the few regulations preventing
    further consolidation.
    “A research team at Sonoma State University has recently
    nished conducting a network analysis of the boards of directors
    of the ten big media organizations in the US. The team determined
    that only 118 people comprise the membership on the boards of
    directors of the ten big media giants. This is a small enough group
    to  t in a moderate size university classroom. These 118 individuals
    in turn sit on the corporate boards of 288 national and international
    corporations. . . . It is kind of like one big happy family of interlocks
    and shared interests. In fact, eight out of ten big media giants share
    common memberships on boards of directors with each other.”

    • marxbrother 18.1
      15 November 2011 at 8:35 pm

      This is amazing! We live in a world where conspiracy theories aren’t actually theories anymore. I am constantly encouraged by the posts on this site- people out there are concerned, intelligent, and aware. Thanks- the more this type of stuff is raised the more people will become more aware of what type of world we actually live in perhaps one day it can change.

  19. hoom 19
    15 November 2011 at 3:15 pm

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/campaign-trail/5968729/National-bus-hits-campaign-bumps

    Two cars blocking the way out made the turn too tight and the bus was stalled on a kerb. …
    The cars were broken in to police and shifted to allow the bus to pass.

    Weird abuse of police to further National party campaign O_o

    • Jim Nald 19.1
      15 November 2011 at 3:32 pm

      This is characteristic of the modus operandi of the 1%.

    • Uturn 19.2
      15 November 2011 at 3:39 pm

      It’s either a sad analogy as pointed out by Jim Nald, or one of those online stories that disappears a few hours after it is found to be a complete fabrication. You couldn’t make that stuff up: going to Henderson in the middle of the day to present National’s Welfare reform? Reminds me of the Die Hard movie where the bloke walks into Harlem wearing a nasty sandwich board.

  20. gobsmacked 20
    15 November 2011 at 3:49 pm

    John Key’s feeble attempt to portray himself as just like a victim of the “News of the World” has been totally squashed … by the lawyer for the victims of the News of the World!

    http://www.3news.co.nz/News-of-the-World-lawyer-calls-for-release-of-teapot-tape/tabid/419/articleID/232827/Default.aspx

    Well said, sir. I hope he’s on 3 News tonight.

    • Draco T Bastard 20.1
      15 November 2011 at 4:37 pm

      “There is a difference between the News of the World hacking into someone’s phone to find out private information and seemingly – whether accidental or on purpose – effectively a journalist investigating some political statement,” he says.

      “That’s something that is in the public interest and sounds like it should be reported without the unfavourable comparison to what was clearly a criminal act.”

      So, we ask again, what is HoS covering up for National and Act?

  21. tsmithfield 21
    15 November 2011 at 4:08 pm

    Now that National is the victim of an attack by at least one Green party member, and likely a lot more, National is starting to look like the victim of a concerted dirty tricks campaign. Just came across ZB that Larry Williams will be having a bit of a deeper look into the background of that Ambrose character. It will be interesting if he has Labour party connections or the like. If that is the case, then I think there will be a lot of sympathy for National.

    • gobsmacked 21.1
      15 November 2011 at 4:43 pm

      I’m sure Larry Williams will do what he always does – outsource his “investigation” to WhaleOil and Farrar i.e. the National party.

      “Connections” will be found, invented, whatever. Any dirt will do.

    • Carol 21.2
      15 November 2011 at 4:48 pm

      Hmmmm… well, Ambrose seems to have had some (tenuous) connections with a guy attempting to recruit a private army to oppose the government in 2000:

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5970037/Teacup-cameramans-police-past

      Now, let’s see, which party was leading the government in 2000….?

      The police suspension occurred in 2000 after items that allegedly belonged to White [aka Ambrose] were found during a raid of Alp’s Mangere home. Alp was reportedly trying to recruit a private army to oppose the government at the time.

      • gobsmacked 21.2.1
        15 November 2011 at 5:00 pm

        Well, that just PROVES that the cameraman was in cahoots with National and ACT.

        That’s according to the logic employed by our genius detectives, TSmithfield and Larry Williams. Go figure.

    • marxbrother 21.3
      15 November 2011 at 8:40 pm

      I’m filling up… Those poor downtrodden Nact victims. Can’t you see what a smokescreen is being created here to hide the Nact agenda and distract people from the facts of the current campaign? Hang on. Of course you can. Your friends will do anything to divert attention from the shambolic disgrace their so called policies have made of government in this country. this is classic Nact diversion supported by a compliant and frankly gullible media. Enjoy your brief time in the sun TS, change is coming.

  22. jaymam 22
    15 November 2011 at 9:04 pm

    There were possibly dozens of people filming Key and Banks in the restaurant. That filming was defintely legal. If that footage could be observed by deaf people who can lipread, they could make a transcript of the conversation. I believe that would be legal as well. Go to it!

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