Out of the shadows

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 pm, May 31st, 2013 - 38 comments
Categories: Judith Collins, Steven Joyce - Tags: ,

Well, its not taken long for the counter-strike. After Judith Collins’ main brain, Simon Lusk (better known as the cogent Whaleoil) went public last weekend threatening backbenchers that their careers would be short if they didn’t back Collins’ leadership bid when Key goes. Now, documents by Lusk talking about a ‘party within a party’ have been leaked.

Here’s The Nation’s teaser:

Is this man — Hawkes Bay businessman Simon Lusk trying to form a party within a party? Does he want to move the party to the right? Which MPs are involved? What does John Key think?

And here’s a clearly panicky Whaleoil (Slater or Lusk?):

Tomorrow both The Nation and The Weekend Herald are going to run stories about me. David Fisher rang me today and his basic premise behind his attempt to interview me was that I am a liar and paid…

…But a blogger finding a way to obtain payment for the work that he does is somehow evil and untoward…

…But for me to work with or want to work with corporates is somehow anathema and the subject of a story?..

…I fail to see why I shouldn’t be paid for my audience when they are paid for theirs…

…One thing is clear there is someone out there, intent on leaking documents and attempting to smear me and my friends

(to respond to Slater/Lusk’s substantive point – it’s not the fact of being paid, it’s concealing who is paying you)

That post was quickly followed (and I do mean quickly, the guy’s done 27 posts today) by another that was ‘for journalists’ and was all about how to shoot straight.

The documents may be interesting but what’s equally interesting is what the fact this is happening says about the state of National’s internal politics and what that tells us about how senior National figures see Key’s re-election chances.

Looks like things are about to get a lot tougher for Camp Collins. The Nation will be a must watch tomorrow.

38 comments on “Out of the shadows ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    31 May 2013 at 8:42 pm

    All I can say is bring popcorn.

    It must be such a fundamental breach of National discipline for their inner shit cutting and back stabbing to be made public. Crosby Textor would not approve.

    And my impression of Aaron Gilmore is growing by the week …

  2. TheContrarian 2
    31 May 2013 at 8:46 pm

    Does anyone know if The Nation can be streamed live? Helping the in-laws move house and they have cancelled their Sky and have no TV reception.

  3. Colonial Viper 3
    31 May 2013 at 8:47 pm

    National Neighbourhood Napalm!

  4. TheContrarian 4
    31 May 2013 at 8:49 pm

    Does anyone know if you can stream The Nation live? Helping my in-laws move and they have cancelled their Sky and have no reception.

    • Anne 4.1
      31 May 2013 at 9:48 pm

      Don’t think so Contrarian. They repeat the episode on a Sunday morning. I think it’s at 8am but you need to check.

      • TheContrarian 4.1.1
        31 May 2013 at 9:50 pm

        It is usually on demand pretty quickly after it airs. Thanks anyway

  5. Yes 5
    31 May 2013 at 9:15 pm

    Word on the street..it’s a non story

    • Colonial Viper 5.1
      31 May 2013 at 9:16 pm

      You can relax then

    • mickysavage 5.2
      31 May 2013 at 9:21 pm

      Which street is that Yes? Remuera Road?

      • Colonial Viper 5.2.1
        31 May 2013 at 9:30 pm

        I suspect it’s actually going to be quite a discussion in Remmers

      • Yes 5.2.2
        31 May 2013 at 9:55 pm

        Shit street? Also have you thought that John keys is stepping down after the election and this is part of a strategy to form a new front runner. Good planning. Seriously it’s a non story

        • Pascal's bookie 5.2.2.1
          31 May 2013 at 10:02 pm

          I guess that’s why all the political journos have been conspicuously absent on twitter today, busily reading reading reading ringing reading ringing and writing up their non-stories.

          bascically Yes, you live by the ratfuck, you die by the ratfuck.

        • mickysavage 5.2.2.2
          31 May 2013 at 10:12 pm

          Seriously it’s a non story

          Of course I believe you and I will not read the Herald tomorrow and I will not watch the Nation and no matter what the temptation is I will not, and I repeat this so that it is absolutely clear, I will not …

          Gloat!

        • the pigman 5.2.2.3
          31 May 2013 at 11:16 pm

          Methinks you’ve had enough of that Aspirational Blue Skies Kool Aid for tonight, buddy. Your enthusiasm for your party would be better spent pursuing your master electoral plan of unseating Act in Epsom and Dunne in Ohariu to increase… *snicker*… the government’s majority.

          • Ed 5.2.2.3.1
            1 June 2013 at 8:36 am

            That’s “Ashpirational” for most of us – Ashes to ashes . . .is all that is delivered except to the favoured few . . .

            Is Dunne done? Will 16,500 signatures be collected on a petition before 500 can be found for UF?

    • weka 5.3
      31 May 2013 at 9:25 pm

      Which street is that then?

    • Pascal's bookie 5.4
      31 May 2013 at 9:29 pm

      Of course it is.

      That’s why whale had a big public cry session about how unfair it is that he doesn’t get any respect from actual journalists.

      And how mean it is of them to ring up and ask questions about documents that they won’t email to him.

      How can he know what lies to tell, if he doesn’t know how much they know?

      So mean.

      Poor baby.

      • TheContrarian 5.4.1
        31 May 2013 at 9:43 pm

        That’s why whale had a big public cry session about how unfair it is that he doesn’t get any respect from actual journalists.

        You spelt Bomber wrong. Heh.

      • NickS 5.4.2
        1 June 2013 at 3:10 pm

        Lulz.

        We should all chip in a get him a t-shirt that says “I’m a real journalist!”.

  6. Sanctuary 6
    31 May 2013 at 9:34 pm

    This could be the best entertainment since Thatcher’s funeral.

    • NickS 6.1
      1 June 2013 at 3:21 pm

      Only if Whale doesn’t get depressed as it may cause him to withdraw.

      That’s if he’s smart and knows how to manage triggers and depressive episodes…

      • Akldnut 6.1.1
        1 June 2013 at 7:05 pm

        Or he might end up on a sickness benefit sucking on the public tit again.

  7. paul andersen 7
    31 May 2013 at 9:45 pm

    if the national ship is not sinking ,how come the rats are leaving? or more likely turning on each other.perhaps the smartest nat of all was simon power(never thought I would say that!!)

    • Colonial Viper 7.1
      31 May 2013 at 9:49 pm

      Yeah their ship is definitely taking on water. But that’s quite different to sinking. Let’s see how this plays out over the next few months.

    • Anne 7.2
      31 May 2013 at 9:50 pm

      It was pondered by some at the time whether he was leaving a sinking ship…

      • Colonial Viper 7.2.1
        31 May 2013 at 10:12 pm

        He got a top notch banking job far away from WGN. Looks like a combination of bailing, and being heavily and deliberately incentivised to leave.

  8. KylePIB 8
    31 May 2013 at 11:13 pm

    shit. need to find a way to stream this in the uk.

  9. xtasy 9
    1 June 2013 at 1:31 am

    Seems like “the Whale” had a great wan* and squirted all over his keyboard, just hearing how much importance the journos from the anyway already “biased” “The Nation” gave him. Wow, whoop dee doo ya, here we go, one large “whale” stranded on a lonely beach, short of advertising revenue, rescued once again, to raise some grunts on some station not worthy of journalistic value accreditation.

    What is next? We hear stories, and the man, Lusk his name, he is a nobody within the top National ranks, Key made that clear just days ago.

    This is just another media whip up, and it distresses me that some on the left fall for it. That Lusk jerk should never have received any respect and credit, given his back ground, I dread the fact, that the Standard, the Daily Blog and some other media even spend any attention to this useless opportunistic no hoper.

    He is clearly irrelevant, trying to upset some party circles, to regain some traction, that not even right wing Nat members will give him. Collins does not need this idiot for a start, as she can play her agenda and get away with it, simply because Key and his gang masters made sure the mainstream media does deliver for the Nats, no matter what, and no matter who “leads” them. Really hyped up crap this is, I think after all.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 9.1
      1 June 2013 at 8:10 am

      Really?

      That Lusk jerk should never have received any respect and credit…

      Ah, but he did, didn’t he? “…the shrewd counsel of Simon Lusk…” has been recognised in the House.

      By his own admission, Lusk wants to extort MPs with offers of inducements from political donors, and threats of the withdrawal of support and the aforementioned inducements.

      I sense his career may be approaching its twilight.

      • North 9.1.1
        1 June 2013 at 9:36 am

        Clearly it’s not been happening in Master of the Universe Lusk’s own little bubble.

        There must be a taste for it somewhere across the National Party establishment and not merely on the fringe.

        In fact the elephant in the room (the intent that New Zealand be run by and for immense foreign wealth) sounds exactly like something the amoral ShonKey Python would be into like a robber’s dog if it could be safely managed in the domestic political dynamic. He’s spent most of his working life in that territory after all and has the essential duplicitousness.

        The danger is that ShonKey can take on the garb of the reasonable man fighting a corrupt, Machiavellian assault on our democracy, while proceeding down that path in any event.

        More leaks please !

  10. Ant 10
    1 June 2013 at 9:12 am

    Must be Joyce trying to hamstring the Collins camp early. However, They’re both delusional if they think they could ever win an election, the only way either of them will ever be PM is if they take over mid term…

  11. lock out 11
    1 June 2013 at 10:17 am

    David Fisher knows where the leaks came from. Fisher and Slater fall out certainly won’t benefit Collins and I feel this will have an embarrassing end for her.

  13. pollywog 13
    1 June 2013 at 11:16 am

    Imagine the state of laughing boys tits today…