John Armstrong’s opinion is that:
It is inconceivable that Helen Clark would have blithely offered a wealthy donor to Labour Party coffers a seat at the Cabinet table… Anyone who knows what makes Clark tick knows she is far too clever and far too cautious ever to trap herself into making such promises of patronage.
He also correctly notes that Labour doesn’t need this right now, it’s an unnecessary distraction.
Elsewhere, Audrey Young seems to be struggling to find copy to fill both her column in the Herald and also her blog so has fallen back on her mate Fran’s tried and tested “cut and paste from Kiwiblog” strategy. I’m starting to wonder when The Herald will decide it’s better to just cut out the middleman.
As for the loan, David Farrar points out the discrepancy between Labour’s denials that it had received another loan from Glenn [he was being asked in the context of Glenn receiving a New year’s honour] and the fact that the interest-free component of the loan it did receive is legally classed as a donation.
Of course one of the hazards of Kiwiblog (aside from the association with what’s commonly regarded online as the cesspit of the rabid right) is its propensity for factual inaccuracy, particularly when it comes to the crucial details.
What Farrar, and thus Young, don’t tell their readers is that the law on donations has changed since the last election, and likely in a way that affects whether the interest should be counted or not. The Electoral Finance Act does indeed clarify the fact that interest is to count as a donation but prior to this recent legislation things weren’t as clear cut.
Perhaps it’s actually Audrey (if you’ll allow me to paraphrase her) who should be squirming over her link to National Party blogger, David Farrar.
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