Written By:
- Date published:
12:51 pm, June 18th, 2010 - 15 comments
Categories: bill english, national -
Tags: georgina te heuheu, peda
Someone has been trying to shut down investigations into the PEDA slush fund. Red Alert reports that PI radio presenter Efeso Collins “has been taken off the Saturday morning breakfast show for asking too many questions about the Pacific Economic Development Agency”, with further details of “what has been unfolding with regards to the silencing of our Pacific media” here. We have seen this sort of attack before, National has a long history of heavy handed tactics to stifle dissent.
But this attempt at damage control is too late. Enough sunlight has already been shone on PEDA to cause the smarter Nats to abandon the sinking ship. Bill English is first overboard, leaving Georgina te Heuheu stranded. The Herald reports:
Pacific funding sets ministries at odds
Two Government ministers were last night at loggerheads over of the allocation of $4.8 million funding for Pacific Island development.
Pacific Island Affairs Minister Georgina te Heuheu announced at the last Budget that the sum had been allocated in full to a little-known company, the Pacific Island Development Agency (Peda).
But a spokesman for Finance Minister Bill English told the Herald last night that Mrs te Heuheu “went too far” and the money referred to was a general allocation for Pacific development.
Mrs te Heuheu yesterday said she stood by the original announcement, and that the money had been signed off by Mr English’s office. … He said “not one dollar” would be given to Peda until clear accountability and project outcomes were established.
Ministers and ministries at war is incompetence on a grand scale. Likely someone will step in quickly to put Gerogina in her place (as has, of course, happened before). Will she put up with it this time? Could be that the PEDA story, despite attempts to shut it down, still has a ways to run.
My first question is what else in Budget 2010 has been allocated with such shoddy accountability and disregard for fiscal protocol. Audit the Budget processes and its even money the ministerial credit card scam would end up looking like a minnow in a whale tank
I would also like to know more about the $80million (over the nest four years) that the Nats found for the Millenium Institute of Sport when we have schools wanting teachers and hospitals wanting doctors, or the hundred other priorities this country has before assisting in the specialised training of a select number of sportspeople into short term and personally lucrative careers.
And communities with unsafe water supply, the funding labour provided has been wiped, as the nat government says its ‘not their responsibility’.
As the nats keep saying there is no new money it has to come from savings elswhere
@No Right Turn:
“Bill English has hit on a new strategy for dealing with the government’s at-best utterly slack and at-worst corrupt dealings with the Pacific Economic Development Agency: claim that the money is not earmarked for them, but instead is for general Pacific economic development. Unfortunately, that’s not what the Budget says. The full information for Vote: Pacific Island Affairs [PDF] makes it quite clear who the money is going to:”
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/06/right-there-in-black-and-white.html
So, that would be Blinglish being sent to the privileges committee for lying to parliament as well?
Good work (as usual) by NRT. So which is it Mr English? Did you try to mislead or do you just not know where millions of dollars are going (ie. are you a liar or just incompetent)?
Even if he did Lockwood would spring to his defence. I’ve been watching parliment a bit lately and as yet I have not seen him find anything of significance for the opposition. His bias is there for all to see.
Is PEDA’s based in Dipton as well?
Good one John. Since Bill isn’t quite sure where he lives, maybe he thinks his home is in Auckland now?
PEDA Ltd is based above an old shop in Onehunga.
English isnt the mover behind this , its probably Sammy (sleepy) Lo-Li
Bullshit covering up incompetance which has been stock in trade for this gov’t since day 1.
Had they done this properly there’d be no issue, and they know every move is being watched, so it’s yet another example of a gov’t that doesn’t know or care about proper process with taxpayer funds then tries to BS its way out.
When is Labour going to deal with that lying toad Blinglish, it may get nowhere but at least it’ll show punters you’re trying.
It constantly amazes me how Georgina Te Heuheu has escaped the brutal criticisms other maori politicians face. Georgina has long been used and abused by her party and again she is compromised the actions of one of her leaders. I wish she would resign, for the sake of her dignity and that of her people.
Where have all the trolls gone, long time passing, where have all the trolls gone….( now this puts a date on me)
Can’t stand the stink of dead rats this time, Fisiani et al?
Whose error is it? Georgina or Bill’s?
Dunno whose error, but the no right turn link you posted above shows that it is English who is lying about it now…
What makes you think it is an “error”?