#Sheepgate – some random impertinent questions

Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, June 25th, 2015 - 22 comments
Categories: david parker, john key, national - Tags: ,

Sheep Farm

With every day new revelations concerning the scandal known as sheepgate are occurring.  And so many questions arise.  Here are a few:

  1. This super duper agri hub in the middle of the desert?  Can anyone visit?  What sort of foot traffic does the place have?  Is it advertised anywhere?
  2. Was a business case ever prepared to make sure that the spend on the agri hub was a good use of money?
  3. What happens if the Saudi sheep farmer sells the farm or decides not to let people inspect the farm or decides that he wants to go into the lamb burger business?
  4. Did anyone think that putting a whole lot of New Zealand sheep in the middle of the Saudi desert may not be a good idea?
  5. Were the sheep killed by a sand storm or heavy rain, even though the average precipitation in the Saudi desert in June is 0 cm?
  6. Is a “facilitation payment” the same thing as a “bribe”?
  7. When the Government agreed to buy sheep off Brownrigg as a term of the contract did it confirm that it would not be sued?
  8. Did it place a public tender for the sheep?  If not how did it handle the negotiation?
  9. What relationship is there between ex National President Michelle Boag and Larium Asset Management and Brownrigg Agriculture?  And why was Boag at the meeting between McCully and Brownrigg referred to in the Brownrigg letter recently tabled in Parliament?
  10. At that meeting did McCully really suggest that the Saudi sheep farmer should sue the Government or did he just suggest that Brownrigg was at liberty to do so?  And why did he do this even though the threat of litigation had been withdrawn over a year earlier?
  11. Why is it all Labour’s fault?  If it is all Labour’s fault then why was Labour able to commence free trade negotiations with the Saudis which have been subsequently concluded?
  12. If it is all Labour’s fault then why did the Government try and blame an official?  And who was this official?
  13. Is this omnishambles worse or not as bad as Nick Smith’s handling of Auckland housing issues?

And a question today in Parliament from David Parker to Murray McCully.

Does he stand by all his answers to written and oral questions regarding the multi-million dollar payment to the Al-Khalaf Group and the model farm in the desert?

Update: Question time is becoming a farce. Murray McCully did not front even though he was at a select committee hearing in Parliament this morning and Paula Bennett appeared to answer questions. Watch this and weep for your democracy.

22 comments on “#Sheepgate – some random impertinent questions ”

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  1. Anne 1
    25 June 2015 at 2:14 pm

    I noticed that David Parker’s question is towards the end of the list of questions. Assuming questions are asked in accordance with first in first served, then it would suggest Parker’s question was a late arrival in the Speakers’ office. It may not mean anything but on the other hand it might mean new info. has just come to hand.

    • ianmac 1.1
      25 June 2015 at 3:24 pm

      The Select Committe blocked Opposition Questions to McCulley this morning.
      The Speaker helped Paula Bennett, who answered on behalf of McCulley, to avoid answering Parker questions at QT today.
      This shows that there is much that Government is running scared?

  2. Old Mickey 2
    25 June 2015 at 2:18 pm

    1) No, need invitation to visit.
    2) Yes, cabinet approved the spend
    3) That is a good question
    4) Sheep can live in the dessert, just like dairy cows current do
    5) Good question – act of god either way
    6) Maybe
    7) No
    8)Yes. A number of parties submitted tenders. Negotiation was very a very quick process.
    9) Boag facilitated intro to Brownrigg as she has met George Assaf. Laurium, and its principle (an odious toad named Leversha) tried to sue/balckmail MFAT for stealing his idea to create an agri hub.
    10) No. Legal action was always an option.
    11) The Saudi didnt take part in final round of negotations. The deal was not concluded, just substantively concluded. This gave Saudis the leverage against NZ over the sheep
    12)Offical acting on direction of MFAT (Murdoch) and Minister (Goff). Official is well known.
    13) 50/50. Although Nick Smith’s unwillingness to pull ACC over coals over Watercare is surprising.

  3. Anne 3
    25 June 2015 at 3:22 pm

    Tracey Watkins on the latest attempt to shut down questions on the Saudi Sheep scandal at this morning’s select committee hearing.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/69704107/murray-mccully-grilled-over-saudi-sheep-saga-during-fiery-committee-clash

    And in the House just now Parker was prevented from getting his questions answered by “stand-in” bully girl, Paula Bennett. It seems Murray McCully was too afraid to ‘stand up’ to question time so he hid in his office? Yet further evidence he’s as guilty as sin.

    And the new line is: everything we did was in the interest of NZ. Well, its not new because Ms Boag touted it as an excuse on Q+A a few weeks ago. So. the new meme is: we can lie, cheat, bully, bribe as much as we like and just claim we’re doing it in the ‘National’ interest”.

    • sabine 3.1
      25 June 2015 at 3:36 pm

      the Nations interest is the National Party Interest. At what stage is NZ no longer a Democracy but a bully dictatorship?

      And could someone please ask Paula Bennett just how much she received in
      Welfare payments? You know, just for shit n giggles?

      • Anne 3.1.1
        25 June 2015 at 3:44 pm

        the Nations interest is the National Party Interest.

        Yep, that’s why I put ‘National’ in inverted commas.

        Why don’t the oppo. parties put in an OIA request to WINZ for copies of all past payments to Paula Bennett. Those payments will be on record somewhere.

        As any fireman can tell you: sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

    • thenthere'sme 3.2
      25 June 2015 at 4:53 pm

      The fear on McCully’s face as he answered questions in the House yesterday said it all; he know’s he’s toast if and when the truth comes out.

      Time for another extended trip overseas, Murray?

    • mac1 3.3
      25 June 2015 at 6:03 pm

      Bennett was still doing the “blame Labour” meme. But National still won’t allow the full papers to be published. Cowards. Liars.

    • Sacha 3.4
      25 June 2015 at 7:15 pm

      photo caption: “The NZ-bred sheep have proved to be a delicacy in Saudi Arabia.”

      wonder what happened to all those lambs?

    • Sacha 3.5
      25 June 2015 at 7:49 pm

      “everything we did was in the interest of NZ”

      the ends justify the means, for the morally bankrupt.

  4. Sacha 4
    25 June 2015 at 7:14 pm

    Murray backing away from his ‘lawsuit’ line?
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11471113

    “Free trade rather than a legal threat of up to $30 million was front of mind when a deal was cut to make a payment to a Saudi businessman and spend millions more on his private farm, Foreign Minister Murray McCully says.”

    • mickysavage 4.1
      25 June 2015 at 7:18 pm

      So is that why McCully did not show up to Parliament to answer questions this afternoon. He was too afraid to do so.

      He now needs to explain why his justification does not exist.

      • Sacha 4.1.1
        25 June 2015 at 7:27 pm

        backpedalling like a duck upstream from Huka Falls ..

      • Anne 4.1.2
        25 June 2015 at 7:39 pm

        It seems he had a dental appointment right on Q.T. today. Oh nice one Murray McCully. When did you arrange the appointment? Yesterday after question time? How convenient for you. (sarc)

        • mickysavage 4.1.2.1
          25 June 2015 at 7:40 pm

          Wonder if he was telling the tooth 🙂

          • Anne 4.1.2.1.1
            25 June 2015 at 7:43 pm

            Perhaps someone should check to see if he has false teeth…

          • adam 4.1.2.1.2
            25 June 2015 at 10:49 pm

            The tooth, the hole tooth and nothing but the tooth.

          • Clemgeopin 4.1.2.1.3
            26 June 2015 at 12:50 am

            McCully’s badly damaged weak crooked teeth, as well as a single far out wisdom tooth slantingly lying with lots and lots of deep holes in them are slowly and steadily being ruthlessly extracted by our chief political dentist, Hon. Mr David Parker. An excellent job too, despite the assistant often acting as an annoyingly inefficient dirty nurse hindering the extraction from proceeding quickly and smoothly.

            Can’t wait to see McCully’s face after the extraction Cull is fully complete!

            May be something like this..
            https://img1.etsystatic.com/006/0/5190728/il_170x135.391272343_m8nc.jpg

          • mac1 4.1.2.1.4
            26 June 2015 at 1:40 pm

            He’s taken too many sweeteners…………..

  5. Smilin 5
    25 June 2015 at 10:10 pm

    Mite have actually been Laudium Asset Management by this articles revelations of one huge piece of graft corruption and mismanagement
    Sounds like that kind of madness

  6. cogito 6
    25 June 2015 at 11:42 pm

    “weep for your democracy”

    Labour need to find new and more cutting ways to hold this corrupt tinpot government of liars and hypocrites to account…. and do it **FAST**.

    If they can’t succeed in the House, then they need to take the battle outside.

  7. Stuart Munro 7
    28 June 2015 at 1:00 am

    The cure for corruption, as practiced by Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Felix), involved seizing all property corruptly obtained and letting the miscreant live out his life in poverty. It was considered remarkably cruel, but it was undeniably effective.

    So while pits of vipers, tigers, immolation, or sharks with laser beams seem the natural end of traitors and scoundrels as vile as the current government, we should not ignore Sulla’s solution.

    It is tried and true. It is just. And it is in accord with civilised legal systems, if such a thing is not an oxymoron. When we have broken these traitors, we must bankrupt them.