The great political heist that wasn’t

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, January 21st, 2020 - 40 comments
Categories: climate change, Environment, making shit up, national, paul goldsmith, paula bennett, same old national, science, spin, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

With Simon Bridges currently being overseas it has been left to Paula Bennett to look after publicity and handle press interviews.

And yesterday she had an interesting day.  She waded into the great climate change education is brain washing our children debate and suggested that National in Government might withdraw the resource.

Why you may ask?  Well the reasoning was somewhat garbled.

She criticised the Government for emphasising that use of the resource was voluntary even though the material was clearly labelled as a resource and anyone who understands education will be aware that this is a nice to have and not part of the core curriculum.

She then said this:

“It’s ridiculous. There’s some absolute parts of it, and that’s one of them,” said Bennett. “It’s just feeding into the hype and hysteria without the research behind it. We all know we’ve got some of the best produce in the world – why on Earth wouldn’t we be encouraging our children to have a balanced diet, which is what they’re being taught in other aspects of the curriculum? … Don’t get me going on that one.”

It appears that comprehension is not one of Paula’s strengths.  Because the material says:

When you buy local food or products it means that your food hasn’t had to travel so far (in a vehicle which uses fossil fuels). You are also helping our economy.

It also emphasises eating less meat, not giving up meat altogether.

Paula then went from casting doubt about a phenomenon (climate change) that is, or should be, a given, to proposing a theory about the cause of something that she had no evidence whatsoever to support.

It appears that National’s Auckland Regional Office was recently burgled.  A window was forced and three laptops taken.

Bennett went into hyperbolic overdrive on the issue.  From Dan Satherley at Newshub:

The National Party headquarters in Auckland was broken into overnight, MP Paula Bennett said on Monday.

She told Magic Talk three laptop computers were taken from the offices in Epsom.

“It looks like they’ve jimmied a window and come in through there which of course… triggered alarms. They’ve grabbed laptops and run.”

She said as the headquarters is “down underneath – it’s quite an unusual place”, she suspects the theft was targeted.

“If it was kind of an opportunist – you wouldn’t expect it to be kind of opportunist, would you?”

Bennett said they want to make sure they’ve got all the facts right before saying more.

She wasn’t sure if there are security cameras.

“We’re still working our way through details with police… You have to kind of sit there and go, ‘National Party headquarters, three laptops gone – it does really trigger some suspicion, that’s for sure.”

A National Party spokesperson said yesterday afternoon that the party would not be making any further comment until the matter had been investigated fully.  Paul Goldsmith can’t have got the memo because he was on Checkpoint last night and claimed there was a “distinct possibility” that the theft was made by someone trying to gain National’s election campaign material.

Then this morning the conspiracy theories were blown out of the water.  Glenda from the Accountancy firm next door confirmed that they had also recently been on the receiving end of a burglary where several laptops were also stolen and other items such as wine were left behind.

From Radio New Zealand:

But a woman who works for Brunton New Zealand isn’t convinced and told the party so.

“I did tell them, I told the guy at the National office, I said ‘well we had the same thing happen to us a few months ago’,” she said.

She was surprised when she heard speculation about it being politically motivated.

“Yea, I just wanted them to know I don’t think it could be that because we had the same thing happen to us.

“And a lot of businesses it’s happening with, that area down there, it’s probably quite easy to break into too with those windows,” she said.

There is some speculation that the media knew before the police knew about the burglary.  If so this whole episode speaks volumes about National’s cynical approach to politics.

 

40 comments on “The great political heist that wasn’t ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Nick 1
    21 January 2020 at 11:10 am

    Horrible woman, horrible party.

    • Enough is Enough 1.1
      21 January 2020 at 11:26 am

      A somewhat misogynistic comment

      • adam 1.1.1
        21 January 2020 at 11:55 am

        Really, silly moving the goalposts again are we.

        I think you need to look up what misogyny means Enough is Enough.

        Because disliking one women, because of what she does, and how she acts, does not a misogynist make.

        Clumsy use of language maybe, but half assed name calling in response is a bit rude don't you think?

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    21 January 2020 at 11:18 am

    The only issue of substance that I can detect was flushed out by Seymour's state-imposed bullying claim a few days ago. Any reasonable person would expect climate-change education to be balanced. How the hell that becomes achievable when trying to get kids to grasp a complex topic is anyone's guess!

    So I can see why Paula is concerned. Implementation will be sure to test the competence of all professionals involved, from the ministry on down into the class-room. That does not mean the govt are wrong to take the initiative. Not to do so is to be irresponsible: obviously kids need to be prepared for adult life. When parents duck for cover, the main threat to the survival of the kids becomes state priority.

    Too bad dunce caps went out of fashion, eh? "A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap or dunce's hat, is a pointed hat, formerly used as an article of discipline in schools in Europe and the United States. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "dunce", and given to unruly schoolchildren to wear. Frequently the "dunce" was made to stand in the corner, facing the wall. The hope was that no one would want to be labelled the "dunce" in the class, even for a short period of time, and thus students would avoid misbehaviour." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunce

    Prevalent in the early 20th century, this form of punishment was abandoned by the time I was in college. I do recall some instances of it at primary school though. Trouble-makers seeking to disrupt the class by claiming climate change is bullshit would be swiftly humiliated via this traditional method of discipline. Public shaming is always extremely effective in producing behavioural modification.

  3. Adrian 3
    21 January 2020 at 11:23 am

    Perfect place to bowl over , slightly out of sight, handy for a fast getaway. my choice every time. but I wouldn't advise knocking off a Nat office, you might catch something! Uugh, like fuckwitery.

  4. DirkDirkin 4
    21 January 2020 at 11:30 am

    A most sinister burglary. According to Bennett and Goldfinger.

    So sinister, NZHarold had a story written and published almost an hour before Police were notified

  5. adam 5
    21 January 2020 at 12:08 pm

    Sheesh Mickey a few posts in one there.

    As for the climate change in schools thing – what happened to the national party spokesperson on education – Oh that right #7 does not have the right to speak. Sheesh if labour had done this in opposition, the press would called them all sorts of names.

    As for the break in, it's a real problem in that area – just ask any of the local service providers.

    As for dirty politics – leopard and spots.

    • mickysavage 5.1
      21 January 2020 at 2:02 pm

      I thought I would run them together because one involved National casting doubt on something that is clearly true while at the same time drawing conclusions from events which did not warrant them.

      • adam 5.1.1
        21 January 2020 at 10:08 pm

        The framing from national is really inconsistent/odd/batty these days.

        I think it's a great post Mickey, and one that needs to happen in this day and age – which, in of itself, is really quite sad.

  6. Peter 6
    21 January 2020 at 12:53 pm

    Come election time Paula Bennett will not be the Minister of Social Development. That means she will not have access to the private records the Ministry has of citizens.

    It means that no jumped up little twerp will be going to her with private records the Ministry has of citizens on the pretext of 'this is something important you need to know.'

  7. mary_a 7
    21 January 2020 at 1:42 pm

    Re – educating school students about Climate Change. Paula Bennett obviously can't see the point of it being taught. Maybe she should go across to Australia and tell the Aussies that, or better still take up residence over there for a couple of years, which might open her eyes as to what Climate Change is all about and the importance of teaching youth of its devastating consequences if it is ignored.

    And as for Bennett's ironic comments about teaching school students the value of eating healthy food, instead of being educated about CC … that's a laugh, considering she had bariatric surgery to help control her weight! Enough said on that one!

    The computer heist … obviously National through Bennett and Goldsmith, were on the verge of pointing the finger, calling it a political act, despite the fact that a neighbouring business suffered a similar burglary some time back! So easy to lay blame and smear, before learning the facts, particularly in election year!

    • tc 7.1
      21 January 2020 at 2:22 pm

      get used to it, typical national party MO with granny herald playing her role as usual.

      Pulya’s a masterclass in hypocrisy and abuse of position.

      • Unicus 7.1.1
        22 January 2020 at 8:21 am

        The Gnashinal Party are quite capable of setting up stunts like this

        Remember last elections fuel supply emergency after one oof their rural rumpers dug up the Marden Point pipeline

        Bill English flew into full war footing strutting about as a " real" leader should sending a frigate up the coast to repel boarders – gawd talk about Napoleonic – the whole thing blobed in the end of course along with Bill –

        Naturaly the tosser who did it was never busted

  8. soddenleaf 8
    21 January 2020 at 1:49 pm

    National are worried laptops will expose how they will convince voters to elect them, materials included, policies…

    No, wait, funnier. Tough on crime, leave laptops out where they can be seen and easy access to jimmy a window. Every car owner who has left something on the backseat that is stolen feels how bad their own behaviour contributed… …oh, wait this was some insidious scheme to blackmail them for have alleged sensitive document's but others had laptops stolen… …qu. why would the most stolen electronic device be carrying such docs… …why aren't police investigating security and giving the public a reminders about securing your office.

    • Unicus 8.1
      22 January 2020 at 12:19 pm

      The Gnashinal Party are quite capable of setting up stunts like this

      Remember last elections fuel supply emergency after one oof their rural rumpers dug up the Marden Point pipeline

      Bill English flew into full war footing strutting about as a " real" leader should sending a frigate up the coast to repel boarders – gawd talk about Napoleonic – the whole thing blobed in the end of course along with Bill –

      Naturaly the tosser who did it was never busted

      [Corrected typo in user handle]

  9. Tony Veitch (not etc.) 9
    21 January 2020 at 2:30 pm

    Bugger!

    For a moment I hoped the break-in was political – by the alt-right group who allegedly defaced the office a week or so ago. I had hoped the Chinese spy's emails back to his bosses in China might be exposed.

    Oh well, too much to expect. His statecraft would be better than using an office laptop to report in.

    • Anne 9.1
      21 January 2020 at 7:32 pm

      For a moment I hoped the break-in was political…

      Yes, Bit of a damp squib wasn't it. Would have been good for a few weeks of claims and counter claims. Oh well, back to the drudgery.

  10. alwyn 10
    21 January 2020 at 3:43 pm

    Thank you Micky. You have solved a problem for me.

    About two months ago someone backed into my car in a Wellington Supermarket car park. They didn't bother of course to leave a note so when I got it fixed I had to pay an excess on the insurance. On Saturday I saw a car bump into another vehicle in a different, but quite close car park. They also didn't leave a note although, to be fair, there wasn't a mark on the car they hit.

    However, following the Micky Savage school of detection I have decided that that must have been the same person that hit me. I reported it to the Police but they simply laughed. They said that a lot of the people they heard from had unduly active imaginations and they didn't find the story a compelling one.

    How could that be? Surely your brilliant deduction about the person who broke into the National Party Office must be correct? How could it be anyone else? Or perhaps the Police are not as foolish as some Labour Party acolytes?

    • Hanswurst 10.1
      21 January 2020 at 5:37 pm

      Erm… you're missing the point, Alwyn. National are the ones making a claim, by suggesting that the burglary was politically motivated. Other burglaries of a similar nature in the area show that to be just spin and speculation on their part.

    • Robert Guyton 10.2
      21 January 2020 at 5:53 pm

      The police laughed at you, Alwyn, for your unduly active imagination, and you felt you needed to tell us all?

      How … odd!

    • roblogic 10.3
      28 January 2020 at 11:10 am

      Clearly a politically motivated attack. Better notify HQ and ring up the Herald!

  11. ExAucklander 11
    21 January 2020 at 7:45 pm

    The Herald story on the break in used the words politically motivated seven times

  12. Graeme 12
    21 January 2020 at 8:53 pm

    Well Paula's done a fine job of increasing the price the burglar is going to ask for the stolen laptops, if they haven't biffed them in the harbour or a random skip by now.

  13. georgecom 13
    21 January 2020 at 10:57 pm

    my mind went back to a previous time something like this happened. National Party insiders who took Don Brashes emails (after he had printed and left them in a pile from memory) and leaked them to Nicky Hagar.

    • Sacha 13.1
      22 January 2020 at 8:25 am

      And the amount of effort the party put into making it out as an external theft rather than an internal leak..

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