“What else can I do?”, asks Blinky Bill.

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, September 18th, 2009 - 13 comments
Categories: bill english, national - Tags:

We told him here months ago – acknowledge what everybody knows: that he lives in Wellington with his family, and he should claim the out-of-town allowance when he visits Dipton.

That would be the honest thing to do.

Bill says there is a perception problem, and he’s right – but the problem is entirely his. It’s his dedication to the old Tory way, “one law for the rich”.

To argue that he doesn’t benefit from however many hundred dollars a week the taxpayer puts in a family trust to pay to accommodate him is, to put it kindly, crap. The trust probably pays for his kids to attend expensive private schools in Wellington – that’s money from the taxpayer that doesn’t have to come out of his pocket. The worker who said his pay was less than Bill’s perk shows how people who struggle to feed their kids would think of that line.

If Bill thinks he can dodge and weave while the National Party spin machine covers up for him he’s got it dead wrong.

13 comments on ““What else can I do?”, asks Blinky Bill. ”

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  1. lprent 1
    18 September 2009 at 8:43 am

    You have to ask, if Bill is this casual about the ins and outs of his own finances, why is he doing mine?

    BTW: John put some categories and tags on the post

  2. BLiP 2
    18 September 2009 at 8:44 am

    Its not a perception problem at all – that just how Crosby/Textor want it framed – its actually a greed problem.

  3. Ianmac 3
    18 September 2009 at 10:24 am

    It does seem like another case of waiting for the fuss to die down, perhaps because to elucidate would make Bill’s position even worse. Will this harm the Government?

  4. Tigger 4
    18 September 2009 at 10:52 am

    Unlike everything else at the moment this is the one sore for National that just won’t heal. Ordinary people I chat to who voted right are prepared to give the govenrment the benefit of the doubt at the moment over everything bar this. It really does stink of greed as BLiP says and is intensified by English’s job and the recessionary talk from him feeling hollow. The public already think MPs are overpaid so the scene was set for this issue to gain traction. Labour should keep the pressure on here – the Blingish scandal isn’t going anywhere.

    I just wish the whole Transrail issue with Key had had this much coverage…

  5. randal 5
    18 September 2009 at 11:21 am

    unfotunately billy boy let the cat out of the bag when he described his housing allowances as ‘COLLECTING’ as if being in parliament was like being at the races.
    well we all know that the sole reason for Mr Keys being headhunted for his current position was because the electorate had already seen thorugh billy boys childish petulance and now we are waiting for mr keys innate immaturity to show through as well.

  6. simonm 6
    18 September 2009 at 4:27 pm

    All this is terribly unfair on poor old Bill. This 2006 press release from his website shows what a tireless advocate he’s been when it comes to exposing rorts of the system to claim taxpayer money for personal gain.

    http://www.billenglish.co.nz/press_release_15032006.htm

    • BLiP 6.1
      18 September 2009 at 4:32 pm

      Good spotting – how ironic Blinglish should be squealing about legal technicalities yet all the time was outraged regarding

      deliberately exploited funding loopholes.

      What a great look for our Minister of Finance.

  7. gobsmacked 7
    18 September 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Tigger said:

    Unlike everything else at the moment this is the one sore for National that just won’t heal. Ordinary people I chat to who voted right are prepared to give the government the benefit of the doubt at the moment over everything bar this.

    The latest Morgan poll suggests the doubts are growing:

    National down 5%, Labour up 4%.

    No wonder John Key has been so unenthusiastic in his defence of his deputy.

  8. jabba 8
    18 September 2009 at 8:33 pm

    scary I know but I’m close to agreeing with you here gobsmkd, as he said himself “it’s not a good look” .. the thing is that his guilt realtes to morals and not even priests get fired for lacking morals.

  9. George.com 9
    18 September 2009 at 8:50 pm

    What more can Bill E do?

    make an honest statement along the lines of ‘I stretched the rules as far as I possibly could to wring as much money out of the housing allowances as I could’.

    rob

  10. jabba 10
    18 September 2009 at 10:14 pm

    George .. I think he almost said that .. almost BUT once again, to this point, he hasn’t been found guilty of breaking a law.