Where in the world is Wong?

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, November 24th, 2010 - 61 comments
Categories: accountability, corruption, election funding - Tags: ,

Two Friday’s ago, corrupt Nat Pansy Wong resigns as minister. Key tells her not to talk to media. As if she can’t remember her own overseas trips. Gives her a week’s leave. Wong disappears. Week’s up – no Wong. Where is she? Mallard’s heard she’s overseas. Fundraising for the Nats. Is she using her travel perk?

61 comments on “Where in the world is Wong? ”

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  1. smhead 1
    24 November 2010 at 7:23 am

    Yawn. Mallard’s a lying scumbag. He has heard nothing of the sort.

  2. ghostwhowalksnz 2
    24 November 2010 at 7:26 am

    Where’s Waldo ?
    http://www.findwaldo.com/

  3. Pascal's bookie 3
    24 November 2010 at 7:35 am

    I’m pretty comforatble with the idea that people the state suspects of committing a crime should be under no obligation to incriminate themselves, but this new scheme of Key’s where politicians shouldn’t have to front up to questions from the media until it’s been worked out how much anyone else knows is just bullshit.

    • Ari 3.1
      24 November 2010 at 7:38 am

      Talking to the media is not the same thing as incriminating yourself, and you can always not comment if you’re in a tricky spot.

      An MP that hides from the media is doing their job wrong, assuming they’re even doing it.

      • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 7:56 am

        Yeah, what gets me is how meek and mild the media are being about it.

        Key is pretty much saying that if the media were allowed to ask her questions, she might contradict what happens to be the truth, and it would be unfair to put her in such a position!!

        • The Voice of Reason 3.1.1.1
          24 November 2010 at 8:10 am

          Perhaps there should be a people’s picket outside the Herald and TVNZ with signs saying what stories we would like covered each day. Because if we don’t tell them what real news is, they’ll never work it out for themselves.

          If anybody is thinking of running with this idea and want to target TV3, a word of caution; write your signs in crayon so Duncan Garner can get the message as well.

    • g says 3.3
      24 November 2010 at 9:29 am

      I’m pretty comforatble with the idea that people the state suspects of committing a crime should be under no obligation to incriminate themselves.

      ironically mr power wants to remove that right from the statutes.
      perhaps we need more urgency to get this erosion of liberty enshrined quickly.
      is parliament one of the gangs that this legislation targets?

    • insider 3.4
      24 November 2010 at 11:12 am

      Even worse to me is JK said that he had no responsibility for WOng once he had sacked her from cabinet. Now he saying he has instructed her not to speak, implying she is responsible for her actions to him….

      • Jim Nald 3.4.1
        24 November 2010 at 11:34 am

        The man is a scamming genius with his modus operandi, like his blind trust?

        Set things up so to say you have distance but they are actually still right under your nose.

  4. kriswgtn 4
    24 November 2010 at 7:44 am

    Wong gone to Hong Kong

    Sorry couldnt resist that 😛

  5. felix 5
    24 November 2010 at 8:30 am

    As Pb said, the media response is dodgy as. This is how it looks:

    Key says to Wong “don’t talk to the media”

    Media interpret this as “don’t ask Wong anything” and fall into line.

    Hey journos. Remember the old days when you used to chase people down stairwells and camp up outside their houses to get them to front?

    WHA HAAPENED!??

    • Tigger 5.1
      24 November 2010 at 8:52 am

      And Carter thought he was being singled out…whatever gave him the impression that he was being hounded differently from the others…I mean, clearly his treatment was exactly what we can expect for every MP that – wait…what?

      • mickysavage 5.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 9:09 am

        Precisely.

        And Carter was pilloried for excessive legitimate use of the travel perk, not the break the rules potentially fraudulent type that has happened here.

        Where is the witch hunt?

        Do I sense differing standards here?

        • Herodotus 5.1.1.1
          24 November 2010 at 12:18 pm

          MS you mean Carter was pillared for roting the system. B.English,P Debunkle & co were also was within the rules re housing. Just because it is within the rules (written by MP’s) does not mean that it is tasteful to the public.

          • mickysavage 5.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2010 at 1:32 pm

            Herodotus

            I mean that Carter was hung drawn and quartered and then tarred and feathered because he flew too much and broke no rule that I know of.

            In comparison Wong has on the face of it engaged in the sort of behaviour which has caused others to be visited by the boys in blue.

            I would have thought this would have been more than enough for the tarring and feathering to start again but the media are very quiet.

            So do you agree there appears to be a double standard?

            • Herodotus 5.1.1.1.1.1
              24 November 2010 at 2:55 pm

              Some could say that a double standard appears so. I will await the report and then within an hour the Lab canditate to be announced for any by-election that could result from P Wongs past actions.
              MP’s get alot of crap- some well deserved, I get the impression that it is a hard and difficult profession- and as an employer of theirs in general I donot begrudge this benefit. It is those who abuse this benefit e.g. Carter & Wong. Considering the nos. of MP’s there are not many that do take us for a ride on this. Especially as it has been tightened up for only serving MP’s.
              I hope that as an unforeseen consequence we dont have only the wealthy stand for parliament. As with a few $m John Key can aford to pay for his family to accompany him for family time. Many I imagine cannot afford this. If SOME travel with a spouse makes a happier MP then we benefit from their output, even if it is an Act or Nat MP 😉 . We want the best on both sides of the benches performing for us.
              As an aside the MSN who attack minor spending, I would love for their expenses to be made public, then a mini bar or nice lunch may not be so bad.

    • Sanctuary 5.2
      24 November 2010 at 9:26 am

      What happened? They discovered it was easier to exploit angry and/or distraught relatives after crimes/industrial accidents/road crashes.

    • Maynard J 5.3
      25 November 2010 at 4:22 am

      The worst thing about this – the media will hound the families of Coasters and anyone else within sight about Pike River, but they won’t try and find out where Wong’s gone or why.

  6. jcuknz 6
    24 November 2010 at 8:41 am

    Soper says she is gardening 🙂

  7. john 7
    24 November 2010 at 9:06 am

    Two Wongs don’t make a Right!

  8. burt 8
    24 November 2010 at 9:29 am

    I think she is getting some tiling done on her holiday home.

  9. freedom 9
    24 November 2010 at 9:30 am

    and still the discussions, here and elsewhere are focused on the bloody travel perks.

    No-one in the media or on the street seem bothered by the running of multiple private business from Government offices. The registering of an Electorate office as a place to receive private business correspondence is totally out of line with Government office protocol, and a few NZ business laws got bent as well i suspect. I notice the Registrar of Companies has been very silent also, as this using the address of a Government office contravenes some basic registration protocols of NZ Companies. Namely the postal addresses for the company must be a private business, mailbox or residential address of the Company Directors. Then there is the fact, by there own admission, they had not declared the businesses. When will someone report on this illegal activity, let alone demand action?

    i sometimes wonder if i am not living in a really really long episode of the Twilight Zone

    • Jim Nald 9.1
      24 November 2010 at 10:00 am

      Interesting point. I was thinking yesterday that if I were a journalist, I would start searching the Companies Register for electorate office/Beehive/parliamentary addresses of Ministers.

    • insider 9.2
      24 November 2010 at 11:09 am

      I doubt an MP’s electorate office counts as a government office, even though taxpayers fund it through PS. I suspect it’s to do with the whole artifice of MPs being individuals and quasi independent even when their party is in govt.

      • freedom 9.2.1
        24 November 2010 at 12:05 pm

        Dejavu, this was all covered the other week, though as usual no action was seen by the media.

        An Electorate Office is NOT a private business premises, a private business post box, a private mail service provider or a residential address, so it can not be used to register a company or recieve mail for that company. END OF STORY

        Even the PM said the other week how Wong probably just had some mail sent to the office. The problem with his relaxed attitude to the correspondence is that he is admitting the practice is probably more widespread than we are aware of.

        This is the sort of illegal activity that must be stamped out of Parliament,
        on all sides, at all levels.

        The apparently innocuous act of receiving Business correspondence at a Parliamentary address not only contravenes clear rules of the Company Registrar, it is proof that Parliamentary services are being used to facilitate the operation of private businesses.

      • Zorr 9.2.2
        24 November 2010 at 12:15 pm

        It is taxpayer funded and therefore has rules around it stating that it is not for private business use.

  10. Jim Nald 10
    24 November 2010 at 9:58 am

    I’m a bit puzzled by all the cover up.
    Why really has Wong disappeared? Can’t she front up and what is she really hiding?
    Doesn’t Wong know herself how many times she has been overseas and what for?

    Granny says:
    “Speaker Lockwood Smith’s office was investigating and a report was expected within three weeks. Prime Minister John Key has said Mrs Wong shouldn’t comment until she had read the report.”

    Three weeks?!

    So we’re expecting a report of substantial proportion approximating the encyclopaedic? How many pages?

    Oh, three weeks plus time for her to read.

    Now, lemme count … 24th November today … so three weeks plus, let’s say, another week to read … WHOA! Christmas eve. Then, Parliament will be in recess. Then, New Year’s eve … erm and the January summer holidays.

    Hey, when will Parliament sit in Feb?

    Gosh, this rort had better be of huge and complex proportions to take that much time to untangle.

  11. freedom 11
    24 November 2010 at 10:07 am

    Do not underestimate the level of improper activity and dubious business dealings in this quagmire of a situation. I mean she is the business partner of Dame Jenny Shipley, and she has Bill Ralston to navigate the sandbars, not the best tugboat pilot to manouver this broken supertanker but no slouch either

  12. Colonial Viper 12
    24 November 2010 at 10:08 am

    They’ve hidden Wong away so she can’t frak up further in public.

    OR she is off busy trying to hide her tracks.

    I cannot believe the audacity and insolence of this National Govt, where is the anger of the media and of the people!!!

    • burt 12.1
      24 November 2010 at 10:45 am

      Battle fatigue from 9 years of Labour – we now expect this kind of self serving behaviour and we have already anticipated the “move on” and we already know that it’s not in the public interest to prosecute.

      • Colonial Viper 12.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 11:14 am

        Its in our interests this time.

        • burt 12.1.1.1
          24 November 2010 at 11:15 am

          Of course, it’s not the red team so accountability is required. I expect nothing less from Labour supporters.

          • Jim Nald 12.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2010 at 11:28 am

            Gotta fill in the gap opened up by media who are halfhearted pursuing this and conveying the perception that of course, it’s the blue team so accountability is not required. I expect much more from the fourth estate.

          • bbfloyd 12.1.1.1.2
            24 November 2010 at 2:35 pm

            ah burt,,, nice to hear from the qualified hypocrite once again… keep up the good work…don’t want anyone else usurping your spot.. they might be effective, and we can’t have that…

  13. tc 13
    24 November 2010 at 10:15 am

    Compare the treatment of carter and wong and it tells you all you need to know about the even handed nature of our MSM……whose a good lap dog then, go on rollover again….awww cute.

    • insider 13.1
      24 November 2010 at 11:42 am

      I think Carter suffered due to hubris, an unwillingness to face up, and maybe a little payback for nine years of unassailability plus the performance he put on which fed the media beast. Wong at least went quickly so is maybe getting some credit for that.

      • bbfloyd 13.1.1
        24 November 2010 at 2:44 pm

        insider…. this is the NZ government, not a defendant… you don’t get credit for a guilty plea here. and if she is, then the impartiality of our “fourth column” has to be called into question.

        only a goldfish wouldn’t remember the unremitting harassment more than one mp from the “left” has endured in the name of “getting to the truth of the matter”.. does it not seem time to give up the pretense and accept that the “getting to the truth of the matter” hasn’t even begun, or looks likely to…

        or, conversely, maybe our political journo’s have suddenly decided to become models of discretion and respect…

  14. Carol 14
    24 November 2010 at 12:10 pm

    So Wong is, unlike Carter, showing a great willingness to ‘front up”? She went quicker from her portfolio than Carter did from his shadow portfolio? And Wong has gone quicker from the National Party than Carter did from the Labour caucus?

    • mickysavage 14.1
      24 November 2010 at 1:37 pm

      Wong went from cabinet because it was that clear cut. It can at least be claimed that Carter did not break the rules.

      And Wong remains in Caucus. How can it be OK for an MP to break the rules but a sacking offence if she does this while being a Minister?

      The point of the post is that she should front up and say what happened. And that the media is awfully quiet.

  15. Herodotus 15
    24 November 2010 at 12:13 pm

    As Wong is not performing her electorate duties as a bare minimium and leaving over 40k unrepresented at parliament, I hope that she is having the $10 deduction off her salary, and I hope the $10 affects her spending habits. So we have had now 2 MP’s for a period of time now not represeting their constituencies.
    So where is the gone by lunchtime action?
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10663227

    • Jim Nald 15.1
      24 November 2010 at 12:30 pm

      Wong is busy continuing dining.
      The PM flicked her on to smorgasboard.
      Thank you very muchly, taxpayers.

  16. the pink postman 16
    24 November 2010 at 2:38 pm

    Im thinking this Wong affair is a lot more serious than most of us realise.
    There are prominant leaders of National Party involved and there’s talk of Chinese business people making huge contributions to the Nats coffers.Why ? That needs to be answered . Shipley , Creech Burton and dairy farms then theres Key’s “closed trust funds ” Plus loads of money to the Nats. It all making a very nasty smell. In fact to be blunt it stinks.!!

  17. Irascible 17
    24 November 2010 at 2:56 pm

    Rumour has it that she is staying in the Hawaiian residence of the Minister of Tourism while he visits NZ for photo opportunities and to check his mailing address.
    Wong has gone to ground as Key and his advisors know that if she is ever fronted by a sharp, pushy investigative journalist, even those as obedient and compliant as those employed by the Herald and DomPost, she will incriminate herself as soon as she opens her mouth. Mind you, it will take the journalist a few minutes of analysis to follow the sentence constructions Pansy would use but with perseverance the truth would emerge.
    Key is playing for time. The reveal will happen during the xmas barbeque season and the resignation will take place in January so the election could be called for July. In the meantime Botany will stay without a MP, even though Pansy hasn’t been all that visible in the electorate since her election anyway.

  18. tc 18
    24 November 2010 at 3:17 pm

    Yup the PP….tis national tis dodgy….they don’t understand yet alone know how to practice due process or transparency.

    they are just terms used to get elected by fools who believe they mean it….sadly the joke’s on us and our kids.

  19. Jeremy Harris 19
    24 November 2010 at 3:44 pm

    I wonder if she’s being charged that massive $10 per day deterent for missing work…

    Talk about one rule for politicians and one for the electorate…

    • ianmac 19.1
      24 November 2010 at 4:20 pm

      And the new Act requires the absentee to produce a doctor’s certificate after 1 day! Different rules for MPs?

  20. Carol 20
    24 November 2010 at 7:12 pm

    Hodgson was strongly onto the Wong case in Question Time today. It turns out that Wong has taken 11 overseas trips since 2008, that John Key signed off on. 10 of these trips were officially on ministerial business. Hodgson was asking what Key new about these trips when he signed them off, but coudn’t get a clear answer. There were quite a few points of order afterwards, with Labour claiming that the PM spokesperson should have come to the House with that information as usual when there is a written question submitted in advance.

    And Mallard on Red Alert seems to have evidence that Wong has obtained significant funds put into her and Sammy’s account – the suggestion being that she was overseas raising funds for National.

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