Will Jami Lee spill the beans on National’s donations?

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, July 29th, 2020 - 45 comments
Categories: China, election 2020, election funding, elections, national, same old national - Tags:

Believe me I lived through the Labour years of 2008 to 2014.  I know what disunity looks like.

This term has been a complete shambles for National.  And the shambles shows no sign of abating.  Because Jami-Lee Ross is threatening to table National’s list of 2017 campaign donations in Parliament.

From Jason Walls at the Herald:

National’s president is playing down threats by ex-National MP Jami-Lee Ross to make public the party’s 2017 donation records in the House tomorrow.

But Peter Goodfellow could not say with 100 per cent certainty that National had not received donations linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as alleged by Ross.

He did say, however, National had done its due diligence and “that leads me to believe we don’t have those connections”.

It is very likely that National will object to the document being tabled.  But the question is what happens next?

And Goodfellow’s comments are somewhat bizarre.  Which President of a major party would not check after the threat of the disclosure of the party’s donation list then you know there is a problem.

Goodfellow is adopting the “I see nothing” defence.  Which is understandable for a party leader but shouldn’t the party president be on top of the detail?

The article focuses on Goodfellow’s response to allegations that some donations came from the Chinese Communist Party.  From the article:

“I’m not aware of anything at the moment, nothing has been drawn to my attention,” he said when asked about the alleged donations from CCP.

He said the party has records of “tens of thousands” of donations and he was not sure what Ross was referring to.

Asked again if any were linked to the CCP, he asked for further advice on specific donations.

He then added that: “We always check to see that we’ve got New Zealanders who have donated, and [if they are] all within the usual disclosure requirements – that’s what we’ve been looking for”.

He said if Ross did table the information in the House, “we would take a look at it … very promptly, as we have in the past”.

“I would feel very concerned … we would take a look at the information if it got tabled.

“We have had a look at our information, but for some reason, he might believe something different, or whatever. Let’s see what he’s got.”

I wonder if Jian Yang’s decision to spend more time with his family is related.  Today could be an interesting day.

45 comments on “Will Jami Lee spill the beans on National’s donations? ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    29 July 2020 at 8:05 am

    It's the plausible deniability defense. It works if you use middlemen who aren't identifiable as conduits from the regime funding outlet to the National Party inlet.

    Problem is, JLR operating as whistleblower, testifying as arranger of the arrangement, makes the Nats look guilty. Perception is the key to voterland, not reality.

    Bluster from the Nats along the lines of "well, we dotted each i and crossed each t necessary to make the conduit legal" will not persuade centrist voters to shift back to National.

  2. Sacha 2
    29 July 2020 at 8:15 am

    We always check to see that we’ve got New Zealanders who have donated

    Lovely evasion.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    29 July 2020 at 8:22 am

    Oh well, it is Jami-Lee’s turn to deliver, or more likely not, Mr Ross…This is your “moment of truth”…

  4. Incognito 4
    29 July 2020 at 8:25 am

    So, this is kinda his valedictory speech then?

  5. Stuart Munro 5
    29 July 2020 at 8:48 am

    Goodfellow may be about to bring public judgment on his party – and for the public 'not guilty' is by no means synonymous with innocent.

  6. Robert Guyton 6
    29 July 2020 at 9:48 am

    Good luck today, Jamie Lee!

  7. Brian Tregaskin 7
    29 July 2020 at 9:55 am

    Go Jamie !

  8. Enough is Enough 8
    29 July 2020 at 10:03 am

    The dirty politics just keeps on rolling. This time the Nats are getting undone by their own

  9. observer 9
    29 July 2020 at 10:10 am

    Happy to see National exposed, but anyone who thinks JLR is somebody to admire really hasn't been paying attention.

    Are we applauding the extreme right now? FFS.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/politics/jami-lee-ross-hitches-wagon-to-conspiracy-theorists

    • Incognito 9.1
      29 July 2020 at 10:25 am

      Is doing the right thing for the wrong reason(s) still the right thing to do?

      • Stephen D 9.1.1
        29 July 2020 at 10:26 am

        My enemies enemy is my friend?

      • observer 9.1.2
        29 July 2020 at 10:32 am

        I view it the same way as the various books and leaks by ex-Trump Republicans.

        We can enjoy the revelations and be grateful they've told us how bad it is, without changing our views on their unchanged right-wing views.

  10. nzsage 10
    29 July 2020 at 10:17 am

    As a volunteer canvassing in my own city, I can't begin to imagine the impact all this is having on the motivation levels of similar National volunteers.

    I occasionally get a swift (and not always polite) "no thanks" while door knocking, those guys will be needing thick skins of rhinoceros proportions.

  11. Chris T 11
    29 July 2020 at 10:40 am

    I still don't get this bloke.

    If there was anything dodgy, wasn't he the one actually organising it?

    • Rapunzel 11.1
      29 July 2020 at 10:59 am

      He might have been the go-between of various descriptions but anyone can see it was under instruction – yes he was looking for kudos & an advantage that never came but what exactly was the "benefit" to him that he would take the course taken. The SFO charges cover two years it was an accepted procedure for the National Party

      • Chris T 11.1.1
        29 July 2020 at 11:54 am

        I am not sure, but the bloke has always come across as a bit of a narcissist to me in my purely personal opinion, given his history, so probably kudos.

        Mod's if this post is bad for some reason, it is purely my speculation before you ban me for a week, am willing to retract.

        • Rapunzel 11.1.1.1
          29 July 2020 at 12:30 pm

          Well as my memory serves me it was as much, if not more, the $20k (I think) on offer from Bridges that he didn't get – kudos was just part of the platform https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12152876

        • Incognito 11.1.1.2
          29 July 2020 at 12:47 pm

          indecision

        • Wensleydale 11.1.1.3
          29 July 2020 at 2:58 pm

          I don't think anyone's disputing that JLR is a self-serving muppet, but watching him knife his former compatriots with their own bloody cleaver is poetry in motion. As far as I'm concerned, the more muck expunged from the open sewer that is the National Party and brought before the gaze of the soon-to-be-voting public, the better. Let us see them for what they really are. Cockroaches in expensive suits.

    • Dennis Frank 11.2
      29 July 2020 at 11:01 am

      Yeah, that was his job. Nats are okay with dodgy as long as it's a legal dodge. So he got advice from the party secretary on how to do it.

      An interesting aspect is if confidentiality applies. If he was contracted to obey party rules, breaking confidentiality in parliament could be illegal? Just guessing. How many lawyers can dance on the head of a pin? 😎

      • Chris T 11.2.1
        29 July 2020 at 2:49 pm

        Do you really want to get into a conversation about which NZ parties have done dodgy things?

        Because I doubt it would end well for your bias

        • Dennis Frank 11.2.1.1
          29 July 2020 at 3:38 pm

          Of course not. Whataboutism is puerile. What bias are you guessing at anyway?? If Labour did the same dodge I'd adopt the same stance…

    • Drowsy M. Kram 11.3
      29 July 2020 at 11:32 am

      What's not to get? Confession is good for the soul.

      "It dawned on me, 'I know this script, I helped write this script.' At that point, I felt bad for what I did to Todd. But that's the modus operandi of the National Party – when people become a liability you push them out the door."
      https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/weekend-herald/20181020/281479277390765

      National have <2 months to dig themselves out of the 'liabilty avalanche‘ they’re buried under – Collins isn’t the ‘leader‘ to do that. Nek minute – ‘liabilty overdrive‘.

      • Chris T 11.3.1
        29 July 2020 at 11:59 am

        "National have <2 months to dig themselves out of the 'liabilty avalanche‘ they’re buried under "

        Given the chances of Ardern not winning the election with Covid, are so close to zero it is not worth considering, I think it is just trying to find some news out of nothing personally.

        There is more than one case going on atm.

        One is just not really being covered much in the media

  12. Maurice 12
    29 July 2020 at 10:47 am

    Ah!

    HUBRIS

    (in Greek tragedy) excessive pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

  13. Anne 13
    29 July 2020 at 11:04 am

    I wonder if Jian Yang’s decision to spend more time with his family is related.

    That could prove to be 'the story'.

    It seemed a bit odd that Yang changed his mind about standing weeks out from an election because he suddenly decided he wanted to spend more time with his family.

  14. Tiger Mountain 14
    29 July 2020 at 11:20 am

    “spending more time with the missus and kids” is surely accepted code for politicians about to take a tumble…

    Our glorious ex leader Mr Key, despite several hundred documented “miss speaks”, Dirty Politics, the pony tail pulling and coming collapse of his Offshore Trust scam, was all set for a fourth term…then…what? rumours persist it was an internal matter, very close to his office. Key of course was never busier after finishing as PM-directorships and various duties serving international finance.

    So it will be interesting to see what Mr Yang gets up to.

  15. Patricia Bremner 15
    29 July 2020 at 11:40 am

    It is amazing to me that Goodfellow has survived Ede Jaimie Lee-Ross Boag and all.

  16. mary_a 16
    29 July 2020 at 12:20 pm

    Go for JLR. I'm sure if he is unable to table this information in the House, then no doubt he has other ways of getting it out into the public domain, as long as he has the evidence. Leaks have been known to occur.

  17. Just Is 17
    29 July 2020 at 12:55 pm

    Jamie had his opportunity in Parliament today, he stated he was the recipient of the leaked files from Nationals donations records.

    Jamie stated that he had been threatened this morning with court action if he tried to table the contents of the leaked files.

    He bought up the issue of Foreign donations through donations being funneled through companies in NZ.

    He was quite clear that many of the donations were from the CCP.

    • rawsharkyeshe 17.1
      29 July 2020 at 1:06 pm

      Just Is — Please, where in Parliament did this take place today ? Many thx.

      [If you use your old/previous e-mail address your comments will display your unique avatar. Please let me know if you like me to change it in this comment – Incognito]

      • Incognito 17.1.1
        29 July 2020 at 1:16 pm

        See my Moderation note @ 1:06 PM.

        • rawsharkyeshe 17.1.1.1
          29 July 2020 at 1:47 pm

          Thx Incognito .. Vodafone closed their email service and my original email address .. be kind if you can restore my previous avatar .. 🙂

          • Incognito 17.1.1.1.1
            29 July 2020 at 4:28 pm

            I can ‘restore’ them by manually changing each of your comments, e.g. as I’ve done in the comment I’m replying to. If you want to use your previous avatar all you have to do is to enter your old e-mail address because the avatar is linked to that. I don’t know if and how you can transfer/associate an avatar to/with a different e-mail address.

      • Muttonbird 17.1.2
        29 July 2020 at 1:18 pm

        Yeah, I thought the courts were not allowed anywhere near parliament business.

        • Just Is 17.1.2.1
          29 July 2020 at 2:07 pm

          It sounded like National party funded legal threat prior to Ross's arrival in the house.

      • Just Is 17.1.3
        29 July 2020 at 2:04 pm

        Hi Greywarshark (managed to decipher the code..)

        I watched live on Parliament TV today, Jamie only had one segment to put his questions forward, Little agreed with him about the donations, Jamie said he was provided the leaked docs and that it listed 100s of thousands of dollars of donations, many from overseas donors.