Damn Shame

There's plenty of others talking about Aaron Gilmore and I'm going to add my bit.

A true gentleman is one who is never unintentionally rude - Oscar Wilde

Being rude to bar staff, waiters and shop assistants is not OK.  Aaron Gilmore, who has never been in the limelight for good reasons, has destroyed his career as an MP.  This would be a reason for celebrating if I was sure that there were not a hundred others waiting to replace him.

I'd like to see him stay in parliament, as a National MP, until the next election.  The more damaged goods, like John Banks, that the government collects on the way to the next election, the better.

At a fundamental level it is clear enough what he has done wrong.  But there are other things.  He has shown the born-to-rule tory attitude that pervades National at present.  The PM and his senior ministers have done an excellent job of hiding it (as opposed to destroying it) and they will be mightily upset that the most junior of their team, their most marginal MP, has undone their work.

Verlaines - Some Disenchanted Evening, 1990

Reena

$27 million towards the $47 million cost of cleaning up after the Rena was smashed across Astrolabe Reef.  For a government that thinks the RoNS are a good idea (and on Planet Key they are) I suppose this is par for the course.  Kudos to the negotiators for getting more than was legally required, though it did occur to me that the $27 million represents what the shipping company would have been liable for if any government since about 1996 had bothered to update the law.  And to the shipping company who, after their initial mistake (where there ship ended up polluting someone else's beach) behaved responsibly.
I thought I heard a minister, while explaining what a good deal it was, say that the whole thing was not foreseeable.  Which would explain why the oil Pollution Fund has been run down.
As for being unforeseeable it's not like ships have come to grief around our coast before, well:

except the General Grant

 or the Pacific Charger, which I remember seeing stuck on the rocks

and the Mikhail Lermontov.

A sensible government would accept that it's bound to happen again, and would plan both to deal with it and to fund the response.

Spelling Mistakes - 7", 1980

Memory

Kim Dotcom sure does make people forget a lot of stuff.
John Banks forgot a donation to his mayoral election campaign from Dotcom, and forgot visiting Dotcom'ss house in a helicopter.  Lucky he remembers he never had sex with Dotcom.
A GCSB officer had a brain-fade, and not in my words but in Regular John's, late last week.

"I expect better and I'll be getting better out of them in the future. But the simple facts of life are that they suffered what can only be described as a massive brain-fade by one person who actually reviewed the file.That's wrong and it shouldn't have happened but people do make mistakes."

Fair enough, people do make mistakes.  A whole lot of finance company directors made mistakes over the last few years.  They were held to account.
And now Regular John has been found to have had brain-fade too.  From National's website:

The Prime Minister visited GCSB offices on 29 February for a briefing on the broader capabilities of the bureau, and to meet the staff. A paper prepared as talking points for the staff member conducting a presentation contained a short reference to the Dotcom arrest a few weeks earlier, as an example of cooperation between the GCSB and the Police. The presentation was an electronic slide presentation. The cover slide was a montage of 11 small images, one of which was of Mr Dotcom.

and the PM says:

“I have been clear from the outset that I received no briefing on the operation from GCSB prior to 17 September, and this review confirms that,” says Mr Key.
“While neither the GCSB Director nor I can recall the reference to the Dotcom matter being made during my visit to the bureau back in February, I accept that it may well have been made.
“Given the public statements I have made in Parliament and in the media, it is important that I take this opportunity to provide this additional information.
“I will be correcting my answers to the House when it resumes on Tuesday 16 October.”

Don't correct your answer to the House, John, go and tell the Governor General.  Then ask him to dissolve parliament.  Think of it as an opportunity to confirm that mandate you got to sell asset.

Elaine Paige - Cats, 1981

If I Could Turn Back Time

Today, in parliament, the PM acknowledged that the reason John Banks was not prosecuted was that the time in which a prosecution could proceed had passed.  That's all.
The bounds of credibility have been stretched to their limits.  Mr Key and his National Party will inevitably suffer the consequences of supporting Mr Banks.  They may manage to put the day on which the consequences are faced off until the next general election, but the longer they wait, the higher the cost.  To all of us.
Robert Winter asked if Mr Key was unaware that no one likes a liar.  I'm certain that he is aware, and has failed to do the right thing for an unknown reason.  There is speculation that Mr Banks "knows where the bodies are buried" and rumours of extra-marital affairs, drugs and stolen motorbikes, but that is more likely to come to nothing than lead to a giant implosion that destroys the right wing as a political force in New Zealand.  The simple explanation is that Mr Key has lost touch.  Even his cheerleaders are half-hearted these days.

Was Mr Banks aware, when he signed his return, that he would comply with the law once the statute of limitation passed?

Cher - Heart of Stone

Circular

This whole thing with John Banks is untenable.  John Key's three wise monkeys act is farcical and I have high hopes that some clever questioning in parliament tomorrow will cut further into the fading life of this government.
John Banks welcomed the upcoming changes to electoral law that he has used as a convenient excuse for his immoral behaviour.  "The law is an ass", he quoted Charles Dickens as writing.  At which I nearly choked for two reasons.  First was that I doubt John Banks has ever read Charles Dickens, at least not beyond the first few pages.  And second because the correct quote is "the law is a ass".
I was thinking about a hypothetical situation where the law around donations to candidates for local government elections was not "a ass", and where a candidate had behaved as Mr Banks had behaved.  There is no doubt that they would not be a government minister and they would probably not be an MP any more.
I suppose in the hypothetical situation, Mr Banks would have "met the minimum requirements of the law".  Which is kind of like appealing to the lowest common denominator.  I don't want representatives, at local, regional or national level, that scrape through on the edges of the law.  That's not leadership, it's the insidiously corrosive mentality that eats away at the fabric of our society.
Mr Banks must resign his Ministerial portfolios.

Able Tasmans - Somebody Ate My Planet, 1992

Ugly Day

Spring Creek, Tiwai Point and NI Mussel Processors.  I'd ask if the 170,000 new jobs includes the loss of these jobs, or is in addition to them, but I expect a good proportion of the soon-to-be-unemployed will not contribute to the unemployment rate in NZ, by emigrating.
I'd suggest that the managers responsible should hang their heads in shame, and tender their resignations.  But their role is to maximise the return to shareholders, not keep people employed or contribute to the communities they are based in.  Which leads to the question, is the version of capitalism we have the best solution?  Surely we can come up with something better.

The 3D's - Hellzapoppin, 1992

Three To Get Ready

Yesterday I mentioned, in passing, the recent questionable behaviour of three  current ministers; Paula Bennett, John Banks and John Key.  In a spare moment I took the opportunity to compare their actions:

John Banks had a fit of pique over the recommendations of the Electoral Commission, which include some minor changes to the MMP system.
I have a little empathy for John Banks.  He senses a threat to his seat on the gravy train (though it seems obvious that he will be off the gravy train at the next election, I reckon I can count the number of people who think otherwise with a few fingers and thumbs to spare), the increasingly bizarre ideals he stands for are at risk, and he is doing his best to defend them.  No problem with that.
His inability to comprehend that his actions, and those of his ACT predecessors in the last parliament are the best and most recent example of what is wrong with MMP.  Their behaviour has been a model for many of submissions to the Electoral Commission's review and as such this is like a case of contributory negligence.  The bronze for bad politics goes to John Banks

I'd like to try to defend what Paula Bennett did, even as an intellectual exercise.  Play the devil's advocate.  But I can't.  There are only a limited range of circumstances where the government should use information it holds on a person against that person, and this is not one of those circumstances.  Otherwise the information must be held securely.  End of story.
The only bright light I can see is the suspicion I have that some form of confidential settlement was made.  It's not much of a bright light, then, especially when you consider that the issue involved the government intimidating people who criticise government policy.  At least it stayed out of court.  With that bit of grasping at straws done, the silver for bad politics to Paula Bennett

Which means the winner of the gold is John Key, for going to the game, and not going to the funeral.
Ultimately it is the Prime Minister who decides to deploy troops to combat zones.  It is therefore beholden upon the Prime Minister to do the right thing by these troops.  When they are killed in action the PM must attend the funeral.  It's that simple.
I do understand that politics is hard on families, especially children.  But like the duty to the troops, it's part of the job.  Anyone who thinks politics is easy has not had much to do with it.  And it's been that way for ages, anyone who is not up for putting their duties to the country ahead of their family should not run for public office.  It's that simple.
I have a guiding principle - you should always attend funerals.  Because the dead only die once; it's not like you can attend their next funeral.  Whereas the living will, in all likelihood, be here tomorrow.

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out, 1959

You're Gonna Get Done

I'd like to say I shook my head in disbelief when I heard John Banks would not be prosecuted for his actions around his return on his 2010 mayor campaign.  But to be fair, I expected that he wouldn't be prosecuted, and that shows a deep vein of cynicism on my part.  I have a deep and seething anger over this.

So let's lay out the facts.  John Banks received almost $100,000 in donations where he knew who the donor was.  That's almost two years pay at the average wage.

An assistant filled out the declaration on the donations to the campaign.

Bank's probity extended only to asking the assistant whether the declaration was correct.

Once he had been told the declaration was correct, he signed it as being true and correct, without any further checking.

And apparently that satisfies the letter of the law.

We are asked to believe that Banks knew the law very well and ensured that he obeyed the letter of it, if not the spirit.  And that's despite the obfuscations that resulted from the initial questioning of the declaration; all the claims from Banks that he could not remember.  And we are asked to believe the fault lies with the law, not the man.  But there are too many problems.

Declarations should never be made lightly.  They deserve and require thorough reviews and checks to ensure their veracity and consistency, their accuracy.  When they are declarations relating to the institutions of our society, elections and democracy in this instance, they are even more important.  A properly made declaration shows the person making it means what they say, and says what they mean.

In stretching the law to its limits, in meeting the letter of the law but avoiding the spirit of it, Banks has shown himself to be contemptuous of the institution of democracy; a petty egotist.

Blaming the law is weak.  ACT have trumpeted the idea of personal responsibility, in the past.  Banks could accept personal responsibility in this instance, if he had any courage in his convictions.  But apparently he has none, and it is my hope that his lack of courage will bring the final curtain down on the disgrace that the ACT party is today.  His credibility is blown; the right will need to start a new fringe party.

Primmers - AK79, 1979

Hello Are You There

John Banks, he's kept his head down, presumably so National don't lose their ability to pass legislation.  Here's there because the PM, courtesy of some studious looking the other way with his hands over his ears while chanting "la la la I can't hear anything", has not lost confidence in Mr Banks.
It all came back to a question of whether Mr Banks had acted within the law, or not.  Here's Mr Key quoted on Stuff:

Key said he had not spoken directly to Banks but the ACT leader had given ''an absolute and categorical assurance to my office'' that he acted legally.

So, just the legal test, then.


But when it comes to moving people off ACC (and into the caring arms of WINZ), a legal and moral test applies, according to Mr Key.  Have a listen to him on the radio this morning - the section in question is between 2:09 and 2:30 running time.


Now that's as it should be with ACC.  We collectively gave up our right to sue, and in exchange gained an entitlement to ACC.


The standard required of ACC staff, according to Mr Key, is higher than the standard required to hold a ministerial warrant, even though the impact of decisions made by ACC staff affect many fewer people.  Surely Mr Key should have equal or higher standards for himself and his ministers.

Consolidated - Play More Music, 1992

Charlie

While I should really identify as a republican, or at least I've always thought I should, the idea of a president and another layer of centralised government holds no appeal at all.
Whereas having our head of government on the other side of the world, not doing anything and leaving the exercise of their powers to the governor general, and not costing us any money, seems very pragmatic.  Pragmatic in the same sense that democracy was said (by Churchill) to be the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
It never seemed unreasonable to pay the hosting costs of the Windsors, when they visit.  Murray McCully was happy to have reasonably large sums spent on VIPs that most people have never heard of for the Rugby World Cup.
What grates is that we are, apparently, not allowed to know anything of the costs for the upcoming visit by our future King.  That's not an issue that relates to the usefulness or otherwise of the monarchy, it's the common courtesy of our government telling us what they are doing with the money we pay as taxes.
The Prince of Wales could at least have the decency to fly on a commercial flight, rather than demand we charter a plane for him.  The commercial flight will be coming here, and there's no need for the extra greenhouse gases a charter flight will create.


Split Enz - Dizrythmia, 1977

A New Season

Dr Lance O'Sullivan, who I identified as a person with the courage to stand up for what he believes in, in this post, has left his job at Te Hauora o Te Hiku o Te Ika in Kaitaia.
All the best for you future endeavours, Dr O'Sullivan.  I am sure we will hear of you again in the near future.


The Church - Starfish, 1988

Champagne and Misery

I'm not sure if it is the unrelenting willingness of some people to do the wrong thing and crap all over not only other people, but sometimes even their own family, or the avoidance of personal responsibility by hiding behind insolvency law, but something about the case of Janita Wright and her niece, Veronica Kloeten revolts me.
As a brief summary, Wright dismissed Kloeten from her employment when she found Kloeten was pregnant.  The courts awarded Kloeten a sum as damage, however Wright's company went insolvent and the damages are not payable as Kloeten is not a secured creditor.
There's a saying about being able to tell a lot about a person by the company they keep.  Janita Wright has been unable to keep her links to Rod Petricevic suppressed.

The Clean - Unknown Country, 1996