“The Associate Minister of Justice’s claim to have consulted opposition parties on significant government appointments is totally false,” said the Rt Hon Winston Peters, MP for Tauranga and Leader of New Zealand First.

“Margaret Wilson did write to New Zealand First on 28 March 2001 advising that “Cabinet has resolved to recommend the following appointments to the Administrator for the Government …”

“That letter is a statement of fact and no attempt whatsoever was made to ascertain the views of opposition parties.

“It has always been critical that sensitive appointments, such as the Human Rights Commissioner, follow consultation with non government parties and, particularly, more so now that New Zealand has an MMP system of government.

“I am enclosing a copy of Margaret Wilson’s letter of 28 March 2001 as clear evidence that her claim on Morning Report this morning to have consulted with opposition parties is a demonstrable fiction,” said Mr Peters.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>