www.mccully.co.nz - 24th August 2007

A Weekly Report from the Keyboard of Murray McCully MP for East Coast Bays

Testing Times

These are testing, worrying times for many New Zealanders. Huge volatility in international share markets flow directly through this country. International currency markets are more unstable than we have seen in decades. And fallout from dramas in the US banking system will have implications for interest rates and inflation here, affecting home-ownership, businesses and ultimately jobs.

At such times the public look to their elected leaders – especially those who hold ministerial office, with the flash houses, chauffeur-driven limos and big offices with staff and salaries to match. This week they discovered precisely what those Ministers have been doing with their big salaries and even bigger resources: trawling the sewers and emptying the rubbish bins around John Key to find any hint of a scandal. And when they can’t find one, simply making one up.

That this outbreak of sewer politics was led this week by the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, is deeply ironic. The health system is in crisis. Tales of appalling under-delivery for individuals with serious health needs are now a matter of routine. The fact the Minister in charge of our health system has his mind on the contents of John Key’s rubbish bin rather than dealing with the emerging crisis will not be helping.

The public of New Zealand must be wondering just how low the Clark Government has sunk. Long gone is any pretence at providing leadership on the big issues New Zealand confronts. Gone now is any pretence at simply doing the jobs their ministerial warrants require. Driven by a massive arrogance and a huge sense of entitlement they intend to roll out dirty trick after dirty trick until the next election. In doing so they treat the public, who elected them, with contempt. They are a disgrace to the offices they hold.

Brain Drain Gains Impetus

As if to reinforce the point, the migration statistics for the July year were recently released. The Government Statistician tells us that 38,889 New Zealanders left permanently for Australia in that year – an average of 747 per week. And the numbers continue to climb. For the month of July 2007, 3,211 New Zealanders (over 100 a day) departed for Australia compared with 2,658 in July 2006.

That’s just migration to Australia. Overall, 73,514 New Zealanders departed these shores permanently last year. A resounding negative verdict on the prospects for their country. At least while it is superintended by a bunch of sewer rats.

Reckless Comments Cost

The decision of the Clark Government to seek political contention over foreign policy generally, and specifically Iraq was always foolish. John Key has led the most bi-partisan opposition this country has seen in 30 years on matters related to foreign affairs trade and defence. The Air New Zealand charters for Australian Defence Forces’ were only a major political issue because they were so acutely embarrassing to a government that had gone hunting for trouble over Iraq. And no-one had been listening anyway.

Phil Goff’s decision to carry the dispute into this week, further insulting the Australian Foreign Minister, was truly foolish. And Michael Cullen became extremely evasive when asked about the cost of the week’s antics to the national flag carrier.

Cullen repeated the figure of $18 million in Parliament, being the sum total of Air New Zealand’s charter income, hoping to give the impression that only the small part of that sum that is ADF charter work is at risk. And that is very very misleading.

Air New Zealand earns tens of millions of dollars in total from contracts with the Australian Defence Forces – including substantial income from engineering work on Australia’s frigates and aircraft. Cullen pointedly refused to make any assertions of confidence that none of those contracts are at risk.

Cullen continues to argue that because the Government owns 80% of the airline, it is unacceptable for it to undertake activities that run counter to government policy. An alternative view, of course, is that the public of New Zealand own that 80%, and the Government is obliged to account to them for their stewardship of that interest. Something that Michael Cullen absolutely refused to do this week.

More Sheer Gall on Election Finance Bill

The Election Finance Bill before Parliament is arguably the most self-serving piece of legislation introduced for many years. Designed to legalise Labour’s previously unlawful use of taxpayer funds to solicit votes whilst silencing their critics for the whole of election year, the Bill has been roundly condemned. Even Helen Clark has been distancing herself, conceding that the Bill will need changes in the select committee.

Having overplayed their hands with the Bill itself and on the defensive every Parliamentary question time, you would imagine that caution might have played a more prominent part in the management of the Bill from here. But this week it became clear that Labour has learnt absolutely nothing. Supported by NZ First and the Greens, Labour MPs moved to appoint as an advisor to the select committee none other than the chairman of the New Zealand Law Commission. And that would be former Labour leader Sir Geoffery Palmer.

So, on a Bill that is designed to silence Labour’s critics, legalise Labour’s shonky actions from past elections, and curb fund raising by Labour’s opponents, the independent, impartial advisor to the committee will be a former leader of the Labour Party. One who is listed as being a substantial donor to the Labour Party in their most recent return. Another one right from the Mugabe textbook.

ENDS

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