Alliance MP Grant Gillon demands a formal apology, and is taking advise as to whether the Associate Minister of Social Services, Work and Income, Mr McCardle, mis-lead Parliament on Tuesday over the antics of WINZ Chief Executive, Christine Rankin.

Today an anonymous WINZ manager who was present at the conference, confirmed Grant Gillon's allegations that yet more tax-payers money had been wasted on an extravagant Michael-Jackson type performance where Christine Rankin dressed up in a silver suit and da nced in front of video images of world leaders like Martin Luther King and Ghandi.

'Not only has the Minister potentially mislead parliament, but the question must be asked, has WINZ CEO Christine Rankin mislead the New Zealand public?' On National Radio's Morning Report on Wednesday 21st July , Christine Rankin denied the allegations.

She said :'It is absolute nonsense….what a shame that you would believe that, or that the public of New Zealand would believe that, an! d I think that that is an indicator of where the level of this debate has been taken to.

'On Tuesday Mr McCardle accused Grant Gillon and the opposition of 'stretching to a remarkable degree, the bounds of credibility around some of the claims it has made.

'He went on to say that Grant Gillon was 'whipping up silly little criticisms.

''These extravagant antics by the WINZ CEO are yet more evidence of a department that has totally lost direction,' said Grant.

'As recently as Tuesday night a report from the Social Services Select Committee was tabled in Parliament.

This report severely criticises the newly re-structured WINZ for failing to adequately train front line staff, the woeful mis-handling of student allowances, and delays in integrating the computer systems.

'None of these expensive gimmicks are doing anything to deliver a vital service to the most vulnerable in our community.

'A private sector mentality has obviously invaded the public service.

Following hard on the golden handshake scandals, it seems a culture of extravagance is leading to a kind of copy cat version of the 'Tories-in-Tutus' scandals that plagued the British Conservative party before they spectacularly lost the last election in 1997, said Grant Gillon.

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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>>