Transtasman Political Letter - 3 August Digest

3rd August 2006

The Govt, desperately trying to shut down the Field affair, forces out an apology ... But it satisfies no-one ... United Future’s Peter Dunne says it’s “vital” a code of standards is developed for MPs ... Opposition is building up to the Govt’s capital gains tax on foreign investments ... Official papers reveal the depth of a bitter scrap in the Wellington bureaucracy ... And the Air Force gets its new choppers, but at a cost.

Field’s Grudging Apology Leaves Parliament Tarnished

Taito Phillip Field offered up a grudging apology this week for “any reduction in the public confidence” in Parliament he had caused.

Dynamics Shift Within Parliament

The Field affair has subtly shifted the dynamics within Parliament. Labour has lost some of the hubris which coloured its approach to Parliamentary tactics, and several of its Ministers, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe in particular, in stonewalling National’s questions, have been tarnished by the fallout.

Dunne Calls For Code Of Conduct

Even the Govt’s allies in Parliament believe the outcome of the Taito Phillip Field case is “unsatisfactory.”

Pulling Something Out Of Doha’s Wreckage

The suspension of the Doha Round of WTO talks cast NZ farming industries into despair, and left Trade Minister Phil Goff and other key figures sifting through the wreckage.

CAPITAL TALK

The private hospital Winston Peters has been in is very private. It refers calls about patients to a Public Relations outfit.

Play Of The Week: Field Manoeuvres

A by-election in Mangere? A surprising number of people think Labour should have nothing to worry about such a prospect if Taito Phillip Field walks or is pushed.

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