National
Party Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee says those seeking to
defend John Tamihere are defending Helen Clark's ministerial
double standard.
"The evidence is already in on the key
issue around this affair. Mr Tamihere took a golden
handshake after saying he would not do so.
"Only
yesterday, the Education Minister said he regretted a golden
handshake given to former Lincoln University head Frank
Wood, which was made up of a mix of salary, contractual
obligations and an ex-gratia payment.
"Mr Tamihere
received a mix of salary, contractual obligations and an
ex-gratia payment.
"The terms of the golden handshake are
almost identical, even though the circumstances are slightly
different," says Mr Brownlee.
The Collins dictionary
defines ex-gratia as: Given as a favour or gratuitously
where no legal obligation exists.
"Mr Tamihere said he
would not take a golden handshake and he did. Lianne
Dalziel was caught out misleading the public and she was
sacked. Helen Clark is accepting two standards.
"At the
last election Labour campaigned strongly against such
payments, while Helen Clark promised higher standards of
ministerial accountability and behaviour.
'I give you my
word tonight: that what we say we will do, we will do,' she
told voters.
"Helen Clark must keep those promises to the
New Zealand public, even if her ministers will not. Mr
Tamihere took a payment that he said he would not take and
that should be enough for the Prime Minister to act
decisively," says Mr Brownlee.
If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!
Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT... More
The National Party claims the new coalition government will be stable, effective, and will deliver for all Kiwis. "Despite the challenging economic environment, New Zealanders can look forward to a better future because of the changes the new Government will make ... We know that, with the right leadership, the right policies, and the right direction, together New Zealanders can make this an even better country," says Christopher Luxon... More
“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw... More
MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru... More