I’ve just had a set of answers to written parliamentary questions back from Key in which he refuses to list the occasions on which Ministers have declared an interest in Cabinet or Cabinet Committee matters.
He claims that continues a previous practice. I’m not sure if that is correct. I for one was never asked.
If Ministers have acted properly and declared interests then that forms part of the Cabinet minute. Or sometimes they are given a warning that an item is coming up and they leave the room.
Some of us have non-pecuniary interests that we work through with the Cabinet Office or in my case SSC and the Treasury. I wasn’t given papers – including policy papers – in areas I was conflicted.
Seemed to work pretty well. I would have no problem with the fact that I acted properly being public.
To take a contrary view doesn’t look flash.
Maybe it is another issue for #OpenLabourNZ.
Agreed
But Trevor, you need to see this in the context that these Tories were born to rule. So the niceties of Cabinet and those overly sensitive bureaucrats fussing over things don’t factor.
“I’ve just had a set of answers to written parliamentary questions back from Key in which he refuses to list the occasions on which Ministers have declared an interest in Cabinet or Cabinet Committee matters”
Trevor, this is really annoying me, and the media are letting this slide. I can CLEARLY recall watching Key with Paul Henry smugly raking Clark over the coals for not volunteering when she knew Owen Glen and Winston’s versions weren’t the same. Key clearly said of course he would tell things he knew, even without being asked.
Here he is being asked and wont say.
he wouldn’t disclose the cost of the additions tot he PM’s office staff
….
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I’m not going to trawl back thru TVNZ archives, but I know it’s there, when the big fuss was made over what clark did or didnt know in the winston/glen clash… Mr Transparency himself.
Trevor yes, will definitely give you that – the right wing seem to have their fingers in too many pies.
Tracey – no need to trawl as a simple search on the University of google will suffice.
See http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/618826
Mr Transparency?
Perhaps more like selectively transparent and, when the occasion requires, conveniently blind .. trust him.
And depends on the vested interests & what he will let you see or what he doesn’t want you to see.
A practised magician whoopdeedoo
Well, nearly, I want to watch the actual footage of Mr key promising superhuman transparency to this nation… just to make me annoyed all over again
The lack of communication and the avoidance of fronting up is being noticed. Tracey Watkins has and today David Slack on the Panel today for example. I hope that each time that Key or Ministers fail to respond is noted under the ” Key was asked to comment but….”
As for not answering written questions, after a while that prodces an anti-democratic climate. Arrogance has its own rewards or costs. It does seem that the Key team has something to hide over Conflicts. Mmmmm
I’ve got a gut feeling that the international investment bankers, trans-national corporates, global insurance companies and mining megaconglomerates know far more about what is planned for NZ by the National Government than New Zealanders do.
Key dropped the word to the mining companies well before the election. Who else.
Tracey: wasn’t someone reporting a while ago that the PM’s Office had doubled in number and the salaries vastly increased. Suppose it is a way of paying for the cuts in the State Service?
Just like Presidents everywhere, Key needs those grim looking dark glassed Minders who have to get paid heaps.
Yes IanMac, and Mr Key wouldnt answer questions, none of our business apparently. While everyone else was downsizing he and Mr Joyce’s staff grew… so much for understanding the current climate
Same pattern as usual Tracey; while NACT and their senior management supporters ask everyone else to tighten their belts they are doing quite the opposite.
Loota “while NACT and their senior management supporters ask everyone else to tighten their belts they are doing quite the opposite”….this is hardly exclusive to NACT!
It would be nice to think that should there be a change in government we will never see lots of fingers in different pies and evidence of snouts in the taxpayer trough, but I doubt it. These things seem to go hand in hand with what we know and love as politics.
It’s a dirty game.
I would love to know where the video of John Key saying he was proud of his vineyard came from….just for the sake of transparency….
My understanding is that the wine writer had it on youtube.
Hmm, couldn’t find who the wine critic is, but found this from TV3…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u18hk8lzMBU
Tracey – might help clear up the label issue for you
All a bit suss really.
@Rebecca – “Trevor yes, will definitely give you that – the right wing seem to have their fingers in too many pies.”
You wait until all parties suddenly adopt private finance initiatives and they you’ll find out, not just who Nats are in with, but also the (squeaky clean) opposition.
Don’t understand your comment Simon – detail please.
Simon it wasn’t intended to mean that the left a squeaky clean. I meant more that the right are traditionally seen as more capitalist in that many of the current line up have spent many years outside politics building up businesses & the like so with NZ being so small it is almost inevitable that they have conflict of interest issues at some point…
This is not acceptable. Our politicians must be seen to not be corrupt. Covering up who declared what when prevents us from seeing that everyone has behaved properly. And that leads to the natural suspicion that they haven’t.
Full transparency is the only solution. Anything less, and we’re entitled to think the worst.
Iain this series of comments is off thread and offensive. I’ve put you into moderation. If you want to continue nonsensical personal attacks then do it on your own site not here. Trevor
Very offensive as well as off thread Trevor
I think that it would be good for labour to state that they are moving towards a more open and transparent governance and that once labour is in majority they will ensure that this is a priority in the house and in the public sector and that the processes and rules in place are tightened up and followed and in the meantime individuals are working on this. I think the grassroots mood is that we want a more open dialogue between the general public and the politicians, we want to be heard and to hear.
No more treated like mushrooms Emma, fully informed so as to be able to make fully informed decisions and fully participate in the democratic process.
Balance deleted off thread and offensive Trevor
Thanks Rebecca, just watched it.
Even if that was the previous policy I can’t see any good reason to continue it. If everything is out in the open, then there is nothing to hide.
I/S: “Our politicians must be seen to not be corrupt. Covering up who declared what when prevents us from seeing that everyone has behaved properly. And that leads to the natural suspicion that they haven’t.”
I completely agree.
Trevor: on further thought I would also like to state the obvious that transparency in politics does not only pertain to a politicians business connections, but also their friendships & personal associations.
Both things potentially lead to a conflict of interest.
Therefore, perhaps when pushing for a more open & transparent style of governance MPs should be encouraged to declare their business and personal connections as both could have equal influence in terms of policies they find most favourable.
This would obviously need to be balanced with an MPs right to have a private life.
The reason why I say this is that I have particularly concerns about a particular childcare centre in Upper Hutt whose owner is well known to Labour, some MPs in particular.
My understanding of this childcare centre is that they charge parents fees for which they are already covered under the 20 hours ECE…or worse still, they charge $30 plus in optional fees for extra hours. Thus, it is either acting against MOE policy or they are completely unethical and driven only by profit at the expense of the poor working parent.
This centre is quite new to the area, but was established before 2008.
I don’t want to muckruck, just wanted to allude to this as while perhaps on further investigation it is all above board, perception is that it is not.
P.s this is taken from the MOE website:
“ECE services cannot charge fees for the hours of 20 Hours ECE; however they can require you to pay fees for your child’s other hours of enrollment.”
The exact fee for attending 3 days a week at 7 hours per day (to meet their minimum core hours of 8.30am -3.30pm) charged by the above centre is $105.
One day with ECE – that is 7 hours, is $45.
This centre recently had a bike race…
Trevor this is really really irksome & annoys MANY parents in the area as places are in short supply.
How this kind of thing can be acceptable to any government is beyond me.
If you ever tire of Parliament you should seriously consider become an intrepid investigative journalist
Rebecca’s sharp alright, must be good having a staffer’s wage
Spud I don’t think that comment was directed at me as I’m not in parliament!
What do you mean by staffer’s wage? I’m a very poorly paid slave to my husband’s business…..
NZ is very small, I have some background in the sports industry, and the community shrinks again from NZ wide. It is pretty easy to know someone who knows etc.
I would suggest in politics that is even more so, hence the need for process. It is process which allows a shield to impropriety. Natural Justice is an example where certain steps are in place/taken to remove suggestion of, for example, bias.
I agree with Rebecca, the problem with a blind trust argument, is no one gets to see behind to confirm, or deny the truth.
John Key has this power, insofar as he can disclose to the public every piece of correspondence he had in the setting up of the trust.
Actually, I am considering taking up work again in a role I can get stuck into when the rugrats start school…..perhaps if Labour want to get re-elected Mr Mallard may want to consider employing me…better to have your friends close & enemies closer eh.
Yeah, I guess on further reflection Nicola could’ve been writing to Trevor, she can tell us when she comes back.
If that comment was to Trevor then I still say agreed, Trev’s the man!
I need to email with an MP who can help me with an issue which has arisen with a major bank and a person with a gambling addiction. I am drafting a letter tot he Banking Ombudsmen as well as the bank concerned but the issue also plays into the conduct of institutions like, GE MOney,w ho despite being asked to stop emailing someone keeps mailing them with offers of instant $8000 just by calling and saying “hi” etc.
@Tracey
Carol Beaumont is involved in a campaign to stop loan sharks, maybe this is who would be best to contact? Other than that, I’m sure someone will email you back.
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/category/loan-sharks/
Heh oops. Was directed at Trevor. Not to say that others couldn’t do the same
Thanks A Mother – you are a star. Someone did contact me. I must say am very impressed with the speed that happened.
That was fast.
Cheers Nicola!
Trevor’s investigations start with the questions of a curious mind. This shows with the careful Questions he asks about Education in the House. (The MP’s one, not the TV3 one.) Clare is doing the same with her questions.
Remember, “The Question is the Answer.”
Do the Free Enterprise Trust and Waitemata Trust ring a bell?
You must be so pleased then with the Transperancy that John Key has shown in releasing all the credit card details of you governments spending over 7 years. Sadly it makes this sort of post seem quite worng.