The NZ Herald is reporting as breaking news that Pansy Wong is to stand down as a Minister. No details yet, but I suspect that the story in the Dom Post this morning that indicated the Minister and her husband may have used the Parliamentary travel subsidy for the visit to China where the business deal was done. The rules on this are clear, the travel subsidy can not be used for private business.
UPDATE: Pansy Wong has resigned as a Minister. What is interesting is whether that will be enough to be the end of the matter.The question of misusing the travel entitlement has led to convictions before, including for David Butcher and Roger McClay.
Great – strong leadership by Key addressing the issue.
Well, if it is a real “I am ashamed and did wrong” resignation good on her for the integrity to seek to redress, if it is a Phil Heatly “I am ashamed of myself and have let down my own values and standards” but got over all that in 6 weeks….
Oh well
so much for the rightwingers who up to an hour ago were accusing Labour of mudslinging!
Ha! Who’s the Fwit now, huh?
Excellent work, guys, at this rate National are going to have no credible ministers left by the time the next election rolls round. Fantastic to see the PM relax his way into another crisis engenderd by the moral and ethical failings of his hand picked appointees.
Oh, and Chris (12.21), strong leadership would have been recognising the problem 3 days ago and doing something about it then.
Now I understand why Taylor used that objectionable term to describe Hodgson. It seems the mudslinging strategy was coming from the PM’s office, who clearly had something to hide. And as usual, the foolish media fell for it.
And the more that is uncovered, the worse the mudslinging will become. Because that’s the way the Nats and their lackeys operate and always have…
She was annoying she seemed really stuck up and from what I saw never answered questions properly during question time.
If Pansy Wong did use the Travel perk inappropriately then it is proper that she should step down (hard way or the easy way).
However the initial mud-slinging about witnessing a documents was pathetic and sad desperation by Hodgson. The witnessing of the signature on a document is not an issue at all inspite of Hodgson’s excitement.
The resignation is unrelated in that the perk has very little to do with the itnessing of the contract .
Now she has some time on her hands after she has read the Cabinet Manual she might profit from reading the Hovercraft Act 1971 (1971 No 17). Oh no that’s right … no need
Could be that Pansy ‘grasshopper’ Wong has made a misleading declaration?
The trip was a while back. Its only come to light because of labours digging over the Wongs business affairs and a court case.
Did she state “that I did not have business on that trip”
of course she did.
The step ladder of deceit seems to have started with a signature that used her political office for private gain, included a tax payer funded trip and ended with a false claim!
PANSY WrONG
Pansy G 
NE ! 
Standing down is great. But if she abused her parliamentary perks in the way suggested, isn’t that fraud? Shouldn’t she be prosecuted for it?
Worth, Brownlie, Heatley, were all just the fore-runner… the boys just had to step onto the side of the boat, the girl has to walk the plank, or chooses to.
I mean the Leader of the House and a Senior Ministers excuse was he “didnt understand” the rules for his credit card.
You are banned. Clare
idiot/savant
the cost of prosecution far outweighs the punishment or public shame from stepping down from a Ministerial position, plus the drop in pay. Let’s not waste our law enforcement money.
@Idiot/Savant maybe it’s one of those things were they say the consequences of it are punishment enough
McLay
Given the various scandals from National, Act and, I’m sad to say, Labour in the 49th Parliament, I have to wonder whether the integrity of our politicians is waning, or whether it’s always been this way and are just receiving closer scrutiny from the press and the parties across the floor.
I know Transparency International rates NZ very highly in its corruption perceptions index, but I think all parties have to examine the candidates it selects very closely. New Zealanders can be forgiving of a lapse in judgment, but selection committees have to make sure that their candidates are fit and proper people to carry out the job of an MP – not only through the fear of punishment, but because they should be inherently honest public servants.
the cost of prosecution far outweighs the punishment or public shame from stepping down from a Ministerial position, plus the drop in pay. Let’s not waste our law enforcement money
Bollocks. Or rather, they don’t run that equation on benefit fraudsters. Why run it on Ministers?
Oh, that’s right, because they’re rich.
Screw that. Either the law applies to all regardless of wealth or status, or its not the law at all.
Pete: I think we have a combination of closer scrutiny, and lower public tolerance. People used to ignore such things, because MPs were their “betters”. But we don’t do deference and heirarchy any more, and everyone can see the hypocrisy of politicians demanding high levels of accountability for the spending of public money by public servants, while refusing to accept similar accountability themselves.
Idiot – I couldnt agree with you more…
Single mums used to be prosecuted for stealing a bundle of Huggies, but Mark Bryers gets 75 hours community service.
We have the Philip Field case, seen to the end and now in prison?
“If she had not offered her resignation he would have sacked her, Key said.” Hilarious. As usual, Key is a hero after the fact. Maybe it should have read ‘If she had managed to wriggle out of it he would have kept her, Key said.’
One has to say ‘good shot’ Mr Hodgson, direct hit
And Spud, Lol @ the did wong gag
Full credit to Pete Hodgeson who now gets to eat Pansy Wong’s heart and gain her courage, as per the Cabinet Manual guidelines.
Mr Key has been very quick to accept…
Another victory for transparency. Good riddance.
“Full credit to Pete Hodgeson who now gets to eat Pansy Wong’s heart”
And then he’ll be wanting another in an hour or so
C’mon Danyl
Dont tell me you weren’t baying for Helen’s heart over her driver breaking the speed limit, or Winston and Glen having opposing versions of events… Particularly the later, which went on and on and on and on and was focused, by National, entirely on Clark who actually had nothing to do with it.
“And then he’ll be wanting another in an hour or so”
You know what they say – one is never enough…
They’re having a ball over at The Standard – title “Now who’s the f*ckwit?”
“You know what they say – one is never enough…”
Glad someone got it
“And then he’ll be wanting another in an hour or so”
If Hodgeson’s next coup forces Key to sack Anne Tolley or Georgina Te HeuHeu I’m gonna start getting suspicious.
Personally, I would have expected “strong leadership” to address the issue two years ago when it happened.
That’s because it appears that she did more than one working holiday.
Does that mean you’ll come back now Danyl?
Can we now make Hide resign in retrospect?
Bet another Asian candidate pops up to do what Asian candididates are there to do – appear on billboards and soak up the Asian vote. It doesn’t really matter who they are or what they stand for. Sack one and be a strong leader and just put another one in who’ll be equally popular by just being Asian. It’s easy and Key knows it and that’s why it happened so fast.
Shes been a MP since 96. So has been eligible for varying levels of travel subsidy since then.
Apparently she cant guarantee that ‘this was a one off”
Thats over 10 years , with perhaps one or more trips a year!
Not sure what system they operate, but wouldn’t Key have had to approve her cabonet leave for overseas travel once the reason for trip was disclosed to him?
Is that the third or fourth this term..?
The words couldn’t, pi*s up, organise and brewery spring to mind…
It’s amazing the gloating & salivating that is going on, like vultures around a corpse, what’s that saying about people in glass houses.
Pansy is a trougher who has had a huge sense of entitlement make no mistake about it & now deserves almost every thing she gets, but she is no different than the many who have gone before her, Field, Carter, Jones, Aunty Helen, perk buster Rodney, English the list goes on & on hell the greens have made a career of it they don’t actually want to be in govt just in parliment much easier to criticize than actually do something. At least under National there’s a tad more transparency but this travel perk is 1 perk that should be canned right now.
Will this all have Captain Panic Pants on the fainting counch ?
What do you mean by almost everything she gets?
eddie, you have never been able to use the perk for business travel, that could quite possibly be fraud.
This morning’s herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10687306
Looks like the PM’s office, once again, has failed to investigate an issue before making the official statement about who is innocent and who’s a f*ckwit.
Just as with Worth, we have a PM’s office led investigation that amounts to asking the minister if they did anything wrong and accepting the answer without getting the other side of the story.
“transparency”? Transparent all right. It’s transparently obvious that the PM will let his ministers get away with anything exactly as long as their cover story holds up.
Agreed!
People should be scratching their heads very hard if this NACT Government wants to put its credibility on transparency. That would raise too many questions about who can or cannot see, and what should or should not be seen.
In one past instance, Key was able to see what he should not.
And for this Pansy case, until now, the people have not been able to see what they should.
Who would have thought Heatley was SO indispensible as to escape the PM’s “strong leadership” and “quick to react” style?
“Ministers Call for Perk Reform”….how about… “Ministers defend Integrity – No personal business while on public business!”