Last week I asked John Key a few questions in Parliament regarding a $50,000 donation the National Party received from an Auckland BMW dealer just 2 days after his Chief of Staff met with VIP transport officials to discuss the upgrade of their limo fleet. He didn’t like the questions very much, so rather than provide any answers, he resorted to attacking me instead. Very prime ministerial…
So here are a few of the questions that remain unanswered:
- Did John Key know about the $50,000 donation when his Chief of Staff met with the VIP transport officials?
- Does John Key think it was wise to speak at a fundraiser organised by BMW dealer Team McMillan while his officials were in the process of signing-off the BMW fleet replacement, particularly given Mr McMillan has publicly stated he wants to be involved in selling the old ones?
- What was the actual date of the Team McMillan fundraiser?
- Who else attended the Team McMillan fundraiser? Was anybody from BMW NZ, who are supplying the new cars, in attendance?
- Who will be responsible for disposing of the old BMWs? Will it be BMW NZ, or will the Department be responsible?
- Did John Key discuss the VIP fleet at the fundraiser with anyone, if so, who?
- Have any of the original BMW fleet been sold yet, if so, who to?
- Why does John Key keep claiming the deal for the new BMWs was Labour’s, when his own officials admit there was no obligation to take up the renewal option and they could have stuck with the old ones without any penalty?
- What did his officials discuss with his Chief of Staff at the 28 July 2010 meeting? Why didn’t his Chief of Staff brief him on it?
- Why does John Key keep claiming his government didn’t know about it when both Nathan Guy and Bill English signed it off, his Chief of Staff clearly knew about it, and he himself signed at least 4 documents that referred to it?
I think these are all legitimate questions and John Key should man-up and provide a few answers. Unfortunately he has a history of being slippery with the facts until he is caught. Do you remember how the story of his Tranz Rail shares changed back in 2008? He didn’t admit to the extent of the holding until after he knew TVNZ knew how many he really had. In fact, he lied first and told the truth only after the truth was told for him.
This getting beyond desperate and is now becoming pathetic. Trying to rake up muck where there us none is a futile pastime Chris and the voting public see through it. How about fighting the election on policy? You could use the time spent coming up with this drivel to actually develop some.
Oh dear Chris, Just because they both sell BMWs it doesn’t mean they are the same company silly!
Let me slow it down for you.
Company a = Team McMillan BMW Ltd.
Company b = BMW New Zealand Ltd.
“a” does not equal “b”
As they have nothing to do with each other, your questions remain irrelevant.
Hope this helps
Good on you Chris, Key looked a right fool in his reply to your questions.
Gosh, John Key telling lies? Surely not…… yeah, right. Does he ever tell the truth when it really matters?
If the questions were silly and had no substance, John Key would not hesitate to take the opportunity to show Labour up by answering them. All we want is for him to answer the questions – can’t be too hard surely if there is nothing to hide.
darren and Oliver you may be right. of course you both would have said the same when the Nats lied over things before.
This is not a trivial matter. It is correct to ask questions of John Key’s honesty, he should be able to answer without resorting to personal attacks. This is a typical reaction of dishonest people btw. Good on you Chris for looking into these matters further. I believe you’re acting on behalf of all New Zealanders who require a high level of accountability from their Prime Minister.
Another unanswered question. Why is Labour receiving a donation from Telecom OK (National also got one), but National receiving a donation from Team McMillan not OK? In the Telecom case there are continuing contractual interactions with Government, just like the alleged possible contractural relationship between Team McMillan and Government.
Keep at it Chris
Oh yeah! 
!
@Spud – agreed – Keep at it Chris
Oh yeah! 
!
Yep keep at it Chris – you will keep the trotskyites happy – shame it wont get you any votes. Then again opposition is always the easiest place to raise the irrelevant rather than actually work for a living.
This is not a trivial matter.
Au contrare Todd it utterly is.
While the GFC continues to rage outside (no, it’s not over), Labour say nothing about an alternative strategy. It’s nothing, repeat nothing, that is being said.
I find this rather strange.
I mean clearly the strategy is to break Key’s Halo that’s been obvious since the very start of Blue State Digital’s campaign.
So far it’s not working, but I have a feeling the big guns haven’t started firing yet. I’m sure there is something big. However at the mo, the only people who are being convinced are those who were already planning to vote Labour anyway. And now Brash has given Key a chance to move even further into the left of centre, it’s all become rather more interesting.
If this matter is not important or “Desperate, Pathetic” as darren says, why bother trying to knock it down? Why does the Herald persist a week later in asking question?
Go for it Chris. The pro Key lot protest too much???
BMW NZ Ltd = Team McMillian BMW…. is a subsiduary retail outlet for BMW NZ Ltd. They are part of a network of dealers who are inter-linked and inter-connected in many ways. To separate McMillian BMW from the BMW network is to declare that McMillian operates in the “grey market” as a BMW dealer. Unauthorised but tacitly accepted. Unfortunately for Key McMillian boasts of its tight connections with the Head Office of BMW NZ thus making the situation suspicious.
What one hand receives the other hand offers rewards to the giver???
Alan, do you know what a subsidiary company is?
If so, then you know you will be able to show it’s a subsidiary by using the companies office website, or looking at the annual reports for BMW Limited as they are required to report subsidiary or associate companies under IFRS.
Here are a link to the Coy office website that would show if it were a subsidiary.
http://www.business.govt.nz/companies/
Or, do you not understand the difference and just called it a subsidiary based on ignorance rather than any fact? I invite you to show me the connection.
“They are part of a network of dealers who are inter-linked and inter-connected in many ways”
No they aren’t, I don’t think you know what you are talking about, and if they are, re: my previous status (under moderation give it a few mins) prove it.
Put simple. Key is not particularly ‘prime ministerial’.
Without a doubt its big – we are heading for critical mass – lies upon lies upon lies. Key is losing his grasp. More please!
you wont get a straight answer from the smiling assasin
just smoke and mirrors
Mike, Salsy, Marman, and Stan, I very much assume you or a few of you are under the same author just trying to bulk up Chris’s Ego (if he is not the author himself) , none of you have contributed anything to the discussion, just saying “key lies” when you have nothing to back that up makes you sound a bit desperate……
Why not focus on any material fact? I have given you the links to prove me wrong.
My contention is simple, if you can’t get past the first hurdle and prove they are related, you shouldn’t carry forward with smear and mistruthful inferences.
My suggestion to Chris Hipkins is simple, to try and learn something about how the world works.
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/fca/
@Ianmac we bother to knock it down because sometimes shooting fish in a barrel is hilarious, we all have a wee lol about about. Chris Hipkin’s is just an easy target.
Oliver and Darren the event the PM attended was a fund raiser, I presume the price of entry was a contribution to John Key as is usual.
WE know that the owner of Macmillian BMW ‘topped up’ the money raised to $50,000.
AS the event was held in a BMW showroom and the PM was attending surely the local head of BMW NZ was attending. A search of the companies office shows their head office is 7 Pacific Rise Mt Wellington – Auckland.
There are two directors , one who lives in Munich and the other who lives in St Stephens Ave so is a neighbour of John Key.
So we can safely assume ALL those who attended contributed to the National party.
The dealer who put in the most money will make money from the sale of the used cars to the public. BMW NZ will make money from the sale of the new cars.
This is the link between the the company and the dealer, both will benefit from the the new purchase and sale of the old. And if the local head of BMW NZ contributed to the party via an ‘entry fee’ that they knew was going to Key we have all the items in place.
@ Oliver . Didn’t say Key was lying, said he looked a fool.
@ Oliver.PS Are you saying Key is not a liar?
“Then again opposition is always the easiest place to raise the irrelevant rather than actually work for a living.” And yet you voted for a party that did that for 9 years, and since then has implemented what exactly?
I been laid off from work
My rent is due
My kids all need
Brand new shoes
So I went to the bank
To see what they could do
They said son – looks like bad luck
Got-a hold on you
Chorus:
Money’s too tight to mention
I can’t get an answer to my job applications
Money’s too tight to mention
I went to my brother
To see what he could do -
He said bro-ther like to help you
But I’m unable to
So I called on my fa-ther fa-ther
Oh my fa-ther
He said
Chorus:
Money’s too tight to mention
Oh mo-ney mo-ney mo-ney mon-ey
Mo-ney’s too tight to mention
They raised the age for my pension
We talkin-bout rea-gan-om-ics
Oh lord from the geriatrics
They’re passing all kinds – of bills
From up on beehive hill – (we’ve tried them before)
Chorus:
Money’s too tight to mention
(spoken) cut-back!
Mo-ney mo-ney, mo-ney mon-ey
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey
(spoken) GST rise
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey
We’re talk-in’ ’bout the dollar bill
And that old man that’s over the hill
Now what are we all to do
When the mon-ey’s got a hold on you?
Mo-ney’s too tight to mention
(spoken) new Beemers
Oh mon-ey mon-ey mon-ey mon-ey
(spoken) family trusts
Mo-ney’s too tight to mention
Di-nero – mon-ey oh yeah
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey
Did the earth move for ya Johnny?
Did the earth move for ya Donny?
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey
(spoken) borrowed for tax cuts
We’re talk-in’ a-bout mon-ey mon-ey….
“we all have a wee lol about about”
That’s odd, I post on behalf of me, who do you post on behalf of?
@Tracey, the vast right wing conspiracy, clearly.
@GWW – are you Mike Williams? you sound like him, drawing very long bow’s based on very thin facts. “His signature looks similar” “They worked in the finance world” “H-fee connection!”
I’m always interested in posters (right and left) who post as though they speak for the nation, Paul Henry used to do it all the time.
You and darren make me laugh with your constant criticisms of Labour which you were happy for National to do for years.
Tracey its called ‘grandiosity’, they think that they speak for everyone else.
Once you start writing it down, along with viewing others as inferior you are well into narcissim.
The one that if feel is verging into bi polar when national aligned commentators starting spouting about how labour voters would react ? Weird
Just write them off as ‘Big balloons’
If its smells like a fish, and looks like a fish it probably is a fish.
What has happened here looks dodgy, it smells dodgy, therefore it probably is Dodgy.
Tracey, if it has to be spelt out. Ianmac was responding to Darren asking why people would be bothered commenting if this post was so pathetic. As I was also someone commenting on this post I used “we” to include myself and Darren. Now, I don’t know who Darren is, and whether that’s why they post, but assumed it could be that reason, for amusement.
Waterboy – The guy that gave the money (though most was collected from his customers) didn’t get the contract…….
I see Chris Hipkins has moved on to another winning issue after his PR coup of criticising DPS officers for having a shared lunchbreak.
Truly a man with his finger on the pulse.
The connections, the implications, the cross links all add up to a very shonkey set of dealings on behalf of the Key led NACT govt and a company that stood to benefit from a contract that was to be signed off by the minister in charge – Key.
No dancing on the head of pin by the NACT apologists can remove that suspicion that this Key led govt can’t be trusted to be transparent in its dealings with the electorate.
Fair enough Oliver, my comment about who you speak on behalf of was more tongue in cheek than you took it. I notice you and darren and monty don’t address the pot calling kettle black arguments.
“You and darren make me laugh with your constant criticisms of Labour which you were happy for National to do for years.”
He is interested in buying the Beemers when the contract ends though Oliver I,
And if he offers the highest price he may even get the old BMWs :O but we can rely on Chris to have a wee cry about it~