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MPs who tweat (sorry tweet)

Posted by Clare Curran on August 29th, 2010

At yesterday’s OpenLabourNZ event in Wellington there was a discussion about the growing importance of social media and how it is transforming engagement in the political process.

The growing use of twitter and facebook by members of parliament as well as public servants was also discussed and the inevitable issues that result when someone makes a controversial comment that can land them in trouble.

The point of the discussion was that social media interaction was becoming more normalised and it was important for employers (and media) not to over react when comments were posted that seemed inflammtory.

Of course there are lines that have to be drawn. A case in point on Red Alert is how the moderation of comments policy has evolved and got stronger over the last year. David Farrar on Kiwiblog also wrote about this issue.

Given the highly charged nature of the political world it’s interesting to see how many MPs are using social media.

Twitter is fast becoming a tool for discussion and commentary during question time in the House and many New Zealand politicans are actively using twitter on a regular basis.

I thought you might be interested in seeing this twitter analysis tool created by Brenda Wallace, a Wellington based software developer and girl geek.

Engage is a tool to measure twitter use by NZ and Australian MPs. It measures the actual interaction by MPs rather than just the number of broadcast messages. And ranks them.

It’s interesting that Rob Muldoon (his ghost) ranks the highest. I am currently second, because of the amount of tweating over the weekend on OpenLabourNZ. I’m sure that will change as Metiria Turei and Jacinda Ardern are hot on my heels.

But while there are quite a few MPs on twitter, not many use it a lot.

I think we will see this change in the coming months.

If you want to get onto twitter go to www.twitter.com. It’s easy and it’s extraordionary.

Update: It appears that Iain Lees-Galloway and Gareth Hughes are also up there in twitter use. Good on them. 46 NZ MPs are currently on twitter (according to Brenda’s site)

Acknowledgement: I spelt Tweet wrong in the headline. I’m better at doing it than talking about it. Here’s some info about twitter

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, Red Alert, comms & IT, parliament
16 Comments

Get your facts right

Posted by Clayton Cosgrove on August 27th, 2010

Labour believes that the Parliament genuinely is a people’s parliament. Even if  people have differing views.So when Labour was asked (by the National Party on behalf of the Speaker) whether we objected to the Sensible Sentencing Trust holding a conference in the parliament, we said no we don’t object. After all the parliament is actually owned by the people.

It is our understanding that all the major parties were asked.

That’s it. The Labour Party was never approached to co-host. I was never approached or asked if my name could appear on the invitation. This happened without my knowledge or my permission.

Perhaps The Standard should have checked.

End of.

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, democracy, parliament
34 Comments

Understatement

Posted by Trevor Mallard on August 24th, 2010

The Speaker to Bill English – that answer doesn’t show a Minister on top of his game.

Update I’ve just been given a bit off time out for calling Brownlee a size 84 chicken for refusing to answer a question on wage rates v Aussie – after he cocked them up for three weeks in a row.

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Filed under: parliament
20 Comments

National’s double standards

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 20th, 2010

Since they took office, John Key’s National government have been putting our public services under the blowtorch. Most public servants have been refused pay increases and thousands have lost their jobs. But it seems not all spending of taxpayer money is subject to the same level of scrutiny and restraint.

Since National came to power the number of Beehive staff earning over $100,000 a year has more than doubled. Under Helen Clark’s leadership there was only one Beehive staffer who earned over $150,000 a year. John Key seems to think he needs at least 10 of them.

It seems different rules also apply when it comes to pay increases within the Beehive. Questions I asked of Key earlier this year revealed that a number of Beehive staff had been given pay rises, but he refused to release any further information on how big the pay rises were. I asked him again recently and here is his answer:

“I am advised that a small number of ministerial office staff received pay increases, primarily as the result of promotion to new roles in the period 9 February to 5 August 2010. I am not prepared to release specific details about the individual increases.”

Why not? I haven’t asked for any information that would identify individual staff members. All I’ve asked for is information on the scale of the increases and the number of staff who are getting them. National is telling hard-working Kiwis they aren’t allowed pay rises, why should their hired helpers get different treatment?

At a time when many New Zealanders are struggling to pay for the basics like electricity and food, they will find Key’s refusal to front up, justify and explain why he thinks his own staff should be subject to different standards pretty disappointing.

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Filed under: national, parliament
21 Comments

Effective select committee submissions

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 19th, 2010

Today I’m in Auckland all day with the Local Government and Environment Select Committee. We’re hearing submissions on Rodney Hide’s latest attack on local democracy. We’ve got a bit of a marathon session today, running pretty much non-stop from 9am to 9pm. Even then each submitter only gets 15 minutes to highlight their key points and engage with MPs on the committee.

Reading through the papers last night it struck me how some people or groups are far better than others at getting their points across in a conscise manner. There are literally thousands of pages of submissions for us to work through. I’ve made an effort to look through all of them and I have to say I read some 2 page submissions that were far more comprehensive and valuable than others that were 40 odd pages or more.

I also appreciate those submitters who come well prepared, highlight the 2-3 points that are most important to them and then spend the rest of their allotted time discussing issues with the committee. I’ll never understand why people feel the need to spend their whole 15 minutes reading their submissions aloud leaving no time for real discussion.

I now sit on several select committees and I find the work involved really satisfying and interesting. I admire people and groups who take time to submit and appear before select committees, but I do wonder how we can encourage them to be more effective in the way they do it?

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Filed under: democracy, parliament, select committee
10 Comments

Goff does English (with a little bit of help from the ref)

Posted by Trevor Mallard on August 18th, 2010

Part 1:

Part 2:

From yesterday and doesn’t need much comment but there must be a limit to how long the Nacts will let English reply on behalf of the Prime Minister.

For those without broadband Hansard is below :-

(more…)

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Filed under: Cost of Living, economy, national, parliament
15 Comments

Today’s Lucky Dip

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 5th, 2010

There are 3 spaces on the Order Paper for a Members’ Bill. There will be a ballot at midday. The following bills are in the hat:

  1. Amy Adams: Land Transport (Admissibility of Evidential Breath Tests) Amendment Bill
  2. Rick Barker: Sentencing Act (Reparation) Amendment Bill
  3. Carol Beaumont: Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill
  4. John Boscawen: Climate Change Response (Cancellation of Emissions Trading Scheme) Amendment Bill
  5. Brendon Burns: Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill
  6. Cam Calder: Imprisonment for Debt Limitation Repeal Bill
  7. Charles Chauvel: New Zealand Flag Bill
  8. Dr Ashraf Choudhary: Ethnic Broadcasting Commission Bill
  9. David Clendon: Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill
  10. Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Christchurch International Airport Protection Bill
  11. Clare Curran: Kiwi Jobs Bill
  12. Hon Lianne Dalziel: Illegal Contracts (Unlawful Limitation on Regulators’ Powers) Amendment Bill
  13. Jacqui Dean: Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Waitaki Easter Trading) Amendment Bill
  14. Catherine Delahunty: Human Rights (Disability Commissioner) Amendment Bill
  15. Hon Sir Roger Douglas: Kiwi Industry Restructuring (Plant Variety Rights) Amendment Bill
  16. Hon Ruth Dyson: Environment Canterbury (Water Conservation Orders) Amendment Bill
  17. Darien Fenton: Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill
  18. Te Ururoa Flavell: Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill
  19. David Garrett: Victims’ Rights (Victim Impact Statements) Amendment Bill
  20. Aaron Gilmore: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Break Fees Disclosure) Amendment Bill
  21. Jo Goodhew: Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill
  22. Dr Kennedy Graham: Public Finance (Sustainable Development Indicators) Amendment Bill
  23. Kevin Hague: Animal Welfare (Treatment of Animals) Amendment Bill
  24. Hone Harawira: Parliamentary Commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
  25. Hon George Hawkins: Code of Airline Consumer Rights Bill
  26. Chris Hipkins: Environmental Reporting Bill
  27. Hon Darren Hughes: Land Transport (Safer Alcohol Limits for Driving) Amendment Bill
  28. Gareth Hughes: Energy Efficiency Conservation (Warm Healthy Rentals) Amendment Bill
  29. Hon Shane Jones: Waste Minimisation (Priority Products) Amendment Bill
  30. Rahui Katene: Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (1080 Poison Prohibition) Amendment Bill
  31. Sue Kedgley: Consumer’s Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill
  32. Iain Lees-Galloway: Smoke-free Environments (Removing Tobacco Displays) Amendment Bill
  33. Keith Locke: Register of Pecuniary Interests of Judges Bill
  34. Hon Trevor Mallard: Minimum Wage Amendment Bill
  35. Sue Moroney: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months Paid Leave) Amendment Bill
  36. Dr Russel Norman: Overseas Investment (Restriction on Foreign Ownership of Land) Amendment Bill
  37. Lynne Pillay: Employment Relations (Protection of Young Workers) Bill
  38. Dr Rajen Prasad: Children’s Commissioner (Reporting on Legislation) Amendment Bill
  39. Hon Mita Ririnui: Electoral (Entrenchment of Māori Representation) Amendment Bill
  40. HV Ross Robertson: Members of Parliament (Code of Ethical Conduct) Bill
  41. David Shearer: Continental Shelf (Oil Exploration Safety) Amendment Bill
  42. Hon Maryan Street: New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control (Entrenchment) Amendment Bill
  43. Chris Tremain: Wild Animal Control (Increased Fines and Sentence of Imprisonment) Amendment Bill
  44. Metiria Turei: Income Tax (Universalisation of In-work Tax Credit) Amendment Bill
  45. Phil Twyford: Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill
  46. Nicky Wagner: Family Proceedings (Paternity Orders and Parentage Tests) Amendment Bill
  47. Michael Woodhouse: Financial Assistance For Live Organ Donors

Update: And today’s lucky numbers are: 23, 13 and 14 (highlighted above)

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Filed under: parliament
33 Comments

Answer the question kate

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 20th, 2010

Don’t think I need to add much to this :-

Hon Trevor Mallard: Do the good-faith provisions override the employer’s rights to dismiss without giving a reason?

Hon KATE WILKINSON: The good-faith provisions have been preserved in the legislation. In particular, section 4(1A)(a) and (b) of the Employment Relations Act, regarding the duty of good faith, is retained for trial periods. Paragraph (b) “requires the parties to an employment relationship to be active and constructive in establishing and maintaining a productive employment relationship in which the parties are, among other things, responsive and communicative;”. That is protected in the trial provisions.

Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Mallard’s question asked whether those good-faith provisions override the employer’s right to dismiss without giving a reason. It was a very straight question; it was a very narrow question. It has not been addressed. (more…)

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Filed under: parliament
7 Comments

In support of Gerry (kind of)

Posted by Grant Robertson on July 20th, 2010

There has been a bit of comment yesterday and today (including from Guyon Espiner on TV1) that Gerry Brownlee “over-reached” himself when it came to the mining of Schedule 4 land.  I certainly think that Gerry failed miserably to sell the policy, but its a bit harsh to blame him for over-reaching when we have this from the John Key’s opening statement to Parliament in February this year.

Notwithstanding the public consultation process, it is my expectation that the Government will act on at least some of these recommendations and make significant changes to Schedule 4. This is because new mining on Crown land has the potential to increase economic growth and create jobs.

That is an unequivocal commitment to major changes to Schedule 4 and to new mining. Gerry was only acting with that in mind. I still think that by the time they got to announcing anything they planned to use Great Barrier as a bit of a stalking horse, but the initial blush of enthusiasm was very much John Key’s. Which is why it was so interesting he tried to get as far away as possible from this policy disaster today.

As an aside in Parliament today the pressure of this and the industrial relations package was telling on Mr Key. He got very side-tracked by interjections, launched into Darren about his hair (he may have a point on that score ;-) ) and at one stage totally tossed his toys and sat down in the middle of an answer. Tough day at the office.

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Filed under: Mining, conservation, parliament
12 Comments

Billy at home in the House

Posted by Brendon Burns on July 8th, 2010

41662_100000851554935_2775_n I’ve just rung my youth MP Billy Clemens to commisserate with him about the vagaries of media – this is the photo in today’s Press of him in the House yesterday. No need. Billy has already put the photo on his Facebook page and was quick to say the big yawn snap could only have been taken when Gerry Brownlee was speaking!

 And, he reckons he was able to use his supplementary question to Stephen Joyce to get a commitment to dealing with recidivist drunk drivers as well as being tough on under-20s. Billy is a natural, a credit to Papanui High School and clearly one of to watch. Though having met a bunch of them at Parliament on Tuesday, he’s got company.

Filed under: parliament, youth
13 Comments

Just what is Wong saying ?

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 6th, 2010

For those with broadband have a look at this. I think it is a disgrace. As well as not answering the question she blatantly lied to the house.

For those without broadband the full question and supplementaries is below.

(more…)

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Filed under: democracy, national, parliament, women
14 Comments

Minister calls speaker “stupid sanctimonious dwarf”

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 3rd, 2010

Some people think our parliament gets rough. We have a Westminster system but are positively gentle compared with them. Our speaker has tried hard to get John Key to address the chair but has to date been unsuccesful. But to be fair to Key he hasn’t gone this far in his response . :-

By KIRSTY WALKER
Last updated at 12:20 AM on 30th June 2010

A minister was involved in an extraordinary public spat yesterday after branding Commons speaker John Bercow a ’stupid, sanctimonious dwarf’.
Simon Burns stunned MPs and angered Mr Bercow’s wife Sally with the insult, which came during health questions in the Commons.
The Health Minister was also last night facing calls to apologise from dwarfism charities, who said his remarks were ‘derogatory and offensive’.
Mr Burns’s comments came after Mr Bercow twice asked him to address the despatch box rather than Government backbenchers.
The Speaker pointed out that other ministers had been similarly warned and had managed to fully ‘understand’ the instruction.
Apparently enraged by the reprimand, Mr Burns shook his head and mouthed the words ’stupid, sanctimonious dwarf’ at the Speaker, who claims to be 5ft 6in.
At the same time, the minister ostentatiously lowered his hand to indicate Mr Bercow’s short stature.
The minister has made no secret in the past of his loathing for Mr Bercow and was one of the few MPs to refuse to shake his hand when he took the oath.
Mr Burns was rebuked by the Speaker after turning to answer a question from Liberal Democrat Duncan Hames.
With several Labour MPs shouting that they could not hear, Mr Bercow said: ‘I have just had Members complaining that they can’t hear. You must face the House  -  it’s a very simple point, I have made it to others and they have understood it.’

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Filed under: parliament
4 Comments

21st century bookburning

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 1st, 2010

The parliamentary library did a paper on National Standards.

Anne Tolley didn’t like it. She forced them to take it down.

That they did is a disgrace and a poor reflection on the speaker who is meant to provide them with protection.

But this millennium the internet works in wonderful ways and the old burn the copies of the papers you don’t like approach is no longer effective.  In fact her intemperate outburst has given the analysis a much wider circulation.

 National Standards cache

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Filed under: blogs, broadband, censorship, comms & IT, education, parliament
35 Comments

Just in case you missed it finlayson is officially a wally

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 27th, 2010

Dompost Wally of the Week

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson.

Pecuniary interests registrar Dame Margaret Bazley seemed to be in no doubt that he should have declared a company directorship which he failed to include in Parliament’s pecuniary interests register. Isn’t he supposed to be the Government’s top legal brain?

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Filed under: Attorney-General, democracy, humour, law and order, national, parliament, politics
32 Comments

Time for Key to stand Finlayson down

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 22nd, 2010

There was some publicity recently about Jonathan Young’s carelessness in relation to his declaration of pecuniary interest.

This week it is all about the hapless Chris Finlayson who is already in serious trouble for the way he kept on changing his description of his relationship with a Supreme Court judge in whose favour he intervened. And especially because he did not inform either the Prime Minister or Cabinet either before he intervened or when he ran into problems.

Now it has emerged that Finlayson helped set up a company in 2006, after he became an MP,  and became a director then and has failed to declare it on any return since that date.

Standing Orders page 128 are very clear.

4 Contents of return relating to member’s position as at effective date of return

(1) Every return of pecuniary interests must contain the following information as at the effective date of the return:

(a) the name of each company of which the member is a director ………..

Stuff reports:-

An Office of the Clerk of the House spokeswoman said the rules were clear. “Members are required to declare the name of each company of which the MP is a director or controls more than 5 per cent of the voting rights. At the very worst, it could be contempt of the house if an MP has knowingly provided false information to the House.”

For most members people don’t get too upset if a genuine error is made once. But the Attorney-General is special. There is a clear precedent. Dr Don Brash (Leader of the Opposition), 21 March 2006 :

Lawyers are the professionals we depend on in our society to ensure the accuracy of the documents that they sign. They should not sign documents knowing them to be false under any circumstances. For the most senior law official in the land, the Attorney-General, to have done so not once but on several occasions, is a serious matter. Mr Parker was right to tender his resignation. I commend him for that.

Rodney Hide (Leader—ACT), 21 March 2006 :

I say to Helen Clark that her Government now lacks integrity and honesty. I think that filing a false statement, a statutory document, when one is the Attorney-General and a Minister of the Crown is unacceptable. I think this issue does need a full investigation. I say to the House that it is an important job to hold Ministers to account. That is what Parliament does—that is our Westminster parliamentary democracy.

David Parker stood down because there was doubt as to whether he signed a false statement. As it turned out he hadn’t and was reinstated.

Finlayson appears to have signed a false statement every year since March 2006.

He needs to go to the sin bin and not be allowed out until he can prove that each of his declarations have been factual. Given the other problems he has it might be an easy way out for Key.

Company Number 1779853

Company TE PUHI TRUSTEE (2) LIMITED

(more…)

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, Attorney-General, business, national, parliament
56 Comments

Trotter on green leaders’ protests

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 22nd, 2010

Chinese security overstepped the mark. Key grovelled in a way that was inappropriate for the head of government in a democratic nation.

But it wasn’t all black and white, right and wrong.

Thanks to the prickly woman for pointing me to the Trotter Donald obit. The contrast is telling.

My abiding memory of this remarkable man – my friend – Rod Donald, will be of him standing alone at the foot of the parliamentary steps, his face a mixture of sadness and defiance, holding up the forbidden Tibetan flag. It was a noble protest – and all the more effective for being conducted not by some raggle-taggle band of New Age anarchists, but by a senior Member of Parliament and party leader, dressed proudly and patriotically in his best, New Zealand-made, suit.

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Filed under: parliament
41 Comments

This week’s lottery 3 prizes with winners

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 17th, 2010

The winners are:

Douglas, Hon Sir Roger, Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill
Bakshi, Kanwaljit Singh, Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill
Sepuloni, Carmel, Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill

Bills in the Ballot

1. Ardern, Jacinda – Conservation (Requirement for Special Approval for Changes to Schedule 4) Amendment Bill
2. Bakshi, Kanwaljit Singh – Military Manoeuvres Act Repeal Bill
3. Barker, Hon Rick – Sentencing Act (Reparation) Amendment Bill
4. Beaumont, Carol – Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill
5. Bennett, David – Land Transport (Admissibility of Evidential Breath Tests) Amendment Bill
6. Boscawen, John – Climate Change Response (Cancellation of Emissions Trading Scheme) Amendment Bill
7. Burns, Brendon – Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill
8. Calder, Dr Cam – Imprisonment for Debt Limitation Repeal Bill
9. Choudhary, Dr Ashraf – Ethnic Broadcasting Commission Bill
10. Clendon, David – Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill
11. Cosgrove, Hon Clayton – Christchurch International Airport Protection Bill
12. Dalziel, Hon Lianne – Illegal Contracts (Unlawful Limitation on Regulators’ Powers) Amendment Bill
13. Delahunty, Catherine – Human Rights (Disability Commissioner) Amendment Bill
14. Douglas, Hon Sir Roger – Education (Board of Trustee Freedom) Amendment Bill
15. Fenton, Darien – Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill
16. Flavell, Te Ururoa – Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill
17. Garrett, David – Victims’ Rights (Victim Impact Statements) Amendment Bill
18. Gilmore, Aaron – Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Break Fees Disclosure) Amendment Bill
19. Goodhew, Jo – Joint Family Homes Repeal Bill
20. Graham, Dr Kennedy – Public Finance (Sustainable Development Indicators) Amendment Bill
21. Hague, Kevin – Fisheries (Precautionary Approach) Amendment Bill
22. Harawira, Hone – Parliamentary Commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
23. Hughes, Gareth – Land Transport (Give way to Buses) Bill
24. Katene, Rahui – Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (1080 Poison Prohibition) Amendment Bill
25. Kedgley, Sue – Consumer’s Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill
26. King, Colin – Forests (Milling and Exporting Indigenous Wood Chips for Food Smoking) Amendment Bill
27. Lees-Galloway, Iain – Smoke-free Environments (Removing Tobacco Displays) Amendment Bill
28. Locke, Keith – Animal Welfare (Treatment of Animals) Amendment Bill
29. Mallard, Hon Trevor – Minimum Wage Amendment Bill
30. Moroney, Sue – Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months Paid Leave) Amendment Bill
31. Norman, Dr Russel – Climate Change (New Zealand Superannuation Fund) Bill
32. Pillay, Lynne – Employment Relations (Protection of Young Workers) Bill
33. Prasad, Dr Rajen – Children’s Commissioner (Reporting on Legislation) Amendment Bill
34. Ririnui, Hon Mita – Electoral (Entrenchment of Māori Representation) Amendment Bill
35. Robertson, HV Ross – Members of Parliament (Code of Ethical Conduct) Bill
36. Sepuloni, Carmel – Employment Relations (Probationary Period Repeal) Amendment Bill
37. Turei, Metiria – Income Tax (Universalisation of In-Work Tax Credit) Amendment Bill
38. Twyford, Phil – Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill

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Filed under: legislation, parliament
24 Comments

Minor +ve from reshuffle

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 15th, 2010

Lockwood Smith sometimes has trouble distinguishing my voice from Chris Carter’s. Until today we sat together in the House.

At least two of my pretty serious discussions with the Speaker have been the result of him thinking I had said something that Chris had in fact said.

While to a certain extent I’m willing to take one for the team and there have been times when I’ve commented in a way that I should not have and not been reprimanded it is good that that confusion will not continue.

Off to caucus.

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Filed under: parliament
58 Comments

Why did taxpayer subsidise Nick Smith $209,000?

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 9th, 2010

Stuff reports that Nick Smith has folded and settled one of his defamation cases.

But for me the most interesting point is:

Dr Smith would not say today how much the case had been settled for. But he confirmed that taxpayers had contributed $209,000 toward his legal bills and he was grateful for the financial support from Parliamentary Services.

I presume it was a Labour speaker who changed the rules and allowed that support.  I was very surprised when I found that was the case. I don’t think it was a good decision.

MPs can speak out in Parliament and thereby avoid being sued.

When non Ministers speak outside Parliament we do so with the same risks as others. Smith was not  a Minister when he mouthed off on this occasion.

Ministers have another role and are often targets of vexatious litigation. The support they get from Crown Law (sometimes contracted out) is appropriate.

Having personal liability is not easy. It has cost me tens of thousands over the last 15 years.

I just don’t understand why Smith has special needs in this area.

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Filed under: democracy, law and order, national, parliament
58 Comments

Another Very Unwise Young Nat

Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 4th, 2010

There has been lots of debate around transparency and MPs assets. John Key is fairly transparent but pretends his trust is blind.

He can’t go round with his eyes shut all the time ! !

No Right Turn has called Jonathan Young for his failure to declare one of his interests and then for attempting to mislead on the reason for that failure. He says: -

Again, full transparency is our only defence against corruption. We should have zero tolerance for politicians and officials who attempt to thwart that transparency. Any politician who is not completely willing to prove to us that they are clean has no business in Parliament, and no business in politics.

I agree.  Transparency is vital and is one of the driving themes behind #OpenLabourNZ.

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, business, democracy, parliament
35 Comments

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