Hard News: Dirty Politics
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Bouquets against the New World Ordure...
Nice to see Public Address get a thumbs up from a creator of the On the Left blog, in Philip Matthews' article Should Left Wing bloggers just shut up in The Press. -
Following his unsuccessful legal action against APN, Fairfax and MediaWorks to prevent publication of rawshark-sourced data, Slater has been ordered to pay $15,000 costs to the news organisations.
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Key sends Slater a written apology for releasing the email which sunk Judith Collins. No lessons learned there then.
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Sacha, in reply to
It's just part of the PR setup for this week's release of the report, to distance the PM. Continues the handy fiction of Slater as an aggrieved victim compared with that scurrilous Hager character profiting from stolen emails, I tells you. Memes need watering.
Also introduces the handy focus-group-tested phrase "election issue" which is aligned with "public interest". These will be useful for the other inquiry into leaking of intel for political purposes.
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Key sends Slater a written apology for releasing the email which sunk Judith Collins. No lessons learned there then.
I'm not sure I have a problem with this. Slater has a right to privacy too, which the PM presumably breached, and a public apology is part of the settlement arranged with the Privacy Commissioner.
Even scumbags etc...
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The first independently verified Dirty Politics story will result in an apology to Phil Goff re SIS briefings.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/260144/sis-report-set-to-criticise-agency -
It's just further evidence that National/Key fully understand how to play the cynical game - and win. They're very good at it, unfortunately.
Once the election is over, nothing matters. Repeat, with emphasis: it simply doesn't matter any more. Of course it should matter, very much. But now, investigations can reveal, surpluses can disappear, lies can be exposed - with no consequences for those in power. The votes have been cast and counted, and any shouts of "See! We told you" will be overtaken by new events, long before the next time the voters have their say. Heck, it'll probably be forgotten over summer. Or at least, ignored.
The lasting effect is to increase public contempt for their representatives, and further damage the fragile contract between the governed and their governors. Ultimately, to erode our hard-won democracy.
Sadly, National couldn't care less about that.
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PS Herald on Sunday editorial, 3 months ago, describes Hager's Dirty Politics as:
"a book that attempts to smear Key by association with an unsavoury blogger."
Still, it's just fish and chip paper now, who cares that voters once read it?
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
It’s just further evidence that National/Key fully understand how to play the cynical game – and win.
Ultimately that's not a game worthy of winning and although their timing is astute in that their damage control appears to berid that damned spot as soon as it appears, John Key remains a festering wound that will eventually pop.
Soon now , you'll see. at least Emmerson can -
Paul Buchanan suitably scathing on morning report. Bad enough at any time. In the run-up to an election it amounts to subverting democracy.
Add the SIS ‘losing’ the recording of Key’s briefingon dotcom and the PMs involvement in appointing thehead of the GCSB and confidence in these institutions is gone.
Eta: ideological appointments into other public service top jobs and cynical abuse of OIA also seem rife. That may be the story of this govt. Good government requires a well run and independent public service. -
Ian Dalziel, in reply to
Ultimately, to erode our hard-won democracy.
Just so long as we aren't mistaking 'democracy' for freedom...
as National and the like-minded whittle away the representation of the whole population down to a bag of pegs for their dirty laundry... -
Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
Add the SIS ‘losing’ the recording of Key’s briefingon dotcom and the PMs involvement in appointing thehead of the GCSB and confidence in these institutions is gone.
I was just reminding Phil Goff of that with regard to this Bill in the House today. Not as eloquently as you put it. Perhaps you could email that entire comment to him or Little or your local Mp. Well said. I urge anyone concerned about yet another ill thought out ,already fudged on Tv by Key with his weasel words, legislation, that ultimately will have many faults that will cost us,the people, yet more of our democracy and freedom. Andrew Little said they were still waiting to see the Bill. Key says they have. More lies. My American passport was stolen many years ago. I have not been able to renew it . I now can only spend 45 days in the States to see Family. My entire Family have American Passports except me. That's around 500 people in my Family. I was seen to be some problem somewhere. NZ Customs already have a lot to answer for. They already have laws around Passports. We dont need no stinkin' more.
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Angela Hart, in reply to
Once the election is over, nothing matters. Repeat, with emphasis: it simply doesn't matter any more. Of course it should matter, very much. But now, investigations can reveal, surpluses can disappear, lies can be exposed - with no consequences for those in power. The votes have been cast and counted, and any shouts of "See! We told you" will be overtaken by new events, long before the next time the voters have their say. Heck, it'll probably be forgotten over summer. Or at least, ignored.
The lasting effect is to increase public contempt for their representatives, and further damage the fragile contract between the governed and their governors. Ultimately, to erode our hard-won democracy.
+1
I couldn't find the words but you did.I think we may now qualify for Banana Republic status, where those in power routinely use the machinery of government to achieve their desires.
I don't suppose Her Majesty, via the National appointed GG can get us out of this mess? She'll probably have trouble believing that nice Mr Key has such a nasty side. Does our machinery of state allow for this sort of thing? We seem to have little in the way of effective checks and balances (no pun intended).
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Rosemary McDonald, in reply to
Ditto, ditto, ditto.
A wee spring in my step this morning, hoping that perhaps, this will finish him off once and for all.
"Nah", said HWMBO as I was wrestling him into his wheelchair, "he'll slime his way out as he usually does".
He's like an eel in a bucket of snot.
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All you need to know about how Key operates:
1) Mr Key said he had received an "unreserved" apology from the SIS for providing misleading information to his office. He said the SIS head's apology to Mr Goff was also appropriate. (Herald)
2) Collins report due out at noon.
So - nothing to see here, I'm just a magnanimous victim, but just in case you don't buy that (i.e. if you have a functioning brain), here's something else to see instead. Pronto.
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For those playing along at home, the IGIS public report is available here
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Russell has written a fresh post about the Gwyn report.
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Rob Stowell, in reply to
Russell has written a fresh post about the Gwyn report.
And a remarkable report it is.
RNZ harping about the 'leaking' yesterday - maybe to avoid the obvious orchestration of getting this and the Collins report out on the same day? (Who set *that* timetable?) -
NSA,
That shard of a human being Mr Two-face mirror fives himself in the Herald, tars Ricardo Simich and Cameron Brewer by association.
Some people don’t communicate very well, and the tide turns against them, and that’s where I come in."
,,,like a boss.
Graham said when you hired Slater as a consultant you received the full breadth of his communication skills. […] he would hire his childhood friend again if the PR strategy required it.
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Bryce Edwards in The downfall of John Key examines why Key chooses to maintain contact with the increasingly toxic Slater. He quotes Matthew Hooton...
Talking on Radio NZ's Nine-to-Noon he argued that Key is making a perfectly logical choice to try to stay in Slater's good books out of fear of what could happen if Slater became his enemy. If Slater and Key fell out then the blogger could go nuclear, dishing the ultimate dirt on Dirty Politics, according to Hooton.
Here's what he said: Key 'risks Cameron Slater going off the deep-end essentially, and revealing the full extent of his relationship with the Prime Minister himself, the Prime Minister's Office, with a number of John Key's ministers, with a fair bunch of the backbenchers, and with some senior party officials'.
Key might not survive that - listen to the RNZ 23-minute interview here.
It seems that having utilised the services of Slater, the National Government is now unable to simply walk away from him. That would be too dangerous. Slater would not take kindly to be disposed of. Partly this could be because Slater is rather unpredictable and inclined to lash out at his opponents (or those betraying him).
Edwards also references a blog post from Bryan Gould who suggests that Key is now "Cameron Slater’s creature."
Slater has little to fear if the whole sordid story comes out. It would simply confirm the centrality of his role and would confirm an image of ruthlessness he has sought to cultivate. But for John Key, it is imperative that the story stays under wraps.
One word from Slater, in other words – and the Prime Minister is history. Slater holds John Key’s place in that history in the palm of his hand. If Slater calls the Prime Minister, of course that frightened man will jump to it. He will even run the risk of discussing a leaked Inspector General’s report with him – and then trying to bluster his way out of admitting that he had done so.
So, what seemed to be a mystery becomes a much more worrying truth. We have a Prime Minister who is not only careless with the truth but who is obliged, for fear of being exposed, to do the bidding of the nastiest and least principled person in New Zealand politics. Is that the Prime Minister this country wants?
You need a long spoon to sup with the devil.
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a bit on the nose...
You need a long spoon to sup with the devil.
...or an ever-growing lie-fed proboscis!
by Jiminy,
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Think of the knowledge
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I hear a sigh from
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Suck it right up!
gnosis nose...Step
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r:- )
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Sacha, in reply to
Slater holds John Key’s place in that history in the palm of his hand
lovingly
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Alfie, in reply to
lovingly
And who supplied the lube?
"I can't recall."
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Tom Scott's take on the Slater/Key relationship.
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