The Hive is reporting that Bill English has taken a swipe at the government over the issue which they have christened "Glenngate" - here's their story:
http://wellingtonhive.blogspot.com/2008/02/glenngate-update-2.html
In his statement English refers to the inconsistencies in the statements of the various protagonists - Mike Williams, Helen Clark and Owen Glenn himself. He accuses Williams of "at best, misleading and, at worst, lying to minimise embarrassment for Helen Clark" but then lays down the challenge to the PM:
"“Helen Clark needs to say why she has let Mr Williams’ lie stand, and why she has failed to correct it.
“She also needs to tell us whether she knew about this loan, which under her own legislation is defined as a donation, and whether any of her Cabinet Ministers were in the know as well, particularly when they were signing off on Mr Glenn’s New Year’s Honour.
“In addition, Helen Clark must explain the claim by Mr Glenn that she tried to lure him into politics, suggesting he could be given a Cabinet post.
“This whole saga reeks of hypocrisy. At the same time as the Prime Minister was pushing through the draconian Electoral Finance Act to supposedly inject more transparency into election financing, Labour appears to have done a deal to conceal support from a major donor who then received a New Year’s Honour.
“Is this the latest manifestation of the Clark dictum that it’s only when you get caught out that you come clean?”
The last line is a real dig at the PM and some of the discipline issues she has faced - Benson-Pope - supported until it was clear he has misled Parliament; Taito Philip Field - supported until he upstaged the PM at the opening of Parliament last year; Trevor Mallard - numerous times! I'm sure too that English was only too happy to remind the media of the irony of these revelations, so soon after the passage of the EFA.
Payback, or revenge, is sweet so they say. I just hope that National doesn't get so hooked upon this issue that they lose sight of the ultimate revenge - a resounding spanking administered to Labour by the electorate in November. Meantime though, Labour has been majorly embarrassed by this turn of events - certainly it's not the "relentlessly positive" news that the PM was so keen to be generating in election year!
Hat tip - The Hive
1 comment:
The election isn't revenge - that's a given!
The revenge is the National-ACT majority government undoing in one year the damage of the last 10!
When we are free to spend out own money the way we want to!
When we are free to send out kids to any school we choose!
When we are free to go to any hospital we choose!
When we are free from thugs terrorising our kids on the streets - and more thugs terrorising our country from the backblocks!
And - ultimately - removing corruption from NZ's politics, so that the Labour party and EPMU will be deregistered, anyone involved in either banned from future participation in politics or any civil service job, and the leaders jailed for corruption
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