The arrogance of various Labour ministers hasn’t taken long to take hold of them. Normally this level of hubris comes after about 7 years in government.

Labour ministers have had it from day one and it is showing in the screw ups they are making.

Jami-Lee Ross has got the wood on David Clark and it’s now death by a thousand cuts: Quote:

Health Minister David Clark apologised to the former chairman of Counties Manukau District Health Board for the position he’d been left in over Middlemore Hospital’s building problems, correspondence from the ex-chairman claims.

The Herald has obtained text messages and an email which reveal former acting district health board chairman Rabin Rabindran’s increasing concern over public comments from Clark about what he was told about the state of the buildings at Middlemore and how the announcement of Rabindran’s departure from the board was handled.

Clark has previously said he was not told of the extent of problems at Middlemore Hospital when he visited on March 13 but Rabindran said he had been told verbally, and in documents handed to him at the time.

National MP Jami-Lee Ross says the correspondence shows Clark ignored Rabindran’s pleas to set the record straight. End quote.

Someone is not telling the truth, and one of them has documents to prove they are. Quote:

In an email to DHB senior executives on April 13, Rabindran, who had by then been told his position and that of fellow board member Mark Darrow were under threat, outlined a phone call that day from Clark.

“I said that I have a good reputation but all this in the media is affecting that reputation. He [Clark] kept apologising. I wish I could have recorded what he said.

“Polite and apologetic as he was, I have difficulty with him saying one thing in public and then calling me with the messages he gave me privately. It is going to be interesting what his proposed media statement is going to be.” End quote.

Like most Labour politicians it appears that Clark says one thing in private and quite another thing in public. Quote:

Two days later Rabindran texted Clark.

“Thank you for your call on Friday [April 13] and apologising for the position I have been put in. I also appreciate your recognition that I have acted respectfully throughout and kept my word of not discussing this with the media before agreeing the wording of the media release. Even though you agree that the state of Middlemore happened well before my time, my reputation has been badly affected.”

On April 18, Clark called Rabindran and left a voicemail which Jami-Lee Ross says is evidence Clark tried to “silence” Rabindran.

Clark said he was trying to offer Rabindran a “dignified exit”. End quote.

As opposed to being chucked under the bus? Quote:

On April 24 Rabindran again texted Clark.

“I am disappointed that the media release we worked on last week is now not going out but instead your preference is to wrap it into the announcement of the 3 new chairs. Whilst this may have some merit, just thanking me and Mark for our contribution is not enough as it leaves the impression that we are being replaced for some implied connection to the state of the buildings.

“I need to draw you attention to your comment to the media, that is being continuously quoted, that I apologised for not telling you about the state of the other buildings which is not correct.”

Ross, National’s MP for Botany, said the new documents show Clark ignored repeated pleas to front up and clarify the issues.

“Dr Clark threw hard-working health professionals under the bus to protect himself, gagged them and then refused to front up when it was clear he had wronged them, in spite of their pleas and his own repeated assurances he would do so.”

In a statement, Clark said it was clear Rabindran felt aggrieved over his departure from board.

“It’s true he was acting chair for only a matter of months and the building issues at Middlemore developed well before that time. If he felt that he was somehow being blamed for those building issues then that’s unfortunate. I have always been very clear where responsibility lay – with the previous government which underfunded health for so long.”

Clark said he had never denied being given documents about the building issues but maintained that the full range of building issues was not raised with him face-to-face when he visited.

Rabindran did not respond to requests for comment. End quote.

David Clark is showing a considerable amount of dishonesty for someone who professes to be a Presbyterian minister. They are normally parsimonious not mendacious. Clark is the other way around.

The unions are playing up for their new master like there is no tomorrow.

The nurses union have rejected their pay offer and now the PSA is talking wider action in the public sector: Quote:

The nurses union has “strongly rejected” a district health board pay and conditions offer and is seeking urgent mediation to stave off nationwide strikes.

But the Government says it is “preparing for the worst” because there is no more money to offer. 

On Monday, Health Minister David Clark poured cold water on nurses’ hopes of gaining much more on a pay deal that was doubled on the one prior. The latest deal was more than what was recommended by an independent panel set up to try and navigate through an apparent impasse between the unions and district health boards (DHBs).

But New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) industrial services manager Cee Payne announced nurses had overwhelmingly rejected the pay offer, saying “the past decade of underfunding of DHBs has taken a heavy toll on nurses and their ability to provide safe patient care”.

The $500 million package was the biggest pay offer nurses had seen in more than a decade. It included three 3 per cent pay increases, a $2000 lump sum and the creation of two new pay steps for nurses.

It also included the promise of about 500 new nurses into circulation and a pledge to work towards pay equity for the profession. End quote.

Despite being the biggest pay rise in ten years these greedy, grasping people have decided to ask for even more.

I bet the government is really wishing that they hadn’t bribed rich kids at university.

This is what happens when unions control the Labour party. They are simply demanding that which they invested in by supporting Labour. Quote:

Clark said contingency planning for strikes was “well advanced”. While he was encouraged by joint efforts for mediation, the Government was “preparing for the worst”. 

“I think expectations are high and I don’t blame people for being hopeful, but we’ve been really clear that we’ve put our best offer out there in terms of the DHBs and the Government has taken a decision in this process, to put forward an extra quarter of a billion dollars – nearly doubling the deal – for this best offer.,” he said.

“People have to know that that’s the money that’s available and that’s the situation we’re in.”

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters echoed those comments, saying there were many competing interests the Government had to consider.

“We won’t be able to fix all the problems in just one pay round – it takes time to fix neglect. We need to balance competing priorities and make sure we have the money aside for a rainy day.”

Rainy days included unforseen costs born out of natural disasters like the recent mycoplasma bovis incursion, that was hitting the dairy industry. There were also a number of other pay negotiations with teachers and other public service groups in the pipeline.

“This Government will exercise fiscal constraint; we have to balance the books and run a strong economy in order to afford the pay claims public servants are making,” Peters said. End quote.

If the government is planning for the worst and their plans are well advanced then that says much. It tells us that the government has no intention of backing down, and they’ve shafted the nurses and planned to do that all along.

I can’t wait until the teachers cut up rough.

Credit: SB

Newshub came up with this article at the weekend, and I am really surprised by it. The fact that the media are even contemplating that this might be a one-term government nine months in is a death knell of epic proportions. At no stage in the Bolger, Clark or Key governments was there even a hint that they might only last one term. Each one was expected to last at least two terms and, as often happens in New Zealand, quite possibly three. If the media are already saying that this might be a one-term government, then so it will be. If it lasts until 2020. Quote:

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says if her Government is voted out after a single term, it’ll be because they failed to bring New Zealanders around to their way of thinking. End quote.

Actually, that is all you need to know. There is no question of taking into account the wishes of the voters. They have to brainwash people, and they may not have enough time to do it. What an arrogant attitude. But this government do arrogance in spades, even though they have only been in power for nine months. God help us if they were to last for nine years. Quote:

Though the Labour-NZ First coalition (with support from the Greens) has kept its nose ahead in the polls, the public doesn’t appear to be so keen on the Government’s plan to reduce the prison population. A poll earlier this month found two-thirds of voters back the three-strikes law, including a majority of NZ First and Labour voters.

Ms Ardern acknowledged the Government may be getting ahead of public opinion on this issue.

“The biggest obstacle we have at the moment is making sure that we bring the New Zealand public with us. You know, this is a conversation we need to have together. End quote.

Another conversation. The proposed scrapping of the ‘three strikes’ law is a typical case of ideology over practicality. It sounds nice to have fewer people in prison for less time, but the voting public want to be kept safe. Watch Andrew Little continue to push this one ahead. He will do this at the peril of losing the voters, but that doesn’t matter. His ideology says it must be done, and ideology is everything to this government. Quote:

[Ardern] says it’ll take much more than criminal justice reforms to achieve that, including “an improved youth justice system, more investment in education, better transition services, stopping young people becoming NEETS, ‘not in employment, education or training’, doing more around drug and alcohol issues and actually having rehabilitation that works”.

And she wants the public on-side with any changes the Government does implement. End quote.

Just as she wants business to be onside while she destroys whole sectors of it! The last government were making inroads into improving young people’s lives, but guess what? All of that has been stopped because it did not fit ideologically with Labour’s programme. Quote:

“If you end up being a one-term Government as a consequence of changes you’ve made, you probably haven’t brought people on that journey, and the pitch that we’re making, the conversation we need to have, is to – with New Zealand, is when we have a static crime rate – one actually that we want to bring down – but when we have a static crime rate but an ever increasing prison population, is that the kind of country we want to be?” End quote.

Now let me just apply a tiny bit of mathematics to that statement. A static crime rate and an increasing prison population mean an increasing general population. It is a shame we are importing criminals, but that is what is going on. If we want to reduce the prison population, how about we start by importing only people of good character? How about deporting those who do not have citizenship yet but have broken the law? That would start to reduce the prison population without having to let scumbags back out on to the street. Nobody wants that, except Labour.

But my real purpose in writing this article is this. The media and the prime minister are already talking about this being a one-term government. That is unprecedented. If we are already talking about it just nine months in, I think it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy before long.

Andrew Little is valiantly trying to convince voters that his “catch-and-release” policy for criminal justice reform is needed. Quote:

Andrew Little has initiated a review of bail, sentencing and parole laws, and better rehabilitation of prisoners.

Mr Little told Newshub Nation that the policy followed over the past 30 years could not continue.

“On the current trajectory on prison populational growth, if we did nothing we would be building an extra prison every two to three years. That’s how bad it is.” End quote.

Excuse me? Locking up bad bastards is bad? Actually, that’s what voters want. Now you can see the folly of their decision to build a prison with a third of the cells needed.

Can you believe the cheek of these pricks? Not only do they want to empty the prison, but they also want to build smaller prisons, and then they moan that they will need to build more when those ones are filled up. Quote:

Currently 60 percent of prison inmates re-offend within two years of being released from jail.

Mr Little said he wanted to start a public conversation about ways to reduce re-offending.

“That 60 percent re-offending figure – that is a mark of failure of 30 years of criminal justice policy that says ‘we’ll lock more people up and we’ll lock them up for longer’.”

Mr Little said the government wanted to reduce re-offending and thereby reduce the number of victims of crime. End quote.

Actually, that’s what we want. We do want to lock them up longer, but sopping-wet liberal pantywaists like Andrew Little want to let them out, and judges don’t want to put them away. That was why ‘three strikes’ came about – and the judiciary has systematically undermined that law at every possible turn.

Andrew Little has said he wants to reduce reoffending. Might I suggest locking people up for longer? They certainly don’t reoffend against the civilian population whilst in jail. Quote:

Ms Ardern said the government as a whole supported reform.

But she told Newshub Nation it also had to get public support for change.

“We need to bring people with us – that’s the whole point. If you end up being a one term government as a consequence of changes you have made, you probably haven’t brought people on that journey.

“The pitch that we’re making is when we have a static crime rate…but an ever increasing prison population, is that the kind of country we want to be?” End quote.

Yes, a country where bad bastards are in prison.

Little and Ardern are lying to us when they claim that prison is full of low-level criminals. It isn’t. You have to try really hard to get sent to prison – really hard. Most people in prison have an average of over 40 criminal convictions. That isn’t low level. That is a hardened recidivist criminal class, and the best place for them is a prison.

If Andrew Little wants to stop recidivism then perhaps he should investigate bringing back the death penalty for real bad bastards, and extending three strikes to include crimes other than just crimes of violence.

I’m happy if Andrew Little wants to continue his soft-on-crime criminal justice reforms. It just makes it that much easier for the opposition to win back the treasury benches. I really hope they fight an election on letting criminals out of jail early.

Patrick Gower is another media commentator who is witnessing the slow destruction of an inept minister: Quote:

Kelvin Davis is a “wounded man walking” who better watch out, says Newshub national correspondent Patrick Gower.

The Corrections Minister on Wednesday announced plans for a new prison, but appeared to be unaware how many of its inmates would be double-bunked.

Corrections boss Ray Smith interjected after Mr Davis froze, confirming Newshub’s suggestion it would be around half.

“I get nervous before interviews,” was Mr Davis’ explanation, when asked about it on The AM Show.   

Mr Gower, who was Newshub’s political editor for several years, told The AM Show he’d never seen anything like it.

“Only in New Zealand would a deputy leader of a governing party come on after a major policy announcement in his or her portfolio and say, ‘You know me – I get nervous and I forget things.’ I’ve never seen that before.”

He said Mr Davis is “battling and he’s lost his confidence”.

“Kelvin is not a dead man walking, but he’s a wounded man walking. The media are after him, the Opposition are after him, probably people in his own party want the deputy leader job at the very least – they won’t want the Corrections job.”

Labour railed against double-bunking while in Opposition. Gower said Mr Davis is being forced to sell a “political lie” in claiming Labour is doing things differently to the previous Government.

“He’s an incredibly resilient individual and he’s a good guy. But where is the Kelvin Davis that called for a Māori-only prison in Ngawha? That was an idea that could change things. Where’s that guy gone? He’s fed by the bureaucrats, he’s fed by the spin doctors.

“What has happened to him is he was made to sell a political lie yesterday. There is no great new prison system or great new idea – it’s the same thing. It’s double-bunking, it’s hell-holes, it’s bad. He’s put out there to sell a lie, and he’s stuffed it up.”

Gower suggested former Corrections Minister Judith Collins, known for her tough and uncompromising hardline stance on crime, could have made same announcement.

“You could use those numbers and come out and say ‘hey, we’ve been tough on crime’. You could have put Judith Collins in Kelvin Davis’ place today and she would have sold you a different story. All he’s been given by Jacinda Ardern’s spin doctors one day before she goes away is some lines about American-style prisons.” End quote.

Which no one believes, and wishes the government would actually implement.

We don’t want crims getting cuddles and hugs, we want them locked up and if it is miserable and horrible for them so be it.

The sad reality is the media made Kelvin Davis, they ran his stories on crime and prisons uncritically, they egged him on and like psychopathic school kids they are now plucking the wings and legs off the fly that is Kelvin Davis.

Heather du Plessis-Allan reckons Kelvin Davis has a target on his back: Quote:

Someone get Kelvin Davis a bottle of something strong, because this is going to hurt.

From here on in, government is going to be painful for Ardern’s 2IC.

He’s just marked himself as an easy target. The baby buck straggling behind the rest of the herd, if you like.

If National wants to pick someone off, claim a scalp, he’s the obvious option.

And it looks like National knows that. End quote.

National actually don’t want scalps. They want to debilitate the hopeless ministers but not actually tip them over, because having a stupid and inept minister in place is way more fun and politically damaging than having them quit. Quote:

Kelvin Davis is the rising star that turned out to be nothing more than a distant motorcycle light. He could be something, but it hasn’t happened.

Just before last year’s election, Labour picked him from the middle of the pack and promoted him to deputy leader. He was there on the strength of scoring some big hits on National Government-run prisons. And on the strength of being Māori. It made a good headline. Davis as Labour’s first Māori deputy leader.

But then, things started going awry. Davis got a case of the yips. All that promise evaporated in a cloud of nervous perspiration and self-doubt. End quote.

All mouth and no trousers… worse, the mouth resorts to pidgin Maori when stressed. Quote:

It started after a month in government. Davis was acting prime minister for the first time. He was a flop. He couldn’t answer questions in Parliament’s debating chamber. He should’ve been able to. He is the second most important person in the party after all. But he needed the fourth, fifth and seventh most important people to tell him the answers in front of everyone watching, before he could stand up and give them. End quote.

He then went into hiding for an extended period until last week. Quote:

Then things went very wonky last week in Parliament when he told a senior National Party MP to stop being hysterical. Given that MP is a woman and there’s an awkward bit of history where men took to diagnosing women with hysteria, then remedying it with hysterectomies, that wasn’t wise. Also it sounded arrogant. He apologised the next day.

Things got worse when he stuffed up the Waikeria prison announcement. The Government should have been saying, “Yay, we’re not building a mega prison!This one’s way more empathetic and modern with 100 mental health beds”. Instead, the headlines were about Davis’ fluffs. Multiple fluffs.

First, he couldn’t answer a reporter who asked how many of the prison’s inmates would be double-bunked. The Corrections CEO standing alongside him had to answer. Afterwards, Davis had an explanation for the mind blank. He gets “nervous” before interviews. His words.

Then, he went on Newstalk ZB’s Drive Show with me and said it didn’t matter too much that all those extra mega-prison beds wouldn’t eventuate because if things got really crowded, they had an ugly solution. They’d just throw a few mattresses on the floor. Again, his words.

Wherever Davis’ mojo is gone, he needs to get it back. Because it looks like National has smelled his fear and is coming after him. End quote.

That is what I have been told too. This week could prove excruciating for Kelvin Davis. Quote:

The day after he stuffed up the Waikeria prison announcement, National MPs were all over him in Parliament. Three Parliamentary questions. One after the other. Boom, boom, boom.

To put that in context, every question has a series of supplementary questions attached to it. So Davis faced what would’ve felt like 100 questions in a row. That would’ve taken hours to prep for. Two thirds of the way through, he started answering in te reo. Smart way to break the pressure. Pretty bloody obvious. End quote.

Until National put up Nuk Korako and Harete Hipango to ask the supplementary questions in te reo – both are way more fluent than Davis in te reo – the joke is that Davis is, in reality, only speaking a kind of pidgin Maori. Quote:

National may be itching to claim a scalp. They could maybe have taken Clare Curran’s scalp earlier this year but they passed. It was too easy and too early. If they’d scored her resignation over the Carol Hirschfeld active-wear coffee date, they might’ve looked too unkind and prompted pity for Jacinda Ardern and her Government. But, time has passed, Ardern’s on maternity leave and National could do with a win.

If Davis doesn’t give himself an uppercut, he might be that scalp. End quote.

National aren’t keen on taking scalps. They prefer playing with inept ministers, like a cat that’s got a mouse.

Both Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern are spinning like tops on justifying their smaller prison at Waikeria. They’ve made claims that prisons are full of low level offenders: Quote:

“The American style approach of building mega-style prisons and filling them with low-level criminals is not working. End quote.

Andrew Little said the same thing in parliament yesterday: Quote:

MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney) to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by all of his Government’s justice policies and decisions?

ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice): Yes.

Mark Mitchell: Does the Minister still agree with the Prime Minister’s comments that we’re filling our prisons with low-level criminals?    

 

ANDREW LITTLE: Yes.

Mark Mitchell: How many people are in prison for possession of cannabis?

ANDREW LITTLE: I don’t have that particular figure on me. What I can say is that we know that more than 50 percent of those who enter the prison system in any one year are convicted of crimes that do not entail violence or are not otherwise serious.

Mark Mitchell: What is an example of a non-violent assault?

ANDREW LITTLE: The member may well be aware that earlier this year, a High Court judge in Auckland was dealing with an offender charged with indecent assault—in fact, convicted of indecent assault. The actions comprising that offence were pinching the bottom of a prison officer, and the judge was having to face the fact that the prisoner, because of the operation of other law, was facing a mandatory maximum sentence of seven years. The judge said he was not going to sentence anybody to seven years for pinching somebody else’s bottom.

Mark Mitchell: Could the Minister just clarify for me that he just stood in the House and told us that an indecent assault is an example of a non-violent assault? End quote.

Judith Collins points out in a tweet that Andrew Little misrepresented the situation of that case: Quote:

On checking the Judge’s sentencing notes, it was described as ‘grabbing’ the Correction Officer’s bottom, & the victim requiring stress leave. I can imagine how stressed she would be going back into her work with that offender. Little trivialises women workers. End quote.

He continued to mislead the house with his answers: Quote:

Mark Mitchell: How many people, under your definition of non-violent assaults—

Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!

Mark Mitchell: —sorry, the Minister’s definition of non-violent assaults—are currently in prison?

ANDREW LITTLE: Again, I don’t have that detailed figure, but I repeat: what we do know is that 50 percent of offenders entering the prison system in any one year are convicted of offences that do not entail violence and are not otherwise serious offences. That member will know that we have a Sentencing Act and a sentencing regime that distinguishes between different categories of offence. There is more serious offending and there is less serious offending. End quote.

That simply isn’t true at all. Simon Bridges pointed out the facts: Quote:

“The Government’s own figures show that 98 per cent of prisoners are locked up for Category 3 and Category 4 crimes. These are offences punishable by two years in prison or more. These include murder, manslaughter, rape, aggravated assault and sexual violence.

“These are not low level offences and the Prime Minister is wrong to say otherwise.

“It is also worth noting that people on remand or serving sentences in New Zealand prisons have an average of 46 convictions on their criminal record.

“The fact is only our most serious and repeat offenders are locked up and they must continue to be, and the only way that will happen is if the new prison is built. End quote.

David Farrar summarised the prison statistics for offences: Quote:

The prison population comprises the following by offence category

1. Category 1 (infringements and fines) – zero
2. Category 2 (term of imprisonment of less than two years) – 224 (2.1%)
3. Category 3 (term of imprisonment of more than two years) – 9,698 (91.0%)
4. Category 4 – (murder, manslaughter, treason, piracy, slavery, public corruption) 738 (6.9%) End quote.

It is pretty obvious that the prime minister, who claims that she does not lie, and Andrew Little are minimising the sorts of crimes that people are in prison for. For a justice minister to think that an indecent assault, one which caused the Correction staff member to take stress leave was nothing more than a pinch on the bottom shows just how out of touch he is with society, and reinforces Labour men have a problem with women. That a Labour man thinks it is perfectly OK for indecent assaults against women to be minimised says a great deal.

Labour’s inept ministers continue to be exposed, this time it is gagging people and buying silence from critics by offering them jobs if they shut up: Quote:

Newshub has obtained a voicemail and emails which suggest the Health Minister tried to gag senior staff talking publicly about the state of embattled Middlemore Hospital.

In one case he even appeared to promise a board member, who he’d sacked, another job if they shut up.

“I notice more and more getting reported that is really not helping at all, and I’m hopeful that there won’t be much more commentary,” Health Minister David Clark said in a voicemail to District Health Board chair Rabin Rabindran.

“My fear is that if you and I keep commenting, the story keeps ticking along. I’d rather not have distraction about who said what when.”

However Mr Clark denies this, saying he was “absolutely not” trying to stop board members from speaking out. End quote.

Of course he wasn’t. No he wouldn’t do that would he…not when his poo in the walls story was exposed for the fake news it was…no he didn’t want that to stop at all. /sarcQuote:

“There were a lot of conversations happening through the media and that meant there wasn’t clear communication about what was going on, and that’s unhelpful,” he told Newshub.

The voicemail was left on April 18th, two weeks after he sacked Mr Rabindran. In the same voicemail, Mr Clark offered him a new job.

“I would consider you for further appointments because I think that sends a message.” End quote.

That message would be ‘shut up and we will look after you’. Quote:

National MP Jami-Lee Ross says Mr Clark was “dangling [a job] to gag [Rabindran] and silence him”.

Mr Clark told Newshub he “absolutely rejects” this claim.

A trail of emails obtained by Newshub show DHB acting CEO Gloria Johnson wanted to release information to get their side of the story across because their reputations were being damaged.

A board member emailed Dr Johnson, concerned that the Minister’s office was pressuring the DHB about what they could and couldn’t say.

“If the minister is accusing us of covering something up we need to address that quickly and directly,” the email read.

“They are saying they need more time and want us [especially] me to ‘suck it up’.”

Mr Clark says he is not aware of anyone being told to “suck it up” and is adamant he’s done nothing wrong.

However, it’s clear that senior staff at the DHB were angry with the accusations being made by Mr Clark, and felt gagged. End quote.

It is also clear that no new job has been forthcoming for Radindran and so he’s decided to out the minister for his sloppy attempt at controlling the narrative.

Labour ministers are continually to show just how inept and accident prone they are. I can’t remember a more inept ministry.

Jacinda Ardern is going to have to sack one of these fools as the list of idiots gets longer and longer.

We’ve had the minister for open government refusing to cough up details and covering up meetings, then Megan Woods destroying an entire industry so her boss can virtue-signal to European politicians and students, Andrew Little screwing up justice reform by failing to talk to his coalition partners. Kelvin Davis finally admitting a conflict of interest, as well as attacking a female opposition MP in a derogatory manner in a select committee. Different male Labour ministers groping and being condescending to Judith Collins. Plus plenty more stupidity going on, and most of it seems to be Labour ministers.

Someone is going to have to do something soon with this government as they lurch from one bad news cycle to the next.

Wasn’t this something Labour told us only happened in private run prisons?

Where is Kelvin Davis when you need him? Quote:

The Corrections Chief Inspector has been called in to review a potential cover-up at Rimutaka Prison after a secret report revealing inappropriate relationships a female staffer was having with both a convicted murderer and a manager.

The staffer gave a love-note to the inmate written on a pink piece of paper cut into the shape of a heart.

“Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay then it’s not the end,” she wrote in the note.

Beneath the message, she put the prisoner’s parole date.

The details are contained in a leaked report which Corrections had refused to release under the Official Information Act.

The prisoner alleges he lost in-house employment after witnessing the staffer being fondled by a manager at the prison.

The inmate’s lawyer, Michael Bott, has called for a ministerial inquiry into the “deliberate and concerted attempt” by senior Corrections officials to cover-up corrupt behaviour by its staff.

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis refused an interview. End quote.

Looks like Kelvin is back in witless protection. But seriously, he was all over this sort of stuff when in Opposition. Now that he is the minister he is missing in action. Quote:

In a four line statement he confirmed the Corrections Chief Inspector would review the matter.

The revelations come as misconduct and a strained prison system is exposed.

Elite guards at Christchurch Men’s Prison were caught spying on inmates using unauthorised listening devices, and at least 30 guards failed to show up to work at Auckland’s Paremoremo Prison last weekend due to violent attacks from inmates.

The leaked report, prepared by Correction’s Integrity Support Team and viewed by Stuff this week, is the latest development in an untidy saga at Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt.

Corrections commissioned an initial report into the matter about the inmate’s dismissal, that vindicated staff and blamed “over familiarisation” on the inmate.

However the leaked report stated the inmate was a credible witness and described the staffer as “inconsistent and evasive”.  End quote.

A bit like the minister responsible: sneaky, inconsistent and evasive.

What next? Fight clubs in state-run prisons?

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

When in opposition the Labour party ran almost weekly hit jobs on National for hosting cabinet clubs. They labelled them as cash for access, alleging by inference that there was some sort of corrupt practice going on.

Now they’ve been busted doing the exact same thing: Quote:

Finance Minister Grant Robertson gave a post-Budget speech at a $600-a-head Labour fundraiser at the exclusive Wellington Club, drawing comparisons to the previous National Government’s “Cabinet club” scandal.

According to several attendees, about 40 people, including party supporters, business figures and corporate lobbyists, attended the dinner hosted by Labour president Nigel Haworth on Wednesday, at which Robertson was the key attraction.

A similar dinner is due to be hosted at the even more exclusive Northern Club in Auckland on Thursday night.

National leader Simon Bridges has accused the Government of hypocrisy, after Labour once described National’s events, which appear similar to the one attended by Robertson, as “cash-for-access“.

The concern is that wealthy figures are able to gain access and insight that is not available to the general public. End quote.

I don’t have a problem with these sorts of events, but I do have a problem with hypocrisy. Labour made much of this, along with the members of the Media party who entertained the outrageous claims of the then opposition. Now they stand charged of the same ‘offences’. Quote:

Events such as this also come close to the line in terms of the rules for ministers.

The Cabinet manual states: “holding ministerial office is regarded as a full-time occupation and is remunerated as such. Accordingly … accepting additional payment for doing anything that could be regarded as a ministerial function is not permissible”.

This means that if Robertson was attending in his ministerial capacity, rather than as an MP, Labour would be unable to use the event as a fundraiser.

A spokeswoman for Robertson refused to make any comment, describing the dinner as “a party matter”.

The Prime Minister, who is charged with ensuring Cabinet rules are being adhered to, has not responded to requests for comment. End quote.

So much for openness and transparency. Looks like Jacinda Ardern is going to go the way of every other politicians who has uttered such sentiments. Quote:

At the Wellington Club dinner, Robertson spoke about May’s Budget and future Budgets. He also signalled policy announcements set to be announced in the coming weeks, one person who attended claimed.

Another person at the dinner described Robertson as “extremely on message”.After his speech, Robertson went table to table for more private conversations with small groups. End quote.

Sounds like he was there as Finance Minister. Quote:

Haworth said, as Labour president, it was his right to invite any party member to a dinner.

The dinners were part of a series of events Labour ran and $600 was the standard price, he said.

He refused to reveal how much profit the party made from the event, saying “that’s for us to know”.

Haworth said Robertson should not be speaking about party matters, given he was there as an MP, not finance minister.

“He was there, invited by me, as a senior member of the party.”

He insisted that Robertson’s speech was “about the economy, much more generally” rather than the Budget, before adding that “of course the Budget came into it”.

Wednesday’s Wellington Club dinner was the first of its type since the election, Haworth said. End quote.

And likely the last after they’ve been busted. But Haworth is lying if he says it was for party members, because I know of several who went who definitely aren’t party members. Like I said, I have no problems with the dinners, it is the lying and the hypocrisy I have a problem with. Quote:

While in Opposition, leading Labour MPs described revelations about National’s “Cabinet club” – where supporters paid large sums to hear ministers speak – as a “cash-for-access scandal”.

No one from Labour has attempted to draw a distinction between Robertson’s dinners and the National Party events.

Both National and Labour have justified the events as saying ministers attend the events in their capacity as MPs, rather than as ministers.

But Labour has previously mocked the distinction. Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta, who was a minister in the Clark Government, said in 2014: “In my experience of that position, you are a minister at all times, day or night.”

Haworth said guests at the dinner “mainly” saw him. “We tailor the speaker to the audience very much, or back, to the theme, very much.”

Two people who attended said Haworth simply introduced Robertson and David Talbot from UMR, Labour’s polling company.

Haworth did not believe those attending gained influence over Robertson.

“I have no reason to believe that’s the case. There’s never been an example or evidence given to me that it is the case.” End quote.

So, why the big fuss when in opposition then? Quote:

National leader Simon Bridges accused Labour of hypocrisy.

“Labour sought to kick the crap out of us for somewhat similar sorts of events. Now they’re deep in it.”

It was “deeply ironic” that Labour was giving speeches at the venues Robertson was speaking at, Bridges said.

“All this talk in the election campaign and recently about the squeezed middle and equality and the need to do more with urgency in the way that supposedly – although I disagree – National wasn’t. Then they’re highfalutin it at the fanciest clubs in New Zealand at big prices per plate.”

Bridges said the average New Zealander probably would not understand what it meant for a minister to be at an event in a personal capacity.

“I’m not having the Labour Party on for having fundraising events. Partys do need to do it, and there is a line here that I appreciate is fine, around ministers versus MPs and those Cabinet rules issues,” he said.

“I think the National Party learned a lesson around Cabinet Club and the like and changed our policies accordingly. But [Labour] were the guys who had us on about it. They’re doing the same thing, at high prices, in the fanciest clubs in the land.” End quote.

Credit to Bridges. He isn’t complaining about the functions or the attendance of a minister, he is complaining about the hypocrisy. He is spot on in his approach and one that Labour won’t be able to reconcile. They made such a fuss over it, the left-wing blogs still go on and on about it, and now Labour are donkey deep doing the same thing. I can’t wait to see how they try to spin it, especially as Bridges has taken exactly the right approach.