On Sat, 25 May 2024 11:34:27 +1200, Crash <
nogood@dontbother.invalid>
wrote:
On Sat, 25 May 2024 10:10:45 +1200, Rich80105 <Rich80105@hotmail.com>
wrote:
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2024/05/more-national-corruption.html
Far from moving to a four year term, we should move to a two year term
The facts are that charities have been singled out for support. For
context, here is a portion of the National-NZF coalition agreement:
---
• Fund Gumboot Friday/I Am Hope Charity to $6 million per annum.
• Renegotiate the Crown funding agreement with St John with a view to
meeting a greater portion of their annualised budget.
• Ensure Plunket is funded to do their job properly.
• Ensure proper funding for birthing units and maternity care,
including providing for a three day stay for new mothers.
---
So once again, in respect of Gumboot Friday they are doing exactly
what they said they would. There seems to be a number or people,
including you Rich, that have a problem with this.
I agree that the relationships between donors to National and the
Gumboot charity are of interest, but when a charity is the beneficiary
then as long as said charity meets its legal obligations with their
accounts, allegations of corruption are of significance only to
National's political opponents.
From Gerard Otto's Facebook page:
Threads of Corruption
If Aotearoa New Zealand was captured by a corrupt government what
would it look like?
In my opinion, you would most likely see a whole pattern of headlines
relating to hidden meetings with vested interests, electoral donations
that were not disclosed, conflicts of interest, attempts to bypass
checks and balances and protections, tearing down of barriers to
corruption, a concentration of executive power, crony findings by the
Auditor General, along with unsatisfactory excuses and "nothing to see
here" excuses about every instance that media happen to uncover.
The "that's ridiculous, I disagree strongly what I would say to
you..." scolding - by those trying to calm the farm and surmount
objections - soothing the suspicious eyes of those who are on the
case.
Never mind the "we have a mandate from the election" juxtaposed beside
"that was then, this is now" - selective morality of the Prime
Minister.
Sadly that is exactly what we are witnessing in New Zealand under
Christopher Luxon's watch.
Todd Stephenson, David MacLeod, Pullya Benefit, Naomi Ballantyne,
Shane Jones, Sir Bill English, and more ...all have the smell of
something corrupt around them right now ...but taken together...it is
exactly what it looks like...a festering sore...a wound, showing you
the larger reality - clustered up together ...this is the team at the
top.
As you know Todd Stephenson has multiple shareholdings in
pharmaceuticals companies while at the same time holding a position
just below the threshold where - Act would be forced to deal with this breaching the Cabinet Manual.
Act have Stephenson working as an activist to chip away at Pharmac and
open them up to all sorts of new crony drug access - while at the very
top - the Chair of the Board is Pullya Benefit...presiding over the
"nothing to see here" side of things.
Yes you might say "but surely it's a good thing, and Todd Stephenson
is listening to those stakeholders who are knocking on the door and
frustrated" - but is that what is really happening?
Others say - this is about imposing a more American Drug Company model
on New Zealand - and Stephenson' is compromised and too close to be in
there shaping matters - along with having a hand in "writing the
Minister's letter of expectation" to Pharmac. That needs to be
investigated.
At the same time - in mirrored shadow moves after the election - the
Atlas Network NZ Initiative appointed a pharmaceuticals Government
Affairs and Market access director to it's Board. Liz Naylor has
worked at Janssen, J&J, recently started up her own business...while
at the same time the pet political party has Todd Stephenson in place
- shaping things with Pharmac.
Yes the neoliberals are coming for Pharmac from all angles ...and that
whole replace the Chair with some crony to do our bidding trick -
might have also just happened over at Kainga Ora.
The opportunity to get state houses transferred to a Community
Associations where Private Capital swims is also the place to sell the
houses off or farm them out to Community Providers - and there's a new
Chair - a new Board - a lopsided report, written by Sir Bill who was
sold as "independent" and the half truth narrative about debt but not
asset values smells to high heaven.
It's all made more of a stink bomb that Luxon had engineered a problem
around Kainga Ora's financial viability in his 18 February speech to
the nation regarding the 10,200 houses that would only need to be sold
off - if National cut funding from 2025 onwards. Which they told
Kainga Ora was the case.
The dishonest dealings with the public and portrayal of half truths is
rife - and many want to know - so where did all that donor money
gifted to David MacLeod go?
Questions remain as National and its pet media hurry onwards to get
distance away from the festering details just beyond public scrutiny.
The Electoral Commission now needs to decide if this is an act of
corruption or an illegal act and if the latter - Police will
investigate.
It does not help that one of the undeclared donations given to David
MacLeod was from a company seeking environmental protection immunity
for future projects via National's Fast Track Consenting Bill.
Yes...that is what this looks like.
Speaking of Fast Track - Pumpkin Head Jones - had that secret meeting
with Coal Mining executives - and nobody thought it would be the one
time - a ministerial diary entry should be so important that
forgetting this would be tantamount to career suicide? But no ...a
staffer could be blamed...and you get the picture as the government
minimises the facts here.
The surprises keep coming thick and fast and we learned Naomi
Ballantyne - the new Chair of Mike King's "I am Hope" Foundation is a
big time National Party donor - shelling out thousands to get National
Across the line...and then Nek Minute - being the coincidental
benefactor of a procurement free $6 Million dollar per year political
grant to keep Winston happy.
Yes that cosy "RFP free" pathway to crony gold ahead of all the other
mental health providers, while Winston bangs on about the $5.70 return
on investment for every dollar and Mike King sings the "I had no idea
about Naomi's donations" song - all feels like you are being cheated.
It feels like you are being cheated cos you are.
Taken together each of the threads of corruption form a strong
interwoven rope that only the most ideological Act and Nat supporter
can still deny.
I have not mentioned the bogus rhetoric around Big Tobacco and a black
market, pseudoephedrine in pharmacies, stealing from the poor to give
to donors as reward, nullifying Te Tiriti, the broken promise to first
home buyers, the 80 transitional housing places in Sir Bill's wallet,
Steven Joyce and his Million Dollar deal with Waikato Uni, Steven
Joyce on $4,000 per day to set up a crony infrastructure agency under
Treasury, the appointment of Atlas Network Michael Johnston to the
Chair of a committee to review our school curriculum, the embedded
Atlas Network Matt Burgess as Luxon's economic advisor on no climate
action, the $2.9 Billion for Landlords as Sate house building grinds
to a halt, the return of soaring house price inflation with the 2 year Brightline and return of Interest Deductibility - followed by massive
rate increases, higher rents and more homelessness.
That would be all too much to swallow and nobody would believe it -
unless it was all brought together into one place.
If Aotearoa New Zealand was captured by a corrupt government what
would it look like?
Threads of Corruption
Morena
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