Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Annette Sykes
,
Dirty deals
,
Hone Harawira
,
Internet Mana Party
,
John Minto
,
Labour Party
,
Laila Harre
,
MMP
,
Patrick Gower
,
The Greens
3 News political editor Patrick Gower is angry, and he's telling the word about it. It's not John Key who has made him angry. Nor is it David Cunliffe, or the Greens, or even John Archibald Banks.
No; it's none of the above. So we'll let Gower himself tell you who he's angry with, and why:
The Hone-Dotcom-Laila political triangle is one of the dirtiest deals in New Zealand political history.It is as dirty as National-Act in Epsom.It is as dirty as the Key-Dunne deal in Ohariu.Frankly, Lalia Harré made me feel sick today when she said "it's time for New Zealanders to take back MMP".That's because Laila Harré is wrecking MMP.Hone Harawira is wrecking MMP.And Kim Dotcom is wrecking MMP.They are using Harawira's seat and MMP's "coat-tail" rule to get a back-door entry into Parliament.It is a rort.It is a grubby deal, made all the worse by the fact Harawira holds the Te Tai Tokerau seat - a Maori seat.The Maori seats are special. They have a unique constitutional role which is to give the Tangata Whenua a place of their own in the New Zealand Parliament.The Maori seats have been hard fought for.Never, ever was it envisaged they would be used as a back-door entry for a German millionaire to get his proxy into Parliament.This will give those opposed to Maori seats ammunition to get rid of them.
Patrick Gower is dead right. Whether you support the Maori seats or not, they are special. They recognition that Maori are tangata whenua, although with the number of Maori now being elected either in General seats or via party lists, their days may well be numbered. As Gower notes, Harawira is making bullets for opponents of the Maori seats to fire at him.
Gower isn't done yet though; he continues, by following the money trail:
Sadly, the Internet Mana deal has diminished the mana of the Maori seats.And even sadder too, this deal involves money.Harawira wants Dotcom's money.Annette Sykes wants Dotcom's money.John Minto wants Dotcom's money.They are all willing to pervert the MMP system for the sake of money and it is a venal deal.Don't try and tell me Laila Harré cares deeply about the internet. She cares about getting into Parliament.
