0 Tweet of the Day - 11 June 2014

Mark Mitchell, the National MP for Rodney doesn't seem to have taken too kindly to suggestions that Colin Craig will be cut a deal in his electorate; check this out:

It sounds as though there'll be no cups of tea in Rodney in the immediate future. 

In the meantime, instead of inane tweets about election signs having been blown down during last night's storm, Mr Mitchell is using Twitter to feed information to his constituents:

Matthew Beveridge notes:

Some hold that there is a difference between electorate and list MPs, that electorate MPs are directly elected and represent a geographic area. If we hold that this is true, then surely the time to step up and help your constituents is when things are not going well. I am not based in Auckland, so I don’t have first hand knowledge of how bad things up there are, other than Stuff and The NZ Herald’s coverage. But they are both reporting 40-50,000 customers without power, wind speeds of over 150km/h, and a truck blown over on the Harbour Bridge. Twitter would provide a great way for MPs to point people in the right direction of where to ask for help, or offering to do what they can. So far, the only MP who has really done that is Mark Mitchell.

Even though he is a new Twitter user, he seems to get how it can be used. My personal view is that all of the other Auckland based electorate MPs have been found wanting in their response.  Twitter can be a great way to show support for people who feel vulnerable, and to point people in the direction of either help, or how they can help. I think this is a sign that MPs still don’t understand the power and usefulness of Twitter.

Well done Mark Mitchell. That tweet should be framed, then go straight to the pool room!

0 Dotcom's mission to "destroy"

Here's a story that you might find if you dig around the news websites, but you won't see on TV; Stuff reports:

Kim Dotcom vowed to "destroy" John Banks and Prime Minister John Key, MP Mark Mitchell has told the High Court in Auckland.
Mitchell, the National MP for Rodney, today gave evidence for the defence at ACT MP Banks' trial for filing a false electoral return.
Mitchell said he had met Dotcom at a barbecue in his electorate where the internet entrepreneur was "agitated" about the case to extradite Dotcom to the US on criminal copyright charges.
He said Dotcom told him: "I'm going to destroy John Key, I'm going to take down John Banks, I'm going to take down the Government."
Mitchell's other evidence was suppressed. 

We blogged about a speech Mark Mitchell gave in Parliament recently. If you want the detail of what Mr Mitchell alleged, the full Hansard transcript of his speech is on that post.

Mark Mitchell's evidence yesterday certainly suggests that Kim Dotcom had an ulterior motive in the evidence he and his estranged wife gave against John Banks last week. Mr Banks' wife Amanda gave evidence yesterday which contradicted that of the Dotcoms.

Over at Homepaddock, Ele comments on this issue:

Dotcom ought to be very grateful he’s in New Zealand which shows a great deal more respect for the law and democracy than he appears to.
In many other countries that sort of tirade against a Prime Minister and MP would result in a charge of treason and in some they wouldn’t bother with such niceties as a fair trial before reaching a verdict.

We couldn't agree more. The sooner that Dotcom's extradition case is heard and a decision made, the better for New Zealand

0 Serious allegations against Kim Dotcom

Serious allegations have been made against Kim Dotcom in Parliament this afternoon. 

Speaking in the General Debate, and under parliamentary privilege, Rodney MP Mark Mitchell recounted an incident which occurred at a function he attended last year. Here's what Mr Mitchell had to say:

Mr Speaker,

I stand in this house today to make a statement.

Late last year my family had been at a property in my electorate where my stepson had been testing his rally car in preparation for competing in his father’s memorial rally.

Later that evening my wife Peggy and I attended a barbeque at the same property.

While there I was confronted by Mr Kim Dotcom who was also a guest.

I could only describe the conversation as chilling, direct threats were made by Mr Dotcom towards our Prime Minister. He stated that he could and would destroy the Prime Minister and that he already had Members of our Parliament working with him to achieve this.

We left immediately, because I have had many years of dealing with and being exposed to violent and intimidatory people I didn’t immediately recognise the seriousness of the situation.

But sadly in our vehicle with my wife it was obvious that she was shaken and the nature of the threats had frightened her.

I didn’t believe Mr Dotcoms claims that Members of our New Zealand Parliament were actively collaborating with him.

A good opposition’s job is to challenge the Government, to ensure that Ministers remain laser focused on their portfolio’s, to challenge policy ideas and try to present an alternate Government.

I watched in amazement as it became apparent that members of parliament were collaborating with Mr Dotcom at his Mansion in Coatesville.

I felt that a sinister corner had been turned for the first time in our country’s history when Opposition parties appear to have given up challenging our Prime Minister through debate and Policy ideas and have instead turned to assisting Mr Dotcom in his mission to destroy our Prime Minister.

Every time one of the opposition MPs drove into the Dotcom mansion they were driving past people and being served by people who were scared, who hadn’t been paid, who were struggling to support their own families. Imagine what they were thinking when they saw our country’s political leaders bowing down to that same person. Where could they turn for help when the country’s Political leaders appeared to be in the back pocket of Mr Dotcom.

Is it true that Mr Dotcom tasked Labour with further development of a IT policy he had been working on?

Is it true that Mr Norman leader of the Green Party was tasked with challenging his extradition to the United States?

Is it true that Mr Peters was given questions by Mr Dotcom to bring to the house to attack the Prime Minister?

I’ve now had time to reflect on the abusive behaviour of Mr Dotcom at the function I attended in my electorate late last year.

The violence of the threats towards our Prime Minister have not left me and today I felt it was important to place these matters on the record of this house.

I believe the people of this country are beginning to question the real motives of Mr Dotcom.

From my own experience he is a man who uses threats and intimidation on people to get what he wants.

I wait to see what the next instruction or order given from the Dotcom Mansion is to members of this house?

These are very serious allegations that go right to the heart of New Zealand's parliamentary democracy. Similar allegations have been made in the blogosphere, but for the first time, Herr Dotcom's attempts to subvert democracy have been placed on Hansard. They will remain on the journal of the House forever.

These are allegations which simply must be addressed and confronted. If Dotcom has indeed made specific threats about the Prime Minister, or for that matter any person they should be investigated thoroughly. We do not doubt Dotcom's capacity to carry threats through.

And if Members of Parliament have conspired with Dotcom to intervene in the course of the justice system and to help him follow through on his threat to "destroy the Prime Minister", that would send shock-waves through the political system.

If the allegations made by Mark Mitchell are not true, let those against whom they were made, including Kim Dotcom deny them. If there are no denials forthcoming, we can only assume that something very rotten is going on in New Zealand politics, and that our misgivings about Dotcom's entry into the New Zealand political system are well founded.


UPDATE: Courtesy of In the House, here is the video clip of Mark Mitchell's speech: