0 Boom!

The Donghua Liu donations saga seemed to have disappeared from our consciousness. But just as Labour MP's head to Wellington for the party's congress, the Herald has lobbed a bomb in Labour's direction; check this out:

A former Labour Minister intervened three times in the immigration bid of Donghua Liu including waiving the English language requirement for the millionaire businessman.
Damien O'Connor, in his role as the associate Immigration Minister, wrote three letters to Liu's advisor Warren Kyd - the former National Party MP - before deciding to grant residency against the advice of officials the day before the 2005 election.

The Herald goes on to detail Damien O'Connor's interventions, based on letters obtained under the Official Information Act:

The West Coast MP has said he cannot remember why he granted residency to the businessman whose links to both National and Labour have created political waves this year.
But letters released to the Herald under the Official Information Act show Mr O'Connor was being lobbied by Mr Kyd on behalf of Liu in the lead up to the tightly fought election.
The first, dated June 1 2005, stated Mr O'Connor would not intervene on Liu's behalf in regards to an "amended photograph" submitted as part of the immigration application.

"As my previous intervention on Mr Liu's behalf shows, I think Mr Liu has to date had a positive impact in New Zealand, and to this end, I would encourage him to lodge another application for residence.
"Mr Liu should be advised that I have instructed the Immigration Service to receive any such application without prejudice which may have been caused by his previous application."
There is no explanation of the "previous intervention" of Mr O'Connor, who accepted Mr Kyd's explanation that a third party was responsible for the "amended photograph" on the file.
A second letter to Mr Kyd, dated August 9 2005, reveals Mr O'Connor said "it is not my normal practice to intervene in the established immigration application process, however, I have decided to make an exception in this case.
"I have directed the Department of Labour Immigration Service to waive the English language requirements for Donghua Liu for any forthcoming residence application."
Mr O'Connor suggested Liu should enclose a copy of the letter with application, to be lodged within two years.

Somewhere along the line though, Mr O'Connor's position changed; the very day before the 2005 General Election, which was at that point anybody's race; read on:

A third letter to Mr Kyd, dated September 16, 2005 - the day before the election - stated Mr O'Connor had considered the case carefully and "decided to intervene".
"I am therefore instructing the Department of Labour Immigration Service to gran residence to Mr Liu as an exception to policy. The grant of residence will be subject to Mr Liu completing an application form, paying an application fee and meeting health and character requirements".
The residency was granted under the terms of the Investor Category at the time.

You can view the letters from Damien O'Connor here.

This bombshell from Jared Savage at the Herald raises some huge questions. What changed between 1 June 2005 and 16 September 2005 to cause Mr O'Connor to have a significant change in his approach to the Liu case? Was pressure brought on the MP, and if so, from whom. Did pressure come from people within the Labour Party? Why can Damien O'Connor not remember a case in which he had several interventions? And if it was "not my normal practice to intervene" in immigration applications, why did he intervene, not once but thrice in the Liu case?

And why the urgency to decide Donghua Liu's residence application as an exception to policy on the eve of a General Election in which Labour had a very real chance of being voted out? There are possible answers to that question that cut to the heart of the integrity of politics in New Zealand.

David Cunliffe will be seething. Not only has the Herald taken the focus off Labour's election-year congress, but he is now going to be bombarded with questions as to Damian O'Connor's conduct. Those questions will have added validity after the way that Labour attacked National and Maurice Williamson over the latter's phone call to the the police after Liu's arrest on domestic violence charges.

And Damien O'Connor needs to recover his memory, and quickly. He has some very significant questions to answer about Donghua Liu, and the circumstances in which Mr Liu was given New Zealand residence.

0 The Herald gets defiant

The NZ Herald has faced accusations of political bias many times before. Labour List MP Jill Pettis, voted out by the good folk of Whanganui in 2005, described Granny Herald in 2007 as "a Tory rag". Others complain at the paper's left-wing leanings.

This week, it is Labour and its supporters crying "foul". And that has prompted the Herald to tell its side of the story. In ad editorial headed Cries of bias will not stop reporting the Herald's response begins thus:

It is common in election years for political parties under pressure to attempt to shoot the messenger. In 2005, the Herald was stridently criticised and accused of bias by National supporters for our reportage of Dr Don Brash and the Exclusive Brethren. In 2008 it was the turn of Winston Peters and his New Zealand First people to call for resignations of the editor and political editor for the inconvenient revelation of funding from millionaire Owen Glenn, despite his "No" sign. Last election it was National partisans again, livid at the Herald on Sunday and Herald for John Key and John Banks talking openly before a microphone accidentally left on their "cup of tea" table in a cafe.
This year it is the turn of Labour and its leader, David Cunliffe, incensed at reporting on the donations to the party and its MPs by the controversial Chinese migrant Donghua Liu -- and that party's connections to him.

Mr Cunliffe is considering unspecified legal options against the Herald. Party supporters have weighed in with accusations of political bias and complicated right-wing conspiracies.
The noise obscures the validity of the Herald's reporting. Investigations editor Jared Savage began his reports in March on Donghua Liu and the circumstances of his being granted citizenship. The focus then was on Liu's donations to National after his citizenship was approved by a National minister against official advice. Savage then revealed Liu had been charged with domestic violence, followed by the revelation that National's Maurice Williamson intervened in Liu's case by contacting the police -- which led to Williamson's resignation as minister and criticism from some in National of the Herald's story.
Savage then learned Liu had made donations to Labour as well in 2007, the party claiming no record of such funding. Next we revealed Mr Cunliffe, a day after denying any advocacy for Liu during his residency application, had, in fact, sent a letter to the Immigration Service outlining Liu's investment intentions and giving them a hurry-up in making a decision.
This was all very inconvenient for National and then Labour but pertinent to the public interest in an election year.

Maurice Williamson is probably wishing these days he had never heard of Donghua Liu. But so is former Labour Party Minister Rick Barker. Interesting, Mr Barker seems to be recovering his memory with regard to the Chinese businessman; we'll have more on that later today.

But the Herald is right; the public interest is of more importance than the reputation of MP's who may or may not have acted according to Hoyle.

The leader writer concludes:

At the weekend, the Herald on Sunday reported from a signed statement by Liu in which he appeared to claim he spent $100,000 on wine at a Labour fundraiser and $50,000-$60,000 hosting former Labour MP Rick Barker in China. The paper verified the document was from Liu and put its claims to Mr Cunliffe and the Labour Party.
On Wednesday, Liu provided the Herald with another statement, after being pressed for more detail, in which he corrected his previous implication that $100,000 was paid for a bottle of wine and limited his total spend on Labour and its MPs when it was in power to "close to $100,000".
The Herald immediately published his clarification, with prominence on our website, where it remains, and amended the Herald on Sunday story online. The Sunday paper will publish a clarification this weekend.
Liu's mis-statement, however, has been grasped as proof of Herald complicity in a plot against Labour. The claim is risible, across the range of political coverage but also explicitly over the Herald's investigation of National and Labour and their damaging cosiness with Donghua Liu.
We regret having reported inflated and conflated dollar figures.
The core issue remains, however: At a minimum, removing Mr Barker's China trip and a donation to a rowing club the MP's daughter belonged to, Labour faces Liu's claim that he made $38,000 in donations to the party and anonymously through MPs.
We make no apology for seeking the truth behind political parties' donations and possible cronyism. Inevitably, that hits raw nerves in election year.

The Herald did the right thing by publishing Donghua Liu's amended statement as soon as it was received. And Mr Liu is standing by his statement that he donated to the Labour Party.

As the Herald notes, around $38,000 remains unaccounted for and undeclared. That's almost twice as much as National declared having received from Mr Liu. Given the political capital Labour tried to generate from the donation declared by National, the possibility that its own house may not be in order is an obvious issue.

As we noted above, the public interest demands that the Herald publish information it receives on any politicians or parties which may have done something dodgy. New Zealand faces an important decision in twelve weeks' time, and voters need to be informed of anything which may be relevant to the way they cast their votes.

On this occasion it is the Labour Party and its cheerleaders feeling aggrieved. Doubtless at some point the boot will be on the other foot. But that's why we have a free press, which follows the old maxim to "publish and be damned". 

Instead of threatening Mr Liu and the Herald with legal action, David Cunliffe, Moira Coatsworth and Tim Barnett should go digging , and find where Mr Liu's money went.

0 Two perspectives on duck shooting

The duck shooting season opened yesterday. There was enough low cloud in our area first thing that a few ducks will have ended up being eaten, but the weather is more to the ducks' advantage today.

So here are a couple of perspectives on the annual ritual. The first is from Bromhead in the Herald:

Maurice Williamson will indeed be seeking sanctuary after a bruising week. How such a senior MP could have such a brain fade eludes us.

The other is from a shooter himself, and a well known hunter of mallards (and Mallards) himself:

It looks as though duck will be on the menu in the Slater household in coming days. Perhaps as a gesture of goodwill, Cameron Slater should invite Trevor Mallard around for a feed!

As partial as we are to a feed of duck, we've never felt the urge to go out and shoot one. But for those who do, and help keep the duck population under control, good, safe shooting.

0 We can't help but wonder...

Labour's candidate in Pakuranga is a psychologist. And Barry Kirker has offered a professional opinion in this presser:

Barry Kirker
Labour candidate for Pakuranga
2 May, 2014
Media Statement on Maurice Williamson
Pakuranga residents expect and deserve more from their elected Member of Parliament, Labour’s candidate for Pakuranga Barry Kirker says.
“National MP Maurice Williamson has failed the people of Pakuranga.
“Taking care of their friends has become standard practise for ministers in the National-led Government. Maurice Williamson’s lack of judgement follows falls from grace from his colleagues including Pansy Wong, Richard Worth, Judith Collins, John Banks and Nick Smith.
“Those who donate to the National Party appear to get special treatment from Government ministers. This is not a trend I want to see occurring in New Zealand.
“Sadly many local people I have spoken to are not surprised by Maurice Williamson’s actions. He has a reputation for questionable judgment and character.
“Locals are also concerned Maurice Williamson has been taking the electorate for granted and pursing his own personal interests.
“In my experience as a psychologist, people who have serious lapses of judgement such as this, have often engaged in similar questionable behaviour before they were caught out.
“I am running a campaign based on the need for new face in Pakuranga, integrity of character, putting people before profits, equal treatment for everyone in the electorate and transparency in Government.
“A Labour government will represent all of society, not just the wealthy,” Barry Kirker says.

Politicians are indeed complex beings, and analyzing them is probably a challenge for even the best psychologist. But given that Mr Kirker has delivered his considered professional opinion on Maurice Williamson, we can't help but wonder what he makes of other politicians.

For example, what does he make of David Cunliffe's demands that everyone else but him have to be transparent about donations when Mr Cunliffe accepted anonymous donations last year via a secret trust. Is this indicative of "similar questionable behaviour" before he was caught out? And what does he make of Trevor Mallard's bullying and innuendo, and his homophobic interjections in Parliament? 

What is Mr Kirker's professional opinion on Metiria Turei, and her claims of racism or sexism whenever she is criticised? What does he make of Hone Harawira supposedly standing up for poor people, then cuddling up to a German billionaire? 

We could even wonder about how Mr Kirker might view Winston Peters, but that is probably beyond the capability of any psychologist! But we do look forward to Barry Kirker producing the examples of Maurice Williamson's "questionable judgment and character" that he alleges. 

After all, a candidate promising "integrity of character" wouldn't make baseless, opportunistic smears now, would he?

0 A bouquet for the PM

John Key has been praised for his response to the Maurice Williamson affair. Andrea Vance at Stuff opines:

Neatly done prime minister.
The handling of Maurice Williamson's cloddish attempts to intervene in a police investigation was textbook.
Key axed his statistics minister with ruthless efficiency.
As he admitted this morning, he had little choice. Williamson had crossed the line where careers can be saved.
After Judith Collins' questionable dalliances with Chinese company Oravida, National could not afford another whiff of cronyism.
Even the best spin doctors would struggle to contain a scandal that involves a long-serving minister, domestic violence and a wealthy donor.

John Key has since told media that he first became aware of the issue on Tuesday. There was obviously a flurry of activity yesterday, and there was a lag of only three hours this morning between the story breaking and the PM accepting Maurice Williamson's resignation as a Minister.

On the other hand, David Cunliffe has received nothing but scorn for his response to the resignation announcement. A number of journalists ripped into the Labour leader via social media for his answers by rote at the media conference he himself called on the issue, whilst Barry Soper mocked Cunliffe relentlessly when he was on with Larry Williams on Newstalk ZB. And as we type this, Seven Sharp is taking the piss out of Mr Cunliffe.

Here's but one example of the social media comment:

The general feeling is that David Cunliffe has had some media training, and that his automaton-like responses today when HE had called the media to gather for his words of wisdom was proof that the training had worked. But not necessarily in the desired manner.

0 UPDATED: PM responds to Williamson allegations; Williamson resigns

UPDATE: Maurice Williamson has gone by lunchtime; as a Minister, at least. John Key has just announced that he has accepted Williamson's resignation. The PM's office has just released this statement:

PM accepts resignation of Maurice Williamson

Prime Minister John Key today announced he has accepted the resignation of Maurice Williamson as a Minister.

“I have been made aware that Mr Williamson contacted Police some time ago regarding their investigation of Mr Donghua Liu,” Mr Key says.

“Mr Williamson has assured me that he did not in any way intend to influence the Police investigation.

“However, Mr Williamson’s decision to discuss the investigation with Police was a significant error of judgement.

“The independence of Police investigations is a fundamental part of our country’s legal framework.

“Mr Williamson’s actions have been very unwise as they have the potential to bring that independence into question.

“I have advised the Governor General to accept Mr Williamson’s resignation as a Minister.

Mr Key said he will appoint a new Minister outside Cabinet early next week and in the meantime, Nick Smith will act in the Building and Construction portfolio, Nathan Guy in Land Information, and Simon Bridges in Customs and Statistics.

For an MP and Minister of Williamson's experience to have made an error of judgment such as this is inexplicable, and he has no one to blame but himself. John Key would surely have sacked Williamson had he not resigned.

The Prime Minister is fronting a media stand-up at 12.15pm to answer questions on this issue. Stay tuned...

*************************

Stuff is reporting that John Key will make a statement "soon" regarding allegations against Maurice Williamson; check this out:

Prime Minister John Key will make a statement soon about reports cabinet minister Maurice Williamson called a top policeman after a wealthy businessman with close ties to him was arrested on domestic violence charges.
A spokeswoman for Key said there was no comment now but there would be a comment "later this morning".
The New Zealand Herald is reporting the Prime Minister was told by police, under the "no surprises" policy, that Maurice Williamson contacted them about the arrest of Donghua Liu.
Former Labour associate immigration minister Damien O'Connor approved residency for the wealthy Chinese businessman in 2005, against officials' advice.
Williamson lobbied ministerial colleagues heavily on behalf of Liu's citizenship bid.
Liu was arrested in December following a domestic violence incident with his partner and her mother at the Boulevard Hotel. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman and assault with intent to injure. 

The full Herald story can be viewed here. If there has been any meddling by Maurice Williamson in the criminal case, he would be in big strife. Rather than speculate however, we will await the PM's announcement, and comment further then.