When a fugitive German "poisons" elections to unseat a Jew… and it backfires.

When a fugitive German "poisons" elections to unseat a Jew… and it backfires.

Thakur Ranjit Singh

It is a pity the way NZ Election has featured. Every man and his dog has been trying to blame Cunliffe for the historical win for National, which even surprised Key. Labour caucus, which appears to have a happy-trigger, please before apportioning blame, look at yourself first and YOUR DEVIDED HOUSE. You have already let us down – please accept the view of people, and do not let us down again. Please allow Cunliffe to complete his unfinished job of sitting in the back seat of Prime Ministerial BMW. You need to sort out your difference, without hanging your dirty lined in public. Stop tearing yourself apart.

DAVID CUNLIFFE - He should be given an opportunity by Labour caucus to finish his job, climaxing as Prime Minister  Caucus in a divided house with some MPs with a lackadaisical attitude to shadow ministry, doing nothing, is equally responsible for the current plight of Labour. If  Cunliffe goes, they should bear  collective accountability and forfeit their positions as well.

Read this article and contemplate on what no mainstream journalist has propagated. But a nondescript ethnic media commentator hazards to claim that there were outside forces beyond anybody’s control (with your collective internal deficiencies) which contributed to Labours thrashing at the polls. Please do not make Cunliffe a scapegoat of something that is collective weakness of Labour within the caucus. Read on…..

Congratulations to the Team Key for their historic win – the first time in history when a government for a third term retained power with an increased best ever results, with an unexpected thrashing for Labour. It appears, nobody could really explain this phenomenon in the results, which appeared to have shocked most people, including the victors.

 We had an election scenario where Bill English could not give details of any new economic spheres, where David Cunliffe seemed to have drawn, if not being the overall winner, in leader’s debate; where National had a lacklustre campaigning with nothing outstanding, and we had muddied waters and distractions favouring opposition. In such a situation Labour and its coalition were expected to just make it. Surprisingly, it was a disaster, a historic third term loss. What caused this historic win for Key?

How come I have all the Aces and Queens, but John Key is still the King? The big fat German, Kim  Dotcom, with the power of money obtained via questionable activities, thought he was King. How badly he had judged New Zealand public? 

The answer, among others, lies in the White Flight from Labour to National. People should realise that some 3 million of New Zealand’s population is of European descent (White, Anglo Saxons), which accounts for some 69% of our population of around 4.4 million. Hence, proportionally, this also comprises over 1.5 million “White “or some 70% of total voters. And when John Key proclaimed that some million voters gave party preference to National, he was perhaps correct. But what he failed to inform was that he himself was surprised with the unprecedented and unexpected shift from left. The win was a miracle in form of some external forces that never existed or occurred within the weeks of past elections.

The German, Dotcom (right) and the Jew, Prime Minister John Key( who traces his lineage to a Jewish family). Dotcom's hatred for Key blinded him to the fact that  politics was not for sale in New Zealand. After his failure, he admitted that he had poisoned  the electoral system and the party he propped up, where Hone Hariwera was a casualty, among others.

Firstly, never in the history of New Zealand elections did we have a German fugitive (Dotcom) trying to poison and unseat a Jewish Prime Minster (Key). In the rebound and the consequent electoral Holocaust, we witnessed genocide of Internet Mana, Conservatives and part of the Maori Party, with Labour party and coalition suffering the collateral damage of the White Flight. The Moment of Truth, which was supposed to be an explosion, boomeranged into a bomb-out situation of phus phus…s and putt…putt...putter. On the heels of claims of mass spying by Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) came the Australian terror raids on home-grown Islamic terrorists associated with ISIS, so close to home.

Terror raids in Australia, unearthed through their successful spy agency work on the terrorists. This backfired on Dotcom who was trying to paint an evil picture of spying, when Australia was saved by it.

The terrorists were reportedly at the final plans of beheading to spread terror in Sydney and Brisbane. They were unearthed because of an effective spying agency, which Internet Mana Party (read Dotcom) was trying to curb in New Zealand. In absence of such spying, Australia would have seen mayhem and possible bloodbath by ISIS terrorists. Many Kiwis felt they were prepared to sacrifice their privacy in exchange for security and safety from this type of terrorism. Just coming on the eve of NZ elections, this incident made Kiwi voters feel secure with Key: cautious mass spying, maintaining status quo and erring on the side of caution against erosion of privacy. Hence they milled around to support Key when he was under threat from “outsiders.”. The intent of Internet Mana party had a negative effect of consolidating Key’s position – there was White Flight from Labour to avoid having a government propped up by such shady characters.

Scotland referendum to stay with the Queen and be part of United Kingdom may have rekindled nationalistic feeling that  prompted white flight to National, which is seen as a representative party of people of European descent in New Zealand.

The second was the Scotland referendum and possible flow-on effect of rekindled British nationalism with victory of “No” voters. British-origin voters make the largest chunk of National and their potential voters. With National representing largely White right-wing voters, this has some unconscious effects. The publicity and love for mother-Britain flowing from this may have had some ethnocentric effect on British descendants to mill around their comfort zone, which is National.

The atrocities of ISIS have helped in the white flight-where especially white voters rallied around whom they felt they could trust and be safe with. They saw these things in National.

Thirdly, the threat of ISIS and folly of Britain, France and Germany, (and now Australia) with migration of people of one particular religious belief in large numbers gave rise to threat of home-grown terrorism. New Zealand currently have these people in smaller numbers. Nevertheless, this may have prompted the White Flight of people of European descent feeling safer with status quo, Key’s stability and a relatively “clean” characters within National Government and its partners.

Fourth is something internal. That is a perception of Labour’s Party nurturing and treating beneficiaries as a possible vote - bank. Working people and small business owners are against Labour’s soft stance on beneficiaries and people who use unemployment as a lifetime occupation. While they (taxpayers) are working hard and paying taxes, they claim these people have parties, make babies, get high on alcohol and drugs, kill babies, and commit crime in their lifestyle of waste. Labour is accused of cultivating a welfare state. Voters have positively viewed and approved National’s strong-arm tactic in pushing such people into employment.

The threat if ISIS helped people seek refuge in their comfort zone.

Finally, Labour to me seems to have had a very wanting and ineffective media and communication strategy, if they had one. Right-wing blogs had field days in tarnishing image of Labour while they do not appear to have any ammunition to counteract those character assassination, from “the smiling assassin” and associates. It is one thing to have policies, it is quite different to sell and protect them against dirty politics.

Labour can relax a little in the knowledge that election results were buoyed by some factors beyond their control. But they cannot blame others for internal infighting, poor management and administration issues discussed above. Labour also need to sort out the revival of ABC (anybody but Cunliffe) team and division among itself that appears to be a common knowledge.

There is a year to sort things out and prepare for a victory for the next two years. I suggest as per majority opinion polls, David Cunliffe has to continue as the leader to consolidate his position.  Like Gordon Tietjens who has taken NZ Rugby Sevens to ups and downs for over a decade, without being fired for a loss, I feel Cunliffe has much potential and experience curve to deliver. Anyway, I cannot see anybody in the lengths and breadths of Labour Party who could spar with an experienced John Key in any skills as a leader, as Cunliffe has done.

Terror raid in Australia led to protest by migrants, and this unconsciously forces the mainstream population to rally in their comfort zone. National Party has been providing that stable leadership and trusted government, where voters appear to have chosen status quo 

Hence, with Cunliffe, and with a bit of damage-control, media strategy and coaching, Labour has the best chance to counteract dirty politics, and match experience and acumen  of Key, and provide continuity and prospects of victory, come 2017.

Please, I plead, resurrect Labour, do not let Cunliffe’s exposure and experience go to waste. If anybody has to go, it is not David – but some of the caucus members who have spent their lifetime in Parliament, and their use-by date is over. Ask Chris Carter-he has already spoken on this. Please make way for younger blood and new generation to take over the party.

Labour Party (like National has done), needs new blood to rise from the (almost) dead.

[E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]

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DIRTY POLITICS-PART 5 of 5: WHEN KEY SMILING ASSASSIN KILLS OPPOSITION CHARACTERS

DIRTY POLITICS - PART 5: Chapters 11 & 12

When “the smiling assassin” Key assassinated Labour’s characters, using hired hunting hounds

Thakur Ranjit Singh

DIRTY POLITICS: PART 5 OF 5: KARMA OF DIRTY POLITCS HAS COME BACK TO BITE NATIONAL’S ASS

The sudden resignation of Todd Muller on 14 July, 2020 and the mayhem within National Party shows that your past actions may decide your destiny. The dirty politicking nurtured from John Key era came back to haunt National Party.

You can judge a person by the company he keeps, his accomplices and henchman. This article and a read of “Dirty Politics” exposes why John Key did not deserve to lead us if we wished to clean up politics in New Zealand. 

His association and reliance on hired hounds to depend on power had ruled him out as an honourable Prime Minister, but unfortunately voters wanted that in 2014.

Please read on, please...

During 2014 elections, I held a desire  for our people to elect government with a respectable and credible leader to be our Prime Minister for another three years.

Coming from Fiji, dirt in politics is acceptable, but I was perturbed at naivety and gullibility of Kiwis who have passed off Nicky Hager's “Dirty Politics” as a left-wing conspiracy, with their heads in the sand. It is far from that- it reveals a face of John Key that average Kiwis do not know about or get to see. 

You can judge a person by the company he keeps, his accomplices and henchman. This article and a read of “Dirty Politics” exposes why John Key did not deserve to lead us if we wished to clean up politics in New Zealand. 

His association and reliance on hired hounds to depend on power had ruled him out as an honourable Prime Minister, but unfortunately voters wanted that. Read on, please...

Attack politics has been quite popular as many people in positions of power have benefited from this. They are mostly respectable and successful people who were willing to use the dirty and dishonest services of Cameron Slater and his colleagues, on the assumption that their crimes would remain hidden and deniable. Personal and corporate advantages trumped ethics. But the biggest beneficiary and collaborator in the attack politics was former Prime Minister, John Key.

The Master and Prime Minister, John Key (middle) with key (pun-intended) tag team of attack-right wing bloggers, David Faraar (left) and Cameron Slater, who is the leader of the attack-pack, which barks, bites and tarnishes the image of political opponents. Victims, among others, have been David Cunliffe, Winston Peters, Phil Goff and a very-badly mauled and retired Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown. Informants included prostitute friends, among others.

By early in 2014 election year, John Key was working more closely than ever with Slater and Farrar. His staff was actively collaborating in a succession of political hits and stings. At that stage Key feared a close election and attack politics was a proven powerful tool.

Yours truly also felt something dirty was going wrong with the daily postings  in 2014 with relentless attacks against Labour and its coalition partners, and type of information revealed was as if Whale Oil had its ear to the horse’s mouth.

THE OSTRICH SYNDROME: National Party and John Key hoodwinked the nation by claiming that Dirty Politics was a left-wing conspiracy. This stance appear to expose more than the butts of the Ostrich and the National Party

There was this case to smear Winston Peters with the revelation through Whale Oil about “three visits" to Kim Dotcom’s mansion. It was also revealed that John Key “regularly called” Slater, and in one conversation, agreed that he discussed Dotcom. And Cameron Slater admitted:

 If the Prime Minister says I’m the source, I guess I must have been.

As I noticed the trend of Slater to mount this attack on Labour Party on any and every small issues. It became as dirty as it could get, with hound dogs, on constant trail of Labour.

There were about 500 articles attacking Labour in the first six months of the election year. Whale Oil in fact degenerated into Labour Party smear site. If David Cunliffe and Labour felt something was wrong, they were right-they were attacked by a pack of hunting dogs, hired by John Key and his National party hangers-on.

DAVID CUNLIFFE-Labour Leader in 2014 who aspired to be PM after 2014 elections. John Key utilized attack politics and Cameron Slater to tarnish Labour's image in general and Cunliffe's in particular, trying to project him as a liar and untrustworthy person. Dirty Politics had been well nurtured between John Key, Cameron Slater and other right-wing bloggers.

There was the case of Cunliffe’s grandfather’s military records or anything that could prove Cunliffe was a liar or somebody who could not be trusted. It was similar to ways blogs were used by US Republican Party where one staff’s job was to record everything that an opposition target said, and at any time anything ’stupid” was said, it was put on internet within 24 hours to be seen by a great number of people. This was the scenario Labour and Cunliffe were placed into by Whale Oil.

When Key first arrived back in New Zealand as a millionaire businessman and jumped into a safe National party seat, it emerged that his nickname while he was a currency trader had been “the smiling assassin” During the years he built closer ties and became more reliant on his lead hunting and attack hound, Cameron Slater, and his Whale Oil blog.

Slater became a victim of his own foul-mouth with his gratuitous insult about a young man who had died in Greymouth. Slater called him a “feral’" and that the death [the] did 'world a favour.’ In the ferocious public backlash that followed, Slater’s friends rallied around him to support him. 

According to revelations in his Facebook, one of those who phoned him to commiserate (console) was John Key. When the rest of the country was feeling appalled by Slater’s offensiveness, the Prime Minister of New Zealand was calling to show support.

A two faced Prime Minister, using two-track policy of attack politics, with one face of PM as a nice, smiling person, while on the other side, hires mongrels and hounds  in form of right-wing bloggers to maul and discredit political opponents, mostly Labour Party and its Coalition partners.

Slater’s comments about the man’s death are what apparently led to his website being taken down and eventually to the leak of the information that allowed this book [Dirty Politics] to be written. 

So, it is perhaps fitting that Key should share in this political karma. The retaliation against the remarks exposed both Key and Slater, the friendly and unfriendly faces of National, who secretly collaborated throughout the period of dirty politics.

Now, from last paragraphs of “DIRTY POLITICS

Finally, political ethics. A good deal of political commentary makes the mistake of thinking that if a politician or party is successful in the polls, this equates to worthiness and virtue.

Unfortunately, people sometimes succeed in politics, as in other spheres, precisely because they are not ethical.

There are simple rules about what is fair game in politics. It is legitimate to expose deliberate untruths, hidden influence and abuse of power: things that stop political people acting with integrity and accountability for their decisions and actions. 

But attacking other people’s personal lives and denigrating them as a tactic is not fair play. An overemphasis on small errors and slips also trivialises politics.

Cameron Slater of Whale Oil Blog (left) and Nicky Hagar, author of Dirty Politics. Hagar names Slater as Prime Minister John Key's lead hunting hound to discredit political opponents, so that National Party's and Key's name remains untarnished.

All countries need and deserve politicians who respect news media independence, freedom of information and the rights of their opponents; politicians who refrain from dirty tricks and abuses of power even when these could provide an advantage; politicians who would not knowingly use something as negative and unscrupulous as the Whale oil blog.

It is never right to poison the political environment for short-term political game.

People have to make a choice whether they want this type of dirt in their government. 

[Disclaimer: All information in the above articleare either direct quotations, para-phrasing, editing or interpretations from Nicky Hager’s book, Dirty Politics] 

[About the Author: Thakur Ranjit Singh completed his Masters in Communication Studies (with honours) at AUT on scholarship from Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) with the objective of adding colour to New Zealand's newsroom. But he ended up driving a bus - and is involved with community wellbeing, runs his blog, and occassionally ruffles a few feathers-AND HE IS DOING EXACTLY THAT NOW.
E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]

DIRTY POLITICS - PART 4:of 5: DAVID CUNLIFFE, DONGHUA LIU LETTER, A SHAMEFUL GOVERNMENT AND A GULLIBLE MEDIA

DIRTY POLITICS - PART 4 of 5: Chapter 12

Sting on Cunliffe: ANYTHING WRONG IN Donghua Liu’s immigration letter?

 Thakur Ranjit Singh

DIRTY POLITICS PART 4: WHEN DAVID CUNLIFFE WAS CRUCIFIED BY AN UNETHICAL NATIONAL PARTY AND A GULLIBLE AND WANTING MEDIA IN 2014

People need to appreciate that what Cunliffe did some 13 years ago was nothing wrong

What all MPs do - writing or signing the letter on standard requests, what they normally do to help their electorates.

Hard-working electorate executives write hundreds such requests like this every year. It needs to be noted that DONGHUA LIU, who lived in Cunliffe’s electorate, had been waiting eight months since his application had been accepted for processing and said:

IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO MR LIU TO BE ADVISED OF AN ESTIMATED PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH HE COULD EXPECT A DECISION ON HIS CASE

That was all. Cunliffe has not “ADVOCATED” for Liu, or apparently even met him: the residency application, it seems, had been arranged by an immigration consultant.

THE HOUNDS IN NATIONAL PARTY, LED BY THE NOTORIOUS “POSSUM IN HEADLIGHTS,” MICHEAL WOODHOUSE PLAYED EXTREMELY DIRTY…

Read and be shocked......

After reading Dirty Politics, I came out of it sick. I decided to pick the ending chapter where PM’s office dug up 11 year old letter on a Chinese businessman, to discredit David Cunliffe in their plan of negative campaigning. 

The irony hit me when I heard that New Zealand has some observers in Fiji to observe their election on 17 September, 2014. 

What a hypocrisy- how can they advise Fijians on good governance with such a rotten lot at the heart of their own government?

This is a case of John Key’s Office making mischief by digging into the files of its predecessors, and breaching the civilised conventions of a “clean” NZ politics. 

Sitting in the midst of negative politics was John Key. For years Jason Ede had been working in his office, two doors along the corridor, coordinating attack politics for National Government and his master, Key. This is but one example of that… continue reading.

DAVID CUNLIFFE was destined to be the Prime Minister of NZ in 2014 elections. But no, he was badly defeated, as New Zealand public had stomach to see next 3 years of same muddy waters  and sting on opposition politicins, coordinated from National Prime Minister's Office at the ninth floor of Beehive.

National’s close ties to wealthy Chinese immigrant donors had become a serious vulnerability for the party and they were keen to turn attention back on Labour. This was after the National Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson was forced to resign in May 2014 after he had phoned a senior police officer to advocate, and reportedly plead on behalf of Donghua Liu in a domestic violence charges. The minister did that because Liu, a Chinese immigrant businessman was National Party donor.

DONGHUA LIU: National Party donor, on whose case of domestic violence, National Cabinet Minister, Maurice Williamson was forced to resign. National dug up 11 year old electorate letter that Cunliffe signed, to malign and discredit Cunliffe for not remembering signing a letter so long ago. How low can politics get in Aotearoa?.

Six weeks later, on Tuesday June 17, the monkey was placed on David Cunliffe’s back, when in a crafty and questionable media ethics, he was asked “leading” and well-rehearsed questions about his acquaintance with the same person - Donghua Liu. On whether he had ever met Liu, had anything to do in granting permanent residency or had advocated on his behalf. Cunliffe said “I don’t recall, no” to all the leading questions.

Lo and behold, the next morning, government released a letter to media under the Official Information Act, which Cunliffe had written to the Immigration Service in 2003 about Liu’s residency application. This was 11 years earlier.

Media and National Party leadership jumped on Cunliffe, accusing him of telling a lie, being untrustworthy, not fit to lead. NZ Herald’s chief political commentator John Armstrong said that Cunliffe was in deep trouble and would have to resign as Labour leader.

John Key, who was in New York, and had orchestrated and had prior knowledge of this charade, jumped on the gravy train, and said ‘politics is about trust” and asked Cunliffe to explain his lie about any involvement with their donor, Liu. Deputy PM Bill English also joined the sham, accusing Cunliffe of being “tricky” and could not be trusted.

For years Jason Ede had been working in his office, two doors along the corridor, (to John Key's office) coordinating attack politics for National Government and his master - John Key

Unbeknown to Cunliffe, National’s Cabinet Minister Michael Woodhouse, who had released the Cunliffe letter, admitted Key was aware of the letter around 10 May, 2014. Hence they has weeks to sit on the letter and plan what to do with the letter.

All indications here are that Government orchestrated the release of the letter to harm Cunliffe. First, as with Goff-SIS hit (Israeli backpacker case, see part 2), journalists have been tipped off to make the official information request-by someone who knew about the Liu letter. 

Next, the requested information was fast-tracked and released two days after the requests were submitted- something unheard during normal situations.

But most obviously suspicious was the way the story came out. Why was Cunliffe asked very specific questions about his personal links to Liu just 24 hours before the fast-tracked letter reached the media? 

At that stage no one outside government supposedly even knew about the letter or any links to Liu existed. The political damage arose because Cunliffe was asked those questions when he did not know about the letter. It was the denial, not the letter itself that provided ammunition for the accusation of unworthiness and lying.

People need to appreciate that what Cunliffe did some 13 years ago was nothing wrong, something that all MPs do, writing or signing the letter. It was standard request what other MPs normally do. Hard-working electorate executives write hundreds like this every year. It noted that Donghua Liu, who lived in Cunliffe’s electorate, had been waiting eight months since his application had been accepted for processing and said “it would be helpful to Mr Liu to be advised of an estimated period of time in which he could expect a decision on his case.” That was all. Cunliffe has not “advocated” for Liu, or apparently even met him: the residency application, it seems, had been arranged by an immigration consultant.

The fact is that it was politically twisted to show that Cunliffe had lied. He had not. After 11 years, like most normal beings, he simply did not remember the letter. It was one of the thousands from his constituents who has asked for help during the years as an MP.

 

In a two track system of  Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, National recruited hunting hounds in form of bloggers, like Whale Oil to do their dirty work, while projecting the smiling nice face of John Key to NZ public. Jason Ede from Key's office was nurturing and feeding these hunting dogs.

There is a bigger implication in this case. In arranging to tip-off the media and release the letter, the government had abused its powers and its control over public files. Any government can make endless mischief by digging into the files of its predecessors, but they usually refrain from doing this. And the usual understanding is that the current government checks with the previous government before releasing politically sensitive material requested via the Official Information Act (OIA). 

But in this Cunliffe’s case, release without warning was the plan – a plan to discredit Cunliffe by throwing the bait at a gullible and wanting media. That is how dirty Key and National are. Do they deserve another term? You get what you deserve.

[E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]

[Disclaimer: All information in the above article are  either direct quotations, paraphrased or interpretations from Nicky Hager’s book, DIRTY POLITICS

NEXT -PART 5 of 5 - HOW THE "SMILING

  ASSASSIN" JOHN KEY USED PACKS OF "WILD  DOGS" TO ATTACK AND MAUL POLITICAL OPPONENTS, USING IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL TACTICS.

[About the Author: Thakur Ranjit Singh completed his Masters in Communication Studies (with honours) at AUT on scholarship from Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) with the objective of adding colour to New Zealand's newsroom. But he ended up driving a bus - and is involved with community wellbeing, runs his blog, and occassionally ruffles a few feathers-AND HE IS DOING EXACTLY THAT NOW.

E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]

DIRTY POLITICS PART 3 OF 5: JUDITH COLLINS FEEDING GOVERNMENT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO WHALE OIL

DIRTY POLITICS - PART 3 (of 5): Chapter 4

When “Crusher“Judith Collins becomes the National’s horse, speaking into the Whale’s ear

Thakur Ranjit Singh

DIRTY POLITICS ANALYSIS - PART 3 OF 5

JUDITH COLLINS – DID SHE PULL PUNCH IN HER BOOK ABOUT HER ROLE IN DIRTY POLITICKING IN THE NATIONAL CABINET?

Nicky Hager’s book, DIRTY POLITICS raised a number of concerns about COLLINS.

-      She was apparently unworried about the leak of police evidence.

-      She was directly involved in providing information about and attacking a Ministerial Services staff member.

-      She disclosed confidential department and client information.

-      She made it her business to feed a stream of information, gossip and documents for use on the Whale Oil site.

Read and be ashamed of a Third World–Type Government clandestine actions in a First World Civilised Democracy to abuse its position to discredit opposition.

Also be ashamed about a shameful mainstream media to have discounted this as a left wing-conspiracy

Please read and be shocked…two more parts coming, including role Michael Woodhouse played in discrediting the then labour leader, David Cunliffe .. Please read on..

An indelible link between the Beehive and Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater has damaged the Key brand. 

The Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde character of John Key has been revealed by Nicky Hager's Dirty Politics, revealing him as a leader lacking courage to stand up for integrity and a vision of shaping the country on foundation of a clean governance.

"You naughty boy! I was after your position,  but you got rid of me. But I will come back - and tell all". [Photo from The Daily Blog, KIWI PUNDIT caption]

The other excess baggage that voters should not forget is the unholy alliance between the “sacked” Justice/Police and ACC Minister Judith Collins and Cameron Slater. 

In this unethical and immoral marriage, confidentiality and sensitivity of Cabinet Office and executive arm of government have been compromised. This is when the Cabinet “horse” (or shall we say, the mare?) regularly mouthed such information in the blogger friend’s ear, for equally unholy usages. 

Wonder if Collins has courage to tell these dirty and dark secrets in her 2020 book "Pull No Punches". These immoral and unethical, if not illegal, revelations have been made by Nicky Hager in his 2014 book DIRTY POLITICS. Please read on...............

Whale Oil blogger used to hear it from the horse's mouths, both from the Beehive (Prime Minister's Office) and the then Cabinet Office of Justice/ Police/ACC Minister, Judith Collins

The adage, “birds of feather, flock together” is true for the unholy alliance between Cameron Slater and Judith Collins. 

While the contact point of other attack-bloggers to the National Government over many years have been John Key’s office, Slater seemed to be privileged in having his ear close to "his close friend and ally in the Government " - in fact in Key's Cabinet, Minister Judith Collins.

They had much in common. One cultivated the iron woman persona of Crusher Collins, future Prime Minister, the other the reckless bully-boy persona of Whale Oil, crusading outsider. They were drawn together by right-wing politics and a shared attraction to aggressive and often petty attack politics. 

Slater was a devoted supporter of Collins, using his blogs to promote her and to attack her critics. Collins, in return, fed a continuous supply of material to Slater: public press release, political gossip, tip-offs and serious leaks. She boasted for him in 2013 that “you might not like it but Whale Oil is better informed and better read than any other news outlet or social media. (p.45)

 They were in constant touch, via phone and e-mail. Perhaps this now explains why Whale Oil had unfair advantage and blessings (and hence reach and popularity) over others.

DR JEKYLL and MR HYDE: In light of revelations by the book, DIRTY POLITICS, does this image look familiar? Whose character does this represents, who projects a two-faced image to Kiwis? Guess, can name the key (pun intended) suspect?

While Chapter 4 illustrates cases of various other communication, including the case of transfer of a prisoner, where Slater used to “hear” directly from National’s Cabinet Office, the case of Bronwyn Pullar, a former National Party activist, needs mention. This is a case where details of some 6,700 Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) clients were accidently sent to Pullar, who herself was a client of ACC, of which Collins was the Minister. 

The support person of Pullar in negotiations was former National Party President Michelle Boag. Slater had an axe to grind with Boag because she was the person who replaced John Slater, Cameron’s father as president of National Party many years earlier. Hence, he regarded Boag as an enemy and attacked her at every opportunity. A leak was made to Herald on Sunday and key players were named and it became a controversial issue. Collins denied that she or her office leaked the letter.

That in gist reveals what happens when the Captain of a ship refuses to make himself informed of the message because he is so busy shooting the messenger. He should have fired Collins a long time ago. He needs to continuously and continually get informed, even from those he despises.

This chapter (chapter 4) raises a number of concerns about Collins: she was apparently unworried about the leak of police evidence; she was directly involved in providing information about and attacking a Ministerial Services staff member; she disclosed confidential department and client information, not to mention possibly leaking controversial Pullar e-mail; she made it her business to feed a stream of information, gossip and documents for use on the Whale Oil site. She was also a close friend and trusted confidante of Cameron Slater, which says much about her as a politician. 

This is how Dirty Politics REVEALED the image of John Key : A nice smiling likable man to the public, who had hired hounds to do all National Party's dirty work, to make him look clean-and good.

What surprises yours truly, this Kiwi Fiji Indian, who has seem much muck in Fiji, is the uncanny ability of mainstream Kiwis to be and remain unaffected by the filth that Dirty Politics dug up. And more so, their uncanny ability to take so much of s*** from a government whose leader appears to project such a clean and likeable image. 

And a bigger shame is for the supposedly watchdog mainstream NZ media to have apparently taken a pet dog attitude when it came to revealing the shortfalls of the smiling assassin. 

Why does it take a little known migrant ethnic blogger to raise very serious issues in the past National Government, whose leader has since been Knighted?

Wonder whether this generally happens, and whether this should happen in a civilised First World Democracy like Aotearoa. 

[E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]

[Disclaimer: All information in the above article is either direct quotations or interpretations from Nicky Hager’s book, Dirty Politics]

NEXT - PART 4 OF 5

WHEN DAVID CUNLIFFE WAS ATTACKED BY NATIONAL'S DOGS REGARDING DONGHUA LIU, ASKED TO RESIGN FOR LYING AND THE ROLE MICHAEL WOODHOUSE PLAYED IN DISCREDITING CUNLIFFE

[About the Author: Thakur Ranjit Singh completed his Masters in Communication Studies (with honours) at AUT on scholarship from Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) with the objective of adding colour to New Zealand's newsroom. But he ended up driving a bus - and is involved with community wellbeing, runs his blog, and occassionally ruffles a few feathers-AND HE IS DOING EXACTLY THAT NOW.
E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]