Threads of Corruption
A guest newsletter by Gerard Otto.
I could corrupt you
It would be ugly
They could sedate you
But what good would drugs be?
Good Morning all,
Today there’s a guest newsletter from Gerard Otto (G). By which I mean I read his post this morning and he has kindly allowed me to share it with you.
If you don’t already I recommend you check out his G News site over on Facebook. Right, without further rambling, it’s over to G…
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 pharmaceutical 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 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 Kāinga Ora.
The opportunity to get state houses transferred to 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 Kāinga 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 Kāinga 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 - Pumpkinhead 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 State 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 G
It really makes you wonder what swing voters, who voted for one of the coalition parties, must think of it all. A question Gerard posed on his page last night.
This was my reply:
Sadly not. I imagine they were worried about crime and the cost of living. We all are, but some bought the false promises of easy solutions. Some of those might admit nothing has changed or looks like doing so, as the voices in the background drone “It's all Labour's fault.”
I'm guessing the swing voters didn't vote for the anti-māori, anti-co-governance, anti-three waters stuff. I imagine that battle was the three coalition parties squabbling between themselves over people who would never vote left.
The swing voters won't care about the stuff we're outraged by. They don't smoke, hardly anyone they know does any more. They probably don't work in the public sector, so who cares about a few pen pushers in Wellington.
They'll find out about the change they voted for on the 30th but they'll be hoping for notes in large denominations, not loose change.
If you’d like to see some of the other replies to G’s question, or the comments people have made in response to his Threads of Corruption article do check out G News - it’s the Good News.
Something I wanted to mention is that in the wake of my article yesterday on Mike King I’ve received quite a bit of feedback, about both Mike and the services he provides.
I’d felt a bit weary writing about someone that in the minds of many, and my own at one point, was a bit of a hero for the work he was doing. But none of the feedback, including from professionals in the sector and those who have interacted with his services, was positive - none of it.
On that subject if you subscribe to Emily Writes and you haven’t read last night’s paid Friday Night Chat it’s well worth taking a look to see what Emily has written.
Have a great Saturday folks, it’s a chilly one but I can see a bit of sun out there so it might be time for a cuppa and a catch up on the news.
Gerard is amazing, we had just read that piece and it made us sick to the stomach. Where oh where is the media in all this? Wouldn’t you be really embarrassed to call yourself a journalist and see nothing at all!
Thanks G and Nick. This morning I've been spewing over Shane Jone's meeting at Blackball. According to some, workers were given a paid day off to attend by their bosses. But he couldn't stop for a minute to pay respects at the Wheel of Remembrance in Blackball to the 29 dead miners at Pike River. The whole thing was sickening and of course deliberate, given that Blackball is "the home" of the Labour Party where workers fought for meals and rest breaks. Bet he didn't tell those workers (if there were any) in the audience his government is coming after their sick leave, their public holidays and their annual leave via Brooke van Velden. Oh and no sign of Maureen Pugh!