Heron lets National off the hook

Michelle Boag - Leaker

The Heron report (PDF) was released yesterday, and it was a bit disappointing to say the least. It correctly found that former National Party president Michelle Boag and National Party MP Hamish Walker were politically motivated in leaking peoples private medical information, but didn’t look further into who else within the National Party was involved in using the sensitive information for political gain. It didn’t even properly look into Boag’s previous leaks in her capacity as acting CEO of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust to National MP Michael Woodhouse, or seek evidence to corroborate his very questionable side of the story.


Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:

Covid-19 patient leak: Hamish Walker sent private patient details after being labelled racist, inquiry finds 

Disgraced National MP Hamish Walker sent private Covid-19 details because his judgment was impaired after being called racist, an inquiry has found. 

And former National party president Michelle Boag sent the highly sensitive information to Walker in an attempt to help clear his name. 

… 

The investigation, headed by former solicitor general Michael Heron, QC, was tasked with getting to the bottom of the leak and investigate whether patient data could have been kept more secure. 

Heron did not forensically examine Boag, Walker or Woodhouse's email addresses or computers and took them at their word. 

He said it was "a fair comment" that these people shouldn't be taken at their word given their actions, but said he had no reason not to believe them.

We shouldn’t take them at their word, but I took them at their word anyway?

It should be patently obvious to all involved that we shouldn’t believe people who would leak private medical information for political gain. The altruistic reasons Boag provides for leaking sensitive information to the National Party are clearly false, which should have been exposed more distinctly in this report.

Heron should have also investigated Michelle Boag’s other leaks, and what the National Party did with that information. But here we are, with the report stating:

Ms Boag had earlier provided similar personal information (but different spreadsheets) to Michael Woodhouse, MP. I received information relating to those other occasions from Ms Boag and proactively from Mr Woodhouse. Mr Woodhouse advised he did not forward such information on and has now deleted it. I considered whether I should pursue the deletion further with Mr Woodhouse, but ultimately because the information was similar in nature and it was not central to my inquiry, I determined it was not necessary to pursue it. I accept Mr Woodhouse deleted the information. Ideally, he would have counselled Ms Boag not to disclose such information and/or alerted the Ministry or Minister.

Michael Woodhouse - Leak recipient

Why would you accept what Michael Woodhouse says at face value, when he has recently been caught lying about a homeless person he claimed received free lodging at a COVID-19 isolation facility in Auckland?

Heron has unfortunately let the National Party off the hook, which isn’t a good result for ensuring our elected officials are held to account for their unacceptable and in my opinion illegal behaviour.

Leaking private medical information for political gain is an atrocious abuse of power, and hopefully we will see some further action taken against the known perpetrators. Hopefully we will also uncover who else within the National Party received the sensitive information that was leaked for political gain, because the rot obviously doesn’t just stop at Walker and Boag. In fact it likely goes to the very core of the very grubby National Party.

Collins blunders on expat policy

I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a fair and principled cost structure.

People visiting for 90 days or less, some on temporary visas, and the wealthy going for a holiday overseas will still have to make a contribution towards their isolation costs when returning to New Zealand. However the fees are pretty nominal and shouldn't hinder New Zealanders or breach their legal right to return home.

People in financial hardship can still apply for exemptions from payment. However those that can afford it will be charged just over $3000 per person in a room, $950 for each additional adult and $475 for each additional child sharing the same room.


Here’s the Green Party’s Golriz Ghahraman with the news:

📣BREAKING: The Green Party has ensured that if you were overseas when #COVID19 hit, you will not be charged a $3000 #quarantine fee if you need to come home to live!

Please let the NZ ex-pats in your world know about this development. @golrizghahraman #nzpol pic.twitter.com/I979gAQlI7

— Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) July 29, 2020

Strangely Judith Collins, despite the National Party proposing almost the exact same fee structure, isn’t pleased with the policy decision.

Yesterday, Stuff reported:

National and NZ First promise to charge more returning Kiwis after election

National have a policy to charge all returnees a similar fee, with a narrow set of exemptions. 

Leader Judith Collins said the policy was “a total failure” and “the kind of policy you have when you don’t want a policy.” 

She said her party would replace the scheme entirely with its policy if elected in September. 

Collins said that there was a growing discontent with overseas Kiwis from unemployed New Zealanders trapped at home.

Here’s National’s policy proposal:

National to charge for quarantine 

Additional adults in a room if a couple has arrived, will be charged an additional $1000.

Children under 3 years will have no cost and over 3 years will see an additional $500.

There will be exemptions only for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents on compassionate grounds and in cases where they are facing financial hardship.

Claiming that the Government’s policy is a total failure, when there's nothing really materially different to National's proposed policy, is incredibly stupid! I mean why would you bother replacing the entire scheme for tens of dollars?

Collins would've been better off saying that the Government was copying National's policy. But instead she has made herself look foolish by going entirely negative! Crusher is either criticising the policy for the sake of it, or she doesn't actually remember what her own party proposed only eleven days ago.

Either way, it's clear that the National Party, with the deluded Judith Collins in charge, isn't fit to govern.

No excuses for Falloon

Disgraced National MP - Andrew Falloon

On the back of numerous resignations since she became leader of the opposition, Judith Collins has attempted to mislead the public about why another disgraced National Party MP is leaving Parliament.

Andrew Falloon, who has been sending pornographic material to young woman, has now resigned. But the way in which Crusher Collins initially tried to downplay the situation and mislead the public about why he was throwing in the towel is highly questionable.


Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Police reveal results from investigation into Andrew Falloon's 'unsolicited image' to young woman  

In a statement on Monday, Falloon cited "unresolved grief" following the recent suicide of a friend as his reason for resigning. He said: "I have made a number of mistakes and I apologise to those who have been affected." 

Collins also put out a statement on Monday saying Falloon is "suffering from significant mental health issues". 

Falloon will remain as an MP until the election.

So we had Crusher claiming that Falloon was resigning because of mental health issues while saying nothing about him sending unsolicited pornographic material to a young woman. Collins made her disingenuous press release after she had already received a letter via the Prime Ministers office informing her of the nature of the complaint.

But if that wasn't bad enough, we then had Falloon claiming that he hadn’t actually sent the unsolicited pornographic material himself, but had instead left his cellphone unattended at a party. He claimed his acquaintances were to blame, which was of course another blatant lie!


Today, Stuff reported:

National MP Andrew Falloon faces allegation of sending explicit photos to a third young woman 

National MP Andrew Falloon has allegedly sent explicit images to another young woman, a third allegation that he has acted inappropriately. 

The National Party has confirmed it received the latest allegation on Tuesday morning, the second allegation the party has received directly, after it was revealed that Falloon sent an indecent image to a 19-year-old woman, spurring him to abruptly resign. 

Stuff has also revealed that Falloon sent sexually explicit material to a young woman, who has not complained to the National Party.

Crusher Collins

Instead of being honest about why Andrew Falloon was resigning, it's patently clear that Judith Collins also attempted to use the excuse of failing mental health as a tactic to try and gain the public's sympathy, in order to reduce criticism of the National Party once the truth came out.

It’s one thing to use the suicides of your friends as an excuse for reprehensible behaviour, but for Collins to also try and illicit people’s empathy by playing the mental health card, knowing all the while Falloon was resigning because he sent unsolicited pornographic images to a number of young women, is disgraceful!

The public deserve more from the opposition than shameless spin and unrepentant disinformation, particularly in these unprecedented and trying times. But instead Crusher is playing the same old dirty political games as always…tactics that are neither acceptable nor working as intended.

Combine this with the woeful way the National Party recently used the leaked medical information of COVID-19 patients as a political weapon, and it’s plain to see that Crusher and the current blue “team” don’t deserve to be in power ever again.

National in tatters

Judith Collins - Dirty Politics practitioner

It’s little wonder that the beleaguered National Party is in complete disarray! They've clearly been stabbing each other in the backs again. Take for instance the internal poll leaker telling the world that they were doing terribly and had no chance of winning the next election under Simon Bridges. This disunity was an obvious sign that the blue “team” was unravelling at the seams.

Betrayed by his own party, Bridges then lost his leadership position by only one vote to a largely unknown MP, Todd Muller, who was beset not only by his own failings, but also by the same destabilising leak concerning internal polling that helped destroy his predecessor's political aspirations.

But that wasn’t the reason for Muller's shock resignation. Instead, another National Party MP, Michael Woodhouse, informed media that the then leader of the opposition did in fact know about Michelle Boag leaking the private medical information of COVID-19 patients to himself and other National MPs so they could use it against the Government, something Muller had point blank denied the previous day, which ultimately caused his downfall.

Dishonest Todd was simply too tarnished by Michelle Boag's leaking debacle to be considered a credible alternative to the highly popular and genuinely honest Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. But instead of choosing a contender with the required credentials, the National Party doubled-down on Tuesday and went with the queen of Dirty Politics herself, Judith Collins.

However, the bad news for the right wing doesn’t end there.


Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Live: Revolt - National Party MPs Nikki Kaye, Amy Adams quit politics 

Senior National MPs Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams are quitting politics, creating a massive headache for new leader Judith Collins. 

National MPs have been left blindsided for the second time in a week, following Todd Muller's resignation on Tuesday. 

Collins is due to announce this morning what was planned to be a "minor" reshuffle - now she has to scramble to replace two experienced MPs who were former ministers in the last National administration. 

Adams told the Herald she decided to quit when Collins didn't let her keep the Covid-19 recovery portfolio she'd come out of retirement for.

You can see why Adams and Kaye want out. Collins has left a wake of destruction during her ascendancy into the National Party’s leadership position. Dirty Politics, of which Collins is a proficient practitioner, is obviously the unspoken reason for their departure. It will also be the reason many right wing voters decide not to support the National Party at the next election.

In fact the only thing Collins looks set to crush are the careers of her fellow caucus members.

The main problem however for Crusher and her propagandists is that they’re staring down the barrel of at least a three term Labour led Government. Collins is (according to her Wikipedia page) already 61 years of age, meaning she will be nearly 70 by the time the National Party can conceivably get another shot at the Government benches.

Now I don’t mean to sound ageist, but politics is a gruelling sport…and only a truly deluded and arrogant right-wing fool would believe that Crusher has it in her to stay the course. In fact it’s much more likely that she will retire after the crushing defeat National experiences on September 19.

So who’s your pick for the next leaker...I mean leader of the National Party then?

What’s wrong with Crusher?

Judith Collins - National Party leader

The National Party, after Todd Muller’s quick exit stage right, have chosen Judith Collins as their new leader in what can only be seen as a desperate attempt to regain some of the conservative voters they’ve lost in recent months.

There are numerous pros and cons to picking Crusher as leader of the opposition. On one hand she’s ruthless, and in a nest of vipers certainly has the required venom to be top snake. But on the other hand she has baggage, and requires a number of media servants to continuously clean up after her.

Crusher is also going up against a younger and stronger opponent who is incredibly popular! Let's be honest, she really doesn’t have a hope in hell of getting National back in the game. In fact only the most deluded right-wingers think the blue “team” has any chance at all of winning the next election.


Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Judith Collins is new National Party leader, Gerry Brownlee is deputy leader after Todd Muller quits 

New National Party leader Judith Collins is already targeting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - and ensuring she won't get away with any "nonsense" - but one of her own senior MPs may be the first in her sights. 

Collins would not confirm today whether Michael Woodhouse would retain the critical health portfolio, following the scandal last week over Covid patients' details being leaked by former party president Michelle Boag and MP Hamish Walker - a saga that played a role in Todd Muller's decision to quit as party leader. 

Woodhouse also received information from Boag and his future as National health spokesman will be determined today. 

"That is a very good question and one I will be answering pretty soon, once I have looked at the facts. I have had no oversight of that," Collins told RNZ when asked whether Woodhouse will retain the role.

It would be great if some unbiased journalists also asked Collins, who knows all about leaking private information for political gain, if she also knew about Michelle Boag conspiring with National Party MPs to leak COVID-19 patient’s medical information?

She said she was "absolutely not at all comfortable" around the leaking of patients' details. 

"I have not seen anything quite like that and I am taking it quite seriously. 

"I'll be talking to Michael today, we'll be getting some information on that and then I'll be making a call."

Collin’s may want to appear like a strong and principled leader by crushing dirty politics practitioner Michael Woodhouse, or she may want to downplay the seriousness of the National Party’s leaking fiasco by keeping Woodhouse on.

Crusher may also just want to remove another dangerous and messy operator from being a threat. Either way, her decision will have nothing to do with the moralities of the matter and everything to do with the optics and how things might play out in the news cycle.

I could go on all day about Crusher’s numerous conflicts of interest and underhanded tactics, but suffice to say that she’s clearly not suitable Prime Minister material. In my opinion she's not suited to being a Parliamentarian either.

Muller resigns, National in disarray

Todd Muller - National Party MP

Todd Muller’s shock resignation today really only points to one possible conclusion; there’s further damning evidence linking him directly to National’s latest dirty political episode that will likely be unearthed during an official inquiry.

Obviously Muller being directly involved in the leaking of COVID-19 patient’s private medical information for political gain would make his position untenable, and National appears to have chosen to front-foot the issue in order to try and limit their brand from being damaged further.

Not only was Muller probably directly conspiring with former National Party president Michelle Boag, but he also blatantly lied to journalists about when his fellow MP Michael Woodhouse became involved in the leaking fiasco, meaning he simply had to go.


Today, the Guardian reported:

New Zealand opposition leader Todd Muller resigns just two months before election 

Muller steps down after just 50 days in the job, saying he was not a good fit 

The leader of New Zealand’s opposition party, Todd Muller, has resigned after just 50 days in the job. 

Mueller ousted former leader Simon Bridges in May, but after a fortnight of scandals, Muller said he had realised he was not a good fit, saying the country needed an opposition leader who is “comfortable in the job”.

If nothing else, being a proficient liar is an obvious prerequisite to being National Party leader.

It’s hard to see the right wing ever recovering from this omni-shambles of a political campaign. Not only was dishonest Todd terribly unsuited for the job, but the damning leak debacle also meant he would never be a trustworthy Prime Minister in the eyes of law-abiding citizens.

But who will be his replacement? Clearly Simon Bridges isn’t a contender, because further details implicating him in the procurement of secret Chinese donations are likely to emerge during a High Court trial. Likewise, Judith Collins’ extensive baggage and age largely precludes her from vying for the position.

Some people have ignorantly proposed Paul Goldsmith, but he doesn't have any kerb appeal, and would simply be a placeholder. So National supporters are really only left with Amy Adams or Nikki Kaye, who would both be good choices if only to curtail the overabundance of male chauvinists who seem to congregate on the right.