Posts by Alfie
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
I recommend a quick read of Raybon Kan's article on Bravo and Weldon in the Herald. It has some great lines, including...
The only glimmer of hope is that nobody ever clicked on Scout, except by accident.
Or perhaps yesterday, to see what a hagiography they could polish up about Mark Weldon.
-
Hard News: A cog in the Mediaworks machine, in reply to Steve Barnes,
In the same vein, a former TV3 staffer tells me his favourite reaction to Weldon's departure came from Anika Moa.
"He was a twat... and not the sort that I like."
-
It seems that the Government enquiry into NZ's foreign trust rules is destined to be another whitewash. You know the kind of thing... handpick your own "expert", make sure the terms of the enquiry are so restrictive that they're unlikely to reveal any nasty little secrets and Bob's your uncle. Or Judith is completely vindicated. Take your pick.
Transparency International has issued a statement saying it was "extremely surprised and disappointed at the limited scope of the Shewan inquiry".
The Government's initial response was to dismiss the 60,000 references in the Panama Papers as irrelevant, apparently in a misguided attempt to protect the $26 million earned by local professional advisors involved in the foreign trust industry.
From this perspective, rather than impinging New Zealand's reputation, it appears that the Government saw the first wave of the Panama Papers as advertising for a potential burgeoning industry. Just think, there are estimated to be around 12,000 foreign trusts in New Zealand. Why not attract 100s of thousands of trusts as the Panama Papers fallout forces trusts to move from enhanced scrutiny in places like Panama and the British Virgin Islands? Then, New Zealand professional advisors could bring in as much as half a billion a year!
However Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse says he's happy with the scope of the Shewan review. No surprises there.
Woodhouse said Inland Revenue had already made changes to the way offshore shell companies were directed, such as requiring a New Zealand-based director, which had addressed some of the concerns about associations to financial crime.
Why do I get the feeling that our country is being run by a bunch of crooks?
-
Hard News: Media Take: The Panama Papers, in reply to linger,
I’ve reworked my poem…
Love your work Linger.
Today’s Herald editorial says Key must accept responsibility for any sloppiness in the Whitney affair. In the same paper, Bryan Gould reminds us about Key’s numerous brain fades and paints him as a man with a slogan – "The buck stops anywhere but here."
Gould obviously expects Key’s enquiry to be another (remember Judith Collins) whitewash.
The end result is that, instead of an independent inquiry organised by the IRD in the public interest into business practices that do New Zealand no credit, we have a limited inquiry conducted by a single finance industry insider, hand-picked by a Prime Minister whose hand has been forced.
When the establishment of that inquiry was announced, it was met with widespread scepticism. With all that has happened since, both the credibility of the inquiry and the Prime Minister’s reputation have suffered further damage. We need something better.
I’ve been thinking about Key’s claim that his lawyer was a man of the “highest integrity”. Maybe he’s right, in a way. When all of your friends and colleagues are up to their elbows in dirty tricks and corruption, someone like Whitney may well appear to have higher morals than most.
It’s a relative thing.
-
Former TV3 staffers are joining the chorus of voices wishing farewell to Weldon. Jeff Hampton has some heartfelt words on Weldon’s sojourn at TV3. And Melanie Reid didn’t hold back on John Campbell’s show last night.
Elsewhere, Brian Gaynor says Hilary Barry's resignation was the moment that MediaWorks really lost its mojo.
-
When you click on the story from venerable broadcaster and TV3 refugee Jeff Hampton, the headline contains a glaring typo. I doubt that Jeff would let that one pass so it's more likely the subs, or whoever passes for a sub at Fairfax these days.
Basic literacy skills should not be optional for a major media company.
-
Back to subediting skills and it’s Fairfax this morning. This little beaut is sitting on their front page right now. Right words... wrong order.
But wait… there’s more.
-
Fairfax have a delightful story about Hilary and Mike bringing in the Moet... with big grins and their faces.
-
Today's Garrick Tremain cartoon.
-
Key's claim that his personal lawyer Ken Whitney is "highly ethical" has been called into question by the High Court. Matt Nippert tells the story.
John Key's lawyer Ken Whitney was criticised by the High Court after creating a sham trust for a bankrupt property developer then failing to disclose it to authorities probing his client's insolvency.
When asked during cross-examination if he had concerns around setting up structures to allow a bankrupt to continue in business, Mr Whitney told the court: "No not particularly. It's a common thing for people to do. It may not be morally as white as it could be but it's normal practice."
Everyone is doing it? Not as white as it could be? Is everyone on Planet Key colourblind or blatantly corrupt?
The developer in question is Rod Nielsen, a man renowned in Queenstown for leaving a wake of messy developments, bankruptcies and dirty doings when he skipped to the US a few years ago.
Basically, Whitney set up a sham trust for a declared bankrupt then knowingly concealed that information from investigators. This sounds like a job for the law society. I wonder if Whitney's current status as a non-lawyer may prevent that?
