Oh hahaha very funny
National MP Richard worth went overseas and spoke in his ministerial capacity while he was promoting a private company in which he had an interest. He got a dressing down from John Key yesterday and was forced to resign yesterday as a director of New Zealand Aviation
Now Phil Goff - he's the person who has replaced Helen Clark as the Labour Party leader for those who are unaware - has said that he would have stripped Worth of his portfolios had he been part of a Labour Government because of a conflict of interest. As Goff pointed out, the perception of a conflict of interest, as the cabinet manual says, is as important as reality.
It's a pity he didn't say that last year instead of defending Winston Peters' multiple breaches of the Cabinet Manual and voting against the report of the Privileges Committee on his indiscretions. Of course with regards to breaching the cabinet manual, Damien O'Connor comes to mind. Those with conflicts of interest have included Rick Barker, Taito Philip Field, Tariana Turia, and Shane Jones.
Key acts decisively, Clark leaves things to fester until she is in serious trouble. Then again, Labour no longer lives in a glasshouse so it can afford to throw stones.
Labels: cabinet manual, Phil Goff, Richard Worth
2 Comments:
Good pickup.
Checked out the link re Fields and what the story describes Helen Clark as doing at THAT point in time appears to be entirely appropriate.
It's easy to look back with 20/20 vision, but at THAT time, there were allegations and she established an inquiry and told him to "take a break".
That seems entirely fair, balancing the interests of all concerned. Being summarily hasty is just as wrong as doing nothing about a possible problem.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home