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The “Judith Collins entertainment show!”

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« Reply #25 on: March 14, 2014, 08:18:34 pm »

You form an opinion based on an editors comment? How very simple minded of you.


If you have the intelligence to have been reading the various news reports over the past week or so, then you will see that the Editor of The Dominion Post was merely summarising what has been a large part of the news (about a CORRUPT Nats cabinet minister and the PM turning a blind eye) over the past week or so.
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« Reply #26 on: March 14, 2014, 10:12:59 pm »


Bryce Edwards: The National Government is looking sleazy

The New Zealand Herald | 2:47PM - Friday, March 14, 2014

ARROGANT

PERCEPTIONS of corruption, cronyism and conflicts of interest can be incredibly damaging to any government, and National will be very wary of a narrative developing that this administration is infected with political sleaze.

Nothing makes a government look more tired, out-of-touch, and arrogant than scandals that suggest governing politicians are ethically compromised and governing in the interests of the powerful rather than the public.

Judith Collins' milk endorsement scandal is beginning to have a serious impact on the Government's reputation. But unfortunately for National, there are a number of similar stories dogging it at the moment, and they all come on the back of previous allegations of cronyism related to the scandals over John Banks as well as the SkyCity convention centre procurement process.


Allegations of corruption, cronyism and business dealings

The scandal over Judith Collins and her allegedly favourable treatment of the milk company that her husband helps run has allowed National's opponents to make some strong attacks on the character of, not only the Minister of Justice, but the whole National administration — see, for example, Felix Marwick's Government all but accused of corruption.

Opposition politicians are accusing the Government of being too close to the interests of the rich and powerful, and claim they are being compromised by National's various links to businesspeople.

If this characterisation becomes accepted by the public, then the Government will be badly damaged by the "sleaze factor". In our anti-political age, in which politicians, political parties, and governments are viewed suspiciously by the public, such allegations can prove to be electorally disastrous.

For those still not convinced that there's been any sort of conflict of interest in the Judith Collins scandal, see Tim Watkin's blog post Collins & Cunliffe — how to win friends & influence people. Adam Bennett outlines the parallels of this scandal with the one that brought down another National minister — see: Shades of Pansy Wong.

What is particularly unfortunate for National is that the Oravida firm in question isn't just linked personally to the Minister of Justice, but has incredibly strong links to a number of senior National Party people. For more on this, see David Fisher's Milk firm has hosted string of Nats. And for a further example of how easily National is being painted as too close to private interests, see Jane Clifton's The "Crusher" looks a bit flat.


Arrogance in government

So far the problem has been that National, John Key, and Judith Collins have not appeared to take the issue seriously, which has just made the situation worse. I commented on this yesterday on TVNZ's Breakfast programme — see the article and interview Judith Collins "blinded by arrogance" — commentator. In my view the over-confidence of Collins — and the National Government in general — is causing it to make mistakes. I also discussed this last week in my column, National's overconfidence problem. Collins herself has responded to my analysis in her seven-minute interview together with Shane Jones on Breakfast this morning — see: Shane Jones apologises to Judith Collins over personal remarks.

Today the Otago Daily Times has a hard-hitting assessment of Collins, calling for her to be sacked, and drawing attention to National's arrogant response to the public concerns on the issue, and concluding: "The familiar pattern of pride, even arrogance in long-serving government MPs — which also afflicted Helen Clark's team in its last term — is insidious. Ms Collins, it could be argued, clearly manifested such dangerous signs. If National is going to win September's election, it must root out such tendencies without delay" — see: Insidious arrogance of power.

Today's Dominion Post also cites the growing arrogance of National as its Achilles heel: "Two senior National figures have been made to look foolish and cavalier. Mr Key knows that voters detest arrogance in their rulers, and he has tried hard — not always successfully — to avoid any taint of it in his own style. But this episode has combined high-handedness and incompetence, a deadly combination" — see: Collins embarassing the PM. The editorial says that the "serious issues at stake here that must not be dismissed as mere beltway storms", and the scandal has "raised serious questions about National's trustworthiness". See also, Rachel Smalley's Collins has been flippant and foolish.


The very strong condemnation of Collins

Probably the harshest condemnation from a political commentator, is Duncan Garner's very strongly worded opinion piece, Judith Collins must resign. In this must-read column, Garner says "She has misled the NZ public and that's not acceptable. She has lost the confidence of a nation. She has misled the PM — and that's where it always used to get terminal for Ministers with Helen Clark in charge. But John Key has decided to tough this one out. It's the wrong decision. He should sack her".

It's not only Collins who has handled the scandal incredibly poorly and appeared not to take it seriously. John Key is now coming in for a lot of criticism for his role in it all. The most interesting response has been Patrick Gower's John Key is scared of Judith Collins.

For similar analysis, see also John Armstrong's "Mr Angry" pulls minister down to Earth and Vernon Small's Minister caught with milk on her face.


SPILT MILK

The Crushing of Judith Collins' political ambitions

Despite surviving in her job so far, Judith Collins' future political ambitions appear to be have been crushed by her own actions. Few commentators — or National insiders — are likely to be forecasting Collins to take over as party leader when Key eventually steps down. Until recently she's been the frontrunner but, as the NBR points out, the iPredict website has shown a big fall for Collins, a rise for Steven Joyce and an even more interesting rise for Simon Bridges — see: Bridges edges Collins as favourite to replace Key.

In Defence of Judith Collins

Few on the political right appear to be willing to go into bat for the beleaguered minister. Despite usually being the darling of the rightwing blogosphere, it's difficult to find any significant defence of Collins. Instead, the rightwing politician has been left to stand up for herself. You can watch her recent appearances on TV, such as the six-minute interview with Paul Henry, Judith Collins on Oravida and cutting ribbons and the 10-minute interview with John Campbell, Judith Collins fronts about Oravida visit.

Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking suggests that "the smallest mole hill is in serious danger of being made into a ridiculously large mountain" — see: Where do we draw the line?. Moreover, he makes the case that Collins might be excused due to the grey areas involved in the case: "If you have found what Collins did to be dodgy, let me ask you a few questions. Just where do we draw the line? If you're a minister and your partner is in business, are you banned from ever dealing with that business or dealing socially with the people in that business? If the partner is in an export business, what's the line between promotion of that business given we're an exporting nation and it looking a bit slippery?". Hosking also argues "I don't think anyone in their right mind thought Collins was endorsing a milk product when she said she liked the milk".

Similarly, in the Listener Jane Clifton puts the case for Collins: "Those calling for her head, however, are stretching a point. Yes, she may have praised Oravida's milk, but it would have been bad manners to do otherwise. And she neither wrote nor authorised the account of her praising the milk that appeared in the company's publicity material" — see: Another balls-up (paywalled). Clifton also points out that it has now simply become the job of Cabinet ministers to promote such business interests: "MPs visit businesses every week and talk them up. Jingoistic boosterism is mandatory when they go overseas".

A further defence tactic of Collins and National is essentially the line that "it is human to err" and that Judith Collins is simply human. Although, in reply to this, blogger Carrie Stoddart-Smith says Minister Collins human error is not a defence.

For more on Judith Collins and what makes her tick, see the latest Ruminator blog post interview Me and Ms Collins. Expect to see more "human" stories about Collins and less projection of the "Crusher Collins" image. And perhaps expect to see some tears. One account of a tearful Collins can be seen in Rachel Glucina's gossip column Crusher in tears over bungled Oravida affair.

And for more on why Collins is upset about personal rumours, see Stacey Kirk's Collins knocks "hurtful" rumours.


Parallels with the 1999 general election campaign

The best New Zealand case study of "political sleaze" scandals helping kill off a government's popularity, can be seen in the lead up to the 1999 general election, in which the Jenny Shipley-led National Government was dogged by similar allegations of corruption and cronyism. The most damaging was the Shipley-Saatchi scandal in which the PM was accused of conflicts of interest in her political relationship with the Saatchi and Saatchi Chief Executive, Kevin Roberts. The Saatchi boss was a close personal friend of the PM's, and his dinners with Shipley become a story of controversy. Shipley admitted that the dinners were about advising the Government on campaign strategy. At the same time, Saatchi was awarded an international marketing campaign for the Government Tourism Board. This eventually led to resignations from the Tourism Board that cost $900,000, and the resignation of the Minister for Tourism Murray McCully.

There were other public sector scandals around this period including allegations that the National Government had stacked many public sector organisations with their supporters, one of whom — the TVNZ chairman Ross Armstrong — was forced to resign. Leading up to this, there were also a spate of public sector prosecutions, firings and embarrassments that called into question the ethical probity of the government sector. Also prior to the 1999 election, the Minister of Immigration, Tuariki Delamere resigned after controversy over his approval for permanent residency of a group of Chinese businessmen.

It was at this election that New Zealand saw its first campaign based around allegations of scandal and cronyism. The Labour Party made much of such political sleaze, and was partly elected on the basis of getting rid of public sector corruption, mismanagement and improper conflicts of interests. Ever since then, there's being an escalating war in New Zealand politics about personal and political impropriety.

There is no doubt that Labour will now throw everything into bolstering this scandal and attaching the idea of political sleaze to the Government's reputation. Labour blogger, Will Matthews has correctly pointed out the strength of this strategy for the Opposition: "Allegations of crony capitalism have been one of the only things that the opposition have been able to make stick to National, and a week of stories that incriminate some of the most important figures in government could be the start of a slippery slope that ends in election disaster. If Judith Collins goes, then she could take the future of the National Party with her" — see: Oravida's Employee of the Month.

The latest scandals foretell a particularly aggressive election campaign on its way. There will be much more discussion about links between business and politics — with more columns such as Brian Rudman's latest: Cash needed to grease wheels of democracy. But, in the end, fights over political finance and trust will lead to a further sullying of public's opinion of MPs and political parties — see Gordon Campbell's This is why we don't trust politicians.


Mixing business, politics and citizenship decisions

It's unfortunate for National that another political finance scandal has been brewing this week — with revelations about the National Government providing citizenship to a businessman — against the advice of officials — and then accepting a political donation from one of his businesses — see Jared Savage's original story Citizenship, then $22k for Nats and today's update: Businessman in citizenship row up on violence charges.

This citizenship story has parallels with Labour's scandal over a similarly-named Bill Liu, but David Farrar points out that there are some key differences — see: Another Liu citizenship issue. Nonetheless the saga raises key questions again about whether Cabinet ministers should be over-ruling immigration officials, and today the New Zealand Herald calls for reform on the matter — see: Ministers and immigration shouldn't mix. See also, Stacey Kirk's Key: "Nothing untoward" in citizenship waiver.


Further allegations and satire

A less high-profile scandal is alleged by blogger James Dann — see: Special Investigation: Adams Family Values. Other leftwing bloggers have followed up on the issue with further questions for National's Amy Adams — see Rob Salmond's Amy Adams in very serious conflict of interest, and No Right Turn's Amy Adams owes us some answers.

Finally, for satirical and lighthearted portrayals of the issues of the day, see Scott Yorke's John Key explains to the media, Toby Manhire's You've got mail from our esteemed leaders..., and my own blog post of cartoons and photos — Images of Judith Colllins and the Oravida milk scandal.


Dr Bryce Edwards is a politics lecturer at University of Otago.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11219698
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« Reply #27 on: March 14, 2014, 11:48:12 pm »

I cannot believe that she did not think that this dinner and meeting would not be perceived as a conflict of interest. The fact she kept quiet about it and was only put on the defensive because of a post on their website (in chinese which presumably she thought no one would read) has led her to make the comment that she didn't see it as important.
She knows it was a conflict but hoped it would get buried so now she is reacting in hindsight. Not at all a good look and makes one wonder what other skeletons will be revealed over the coming months.
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« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2014, 09:37:30 am »


Anyway.... about all of these people who are making excuses for Judith Collins, or claiming it was only a lunch, or a cup-of-tea....


If that is all it was, then how come the Prime Minister has reacted angrily over Judith Collins' conduct as the truth has oozed out and slapped her down with a FINAL WARNING?

If it is all a storm over nothing, then does this mean that John Key is an IDIOT who slaps people down and gives them FINAL WARNINGS over ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, and if this is the case, is HE the one who is becoming ARROGANT and POWER-CRAZY and therefore NOT FIT TO BE THE PRIME MINISTER?

WELL??

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« Reply #29 on: March 15, 2014, 02:16:19 pm »

You form an opinion based on an editors comment? How very simple minded of you.


If you have the intelligence to have been reading the various news reports over the past week or so, then you will see that the Editor of The Dominion Post was merely summarising what has been a large part of the news (about a CORRUPT Nats cabinet minister and the PM turning a blind eye) over the past week or so.


So talking to Chinks amounts to corruption? I suppose you think talking to the Ruskies is an act of plotting terrorism.
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« Reply #30 on: March 19, 2014, 04:58:59 pm »


Collins knew official would attend dinner

By Peter Wilson, Political Writer, NZ Newswire
Updated March 19, 2014, 4:14 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/22046489/collins-knew-official-would-attend-dinner/


Oravida in High Court property fight

1:03 PM Tuesday Mar 18, 2014

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11221855 

                                             
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« Reply #31 on: March 22, 2014, 12:22:50 pm »



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« Reply #32 on: March 23, 2014, 11:56:10 pm »



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« Reply #33 on: April 11, 2014, 04:26:24 pm »


Sometimes a bullet could perhaps be the best way to deal with pig-ignorant, arrogant cabinet ministers....



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« Reply #34 on: April 16, 2014, 12:32:17 am »

The company at the centre of corruption allegations against Judith Collins sought government help after Fonterra's contamination scandal, it's been revealed.

Oravida imports New Zealand products into China and the justice minister's husband, David Wong Tung, is one of its directors.

While she was in China on an official visit last December Ms Collins had dinner in Beijing with Oravida's owner Stone Shi, managing director Julia Xu and a senior Chinese border control official.

Opposition parties claim Oravida had gained an advantage from Ms Collins's presence and have accused her of conflict of interest - ministers aren't allowed to use their positions to help private companies.

The Cabinet Office cleared Ms Collins of conflict of interest but she's still under fire in parliament and now Oravida's plea for help has been disclosed.

The whey contamination scandal broke last July 31 and on August 6 Ms Xu wrote to Trade Minister Tim Groser and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

TV3 obtained a copy of the letter under the Official Information Act and in it Ms Xu explains the Chinese reaction to the scandal and the "marketing disaster" that was occurring.

"As an exporter... Oravida NZ Ltd would urge the ministers and the NZ government to help us navigate through this difficult time," she said in the letter.

NZ First leader Winston Peters, who on Tuesday accused Ms Collins of corruption during a rowdy encounter in parliament, says the letter is evidence Ms Collins used her position to help Oravida.

He also says he has official documents showing cabinet ministers "rushed to do exactly as Oravida asked, including obtaining taxpayer funds to get special help" for the company.

"Many other companies were in the same position as Oravida, with a cloud hanging over New Zealand milk, but they did not get the same level of help," he said.
Mr Peters says he'll release "additional evidence" on Wednesday.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/22660027/corruption-claims-fly-across-parliament/
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« Reply #35 on: April 16, 2014, 07:14:20 pm »

Meanwhile WinstonFirst's 'information' that he deliberately withheld until today has proved [as always] to be a fizzer. It seems that Orivada did indeed get taxpayer assistance ALONG WITH 41 OTHER COMPANIES, and that the amount received by Orivada was at the lower end of the scale.

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« Reply #36 on: May 06, 2014, 03:35:00 pm »



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« Reply #37 on: May 07, 2014, 07:52:59 pm »


Bryce Edwards: Judith Collins v the media and Twittersphere

1:55 PM Wednesday May 7, 2014

...For more useful commentary on politicians on Twitter and Collin's departure from social media, see David Farrar's MPs and Twitter, Jane Luscombe's PM: Twitter full of 'trolls, bottom feeders', Martyn Bradbury's What was most interesting about National in the house today, and Frank Macskasy's If Key is concerned with "Trolls and bottom-feeders" why does he call Cameron Slater regularly?. ...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11251190
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« Reply #38 on: May 07, 2014, 10:21:58 pm »

Its a shame we have an opposition that would rather dig dirt on MP's than come up with any credible alternative policy's to some of the more unpopular Nats decisions. Without some forward thinking opposition we are left with no choice but to endure another term of National.
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« Reply #39 on: May 11, 2014, 02:18:28 pm »



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« Reply #40 on: May 11, 2014, 02:19:15 pm »


Talk about a silly moo sausage....



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« Reply #41 on: May 11, 2014, 03:15:45 pm »



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« Reply #42 on: May 18, 2014, 02:19:14 pm »



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« Reply #43 on: May 18, 2014, 02:19:49 pm »



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« Reply #44 on: July 17, 2014, 06:58:19 pm »



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« Reply #45 on: July 18, 2014, 07:06:12 am »





Sometimes Slane is out of the box.
Now that one is very clever. Note their footwear.
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« Reply #46 on: August 20, 2014, 03:13:54 pm »


from The Press....

Law Society critical of Judith Collins

By NICOLE MATHEWSON | 8:13AM - Wednesday, 20 August 2014

JUDITH COLLINS: Justice Minister.
JUDITH COLLINS: Justice Minister.

JUSTICE MINISTER Judith Collins has been criticised for naming a lane outside Christchurch's new justice precinct after a friend.

Collins is already under fire after allegations she and Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater were behind an attack campaign that led to a public servant receiving death threats.

Some Christchurch lawyers are now questioning why Collins named the new lane after someone she had personal links with — the late Sir Robert Chambers — rather than someone with links to Canterbury.

The justice precinct will house about 2,000 workers from Civil Defence, police, the Fire Service, the Ministry of Justice, St John and other relevant agencies when it opens on a site between Lichfield and Tuam streets in 2017.

Chambers died in his sleep at his Wellington home last year, aged 59. He had been appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011 after a distinguished career as a barrister, Queen's Counsel and judge, and had served alongside Collins on the Auckland District Law Society Council.

Christchurch barrister Gerald Lascelles wrote in the New Zealand Law Society's Canterbury Westland branch magazine that the decision was “ill-considered”.

“It was made without proper or any regard for local interests and seemingly made by one who had long-standing personal links with the person so acknowledged,” he said.

Lascelles told The Press that although Chambers was “apparently a very good chap”, Collins needed to justify her decision to name the lane after a North Islander.

He suggested the lane would be better named after someone like Sir Howard Kippenberger, who fought and was wounded in both world wars, or Sir Erime Northcroft, who sat on the Tokyo War Crimes Trial.

In a letter published in The Press yesterday, John Burn wrote that a number of Christchurch lawyers were concerned by Collins' decision as Chambers had never sat in Christchurch.

Collins said Chambers was “one of the most powerful intellectuals” in New Zealand's justice system and it was important for his significant contribution to be remembered.

“Lady Chambers attended the launch of the plans for the precinct and is very appreciative that her late husband's legacy is to be remembered in this way,” she said.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/10400852/Law-Society-critical-of-Judith-Collins
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« Reply #47 on: August 20, 2014, 05:35:46 pm »




   (click on the picture to read the news story)
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« Reply #48 on: August 20, 2014, 09:38:21 pm »



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« Reply #49 on: August 24, 2014, 02:42:18 pm »


from the Dominion Post....

The secret diary of ... Judith Collins

By STEVE BRAUNIAS | 5:00AM - Sunday, 24 August 2014

ISOLATED: Justice Minister Judith Collins at a Pakistan Independence Day celebration in Auckland yesterday. Labour leader David Cunliffe and Phil Goff were also in attendance. — DAVID WHITE/Fairfax NZ.
ISOLATED: Justice Minister Judith Collins at a Pakistan Independence Day celebration in Auckland yesterday.
Labour leader David Cunliffe and Phil Goff were also in attendance. — DAVID WHITE/Fairfax NZ.


MONDAY

I knew something was wrong as soon as I switched on the kitchen light.

The cupboard door was slightly ajar. I don't go around leaving cupboard doors slightly ajar. They're either closed or they're open. I don't do ajar. I don't even like the word. It makes me want to scream and run amok — amok, I do. Oh yes. I most certainly do amok. I've made a political career out of it.

I flung open the cupboard and saw biscuit crumbs.

Crumbs, in my cupboards? I don't think so. Not on my watch. Something was afoot.

Do I do afoot?

I don't know.

It's hard to think straight at the moment. Ever since this whole business with the wretched Hager book and his wretched accusations and his wretched proof, I've been a mess, more or less under house arrest, unable to sleep — I looked at the kitchen clock. It was after 4am.

I took a deep breath. I just needed a nice hot cup of tea and a lie down. And a biscuit.

I followed the trail of crumbs to a packet of Milk Arrowroots. One was missing.

I realised in an instant who was behind this interesting little break-in.

Hager.

Hager, and his long, biscuit-clutching fingers! Hager, and his sharp, biscuit-biting teeth!

It had his fingerprints all over it. As such, I got out my police kit, and dusted the entire kitchen for prints.


TUESDAY

Finished dusting the entire house, including the driveway.

WEDNESDAY

I couldn't stand it any more, cooped up inside, hungry, pale, quite possibly insane, so I called John but as soon as I started saying I needed some fresh air, he snapped, “Sit tight. Sit tight, and shut your big fat trap.”

I said, “You can't talk to me like that!”

He said, “You and your mate Slater have got us into this so I'll talk to you any way I goddamned like!”

I said, “What d'you mean, ‘your mate Slater’? You and Cam are thick as thieves. You get up to all sorts of things together. Things that not even Hager knows. Things you'd like to keep secret.”

I could hear him breathing.

He said, “Is that a threat?”

I held the receiver closer to my mouth and breathed loudly.

He said, “Tomorrow. You can go out tomorrow. Just for a bit.”

We've always understood each other perfectly.


THURSDAY

Politics is a stage. I command it. I thrive on the spotlight and the applause of the audience and the opportunity to perform in the grand theatrical manner.

Today I settled for making a quick visit to a business in Mangere.

It was off-Broadway but they all count.

On the way there, I froze.

Sabin.

What if Sabin was there?

Brook Sabin, the TV3 cub reporter, with his fresh little face and his white little teeth, has always brought out the worst in me. It was Sabin who reduced me to a raving ninny during the Oravida scandal, when I shot my mouth off about Katie Bradford. It was Sabin who made me look bad the last time I was let out in public, when I stormed past him in the airport like a criminal.

I got to Mangere. The press were there but no sign of Sabin. It went without a hitch and I could feel the love of the public. Things are looking good.


FRIDAY

John phoned and said, “Things are looking bad. We're hanging on by our fingernails. Don't go outside again. Every time you do, we suffer. OK? Take one for the team.”

I can never resist his wheedling and pathetic manner when the chips are down.

I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and got up sometime around 4am and went to the kitchen and that's when I screamed.

Hager had been at the biscuits again. Hager — and Sabin, in cahoots, stuffing their greedy little faces. I shook the packet. I was definitely another few biscuits short of a packet.

I screamed and ran amok and heard the ambulance, its siren from afar.


Steve Braunias is a Metro staff writer.

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Related thread:

Collins sticks to her guns, and friends

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/10412751/The-secret-diary-of-Judith-Collins
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