Act MP Garrett shows his true colours

[guest49]

The House rose to its feet to give Helen Clark a standing ovation on following news she will head the United Nations Development Programme, leaving in just a few weeks.

But ACT MP David Garrett stayed seated, refusing to join in.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10564805

What a miserable little twerp.  Everyone else managed to put aside their differences.

[Magoo]

It was a childish display of rudeness.   

[Calliope]

what an arrogant piece of shite. a first time politician and probably a last time one.

[Magpie]

This character is the price we pay for having MMP.

If he stood in a constituency seat most voters would laugh at him and he would lose his deposit. If he passed the hat round for campaign donations he'd be lucky to get his hat back.

This is the sleazy drunk who once arrived at a tv studio so pissed he could hardly stand up and caused an uproar by making objectionable remarks about homosexuals.

He is a nasty, unpleasant prick with a foul mouth. Perfectly suited to the Sensible Sentencing Trust and the ACT Party.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

I reckon BallastedMoth would have behaved in exactly the same despicable way if he was an MP.

[Calliope]

I reckon BallastedMoth would have behaved in exactly the same despicable way if he was an MP.

God forbid that that should ever happen

[Elric of Melnibone]

So hypocrisy is now considered 'Good Manners'?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

On the TV News this evening, I noticed footage of a standing ovation for Helen Clark at the end of her valedictory speech from MPs on both sides of the house. I wonder if David Garrett once again showed his true colours and remained seated?

[Shef]

That's if he had the balls to show up in the first place.

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

ACT MP admits to assault conviction

By AUDREY YOUNG - The New Zealand Herald | 5:30AM - Tuesday, September 14, 2010


ACT MP David Garrett. — Photo: Ross Giblin.

ACT's law and order spokesman, MP David Garrett, was convicted of assault in 2002 in Tonga, he confirmed last night.

Mr Garrett, who led the party's "three strikes" policy on tougher sentencing for serious violent offences, has not publicly disclosed his conviction.

But ACT leader Rodney Hide said Mr Garrett had disclosed it to him before he joined the ACT list at No.5 for the 2008 election.

He did not believe Mr Garrett had committed assault and said he preferred to judge him on his "outstanding" record as an MP.

Mr Garrett issued a statement giving his version of events after TV3's Campbell Live last night revealed the conviction.

Mr Garrett, who worked as a lawyer in Tonga, said he was attacked outside a bar in Nuku'alofa by Dr Mapa Puloka, head of psychiatry at the local hospital.

Campbell Live claimed the altercation was over Dr Puloka's former wife.

Mr Garrett said his own jaw had been broken in two places after he was attacked from behind.

He had returned to Middlemore in Auckland for treatment and then laid a complaint with the Tonga police. After Dr Puloka was charged with assault, he in turn laid a complaint of assault against Mr Garrett.

Mr Garrett denied the assault and produced two witnesses, the bar's bouncers, at the trial but was convicted and fined $10.

He had immediately lodged an appeal and has yet to be given a reason as to why it has been delayed.

Dr Puloka was fined $100.

Mr Hide said he accepted Mr Garrett's word that he had not assaulted the other man.

He had worked on oil rigs for 10 years and had turned his life around.

Mr Hide said Parliament was "a house of representatives. It's not a house of saints."

Dr Puloka could not be contacted last night.

Many MPs have minor convictions but Mr Garrett's non-disclosure is more relevant because crime is the primary focus of his parliamentary career.

In his maiden speech in December 2008, he even talked about common assault, drawing attention to the fact that Elton John's manager had served a month in Mount Eden Prison in 1974 — "not a month of home detention or 10 hours' community work".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10673249


Garrett told make peace with public

NZPA | 11:32AM - Tuesday, September 14, 2010


Act MP David Garrett is confronted by
media over his assault conviction.
 — Photo: Mark Mitchell.

ACT MP David Garrett's assault conviction is a matter for his party and he has to make peace with the public, Prime Minister John Key says.

Last night Campbell Live revealed Mr Garrett has an assault conviction dating back to 2002 when he was a lawyer in Tonga.

It followed a bar brawl between Mr Garrett and the head of psychiatry at a Tongan Hospital, Mapa Puloka.

Mr Garrett said he was fined $10 over the incident and Dr Puloka $100.

"Dr Puloka hit me once from behind, breaking my jaw in two places," Mr Garrett said in a statement.

He was treated in Middlemore Hospital and subsequently laid a complaint with Tongan police.

"(Dr Puloka) then made a complaint about me and claimed that, after he hit me, I broke loose from a bouncer and hit him in the eye, causing damage."

Mr Garrett said Dr Puloka's claim was not true. NZPA has been unable reach Dr Puloka in Tonga.

Mr Garrett is appealing the conviction.

He is the ACT Party's law and order spokesman, the driving force behind the three strikes legislation and campaigned on tougher punishment for criminals.

Mr Key, who only learned of the conviction last night, said it was up to the ACT Party to deal with the situation but he was confident of its continued support.

"They have very strong values in terms of their economic philosophy ... we're confident of their five votes until the election."

Mr Key said the Government supported the three strikes legislation because it wanted to take the worst violent offenders off the streets and it worked well.

"The fact that Mr Garrett may or may not have a conviction for something is a matter that he has to deal with. He needs to make his peace with the public."

Mr Key's advice for Mr Garrett was to front up to media over the issue.

"I always think it's better to, you can run but you can't hide from the media."

Labour leader Phil Goff said Mr Garrett should have been upfront about his conviction.

"How can you be the law and order spokesman for a party and not acknowledge to the public that you have a conviction for assault?"

ACT leader Rodney Hide said he knew about Mr Garrett's conviction before he stood at the 2008 election.

"He explained the circumstances, they seemed perfectly reasonable to me. David Garrett is a person that's had a rough background, he worked on the oil rigs for 10 years.

"Anyone can turn their life around," he told Campbell Live.

Mr Garrett was in trouble last year for making lewd comments to a woman staff member in Parliament.

He lives near Helensville, near Auckland, with his wife and two children.

The three strikes legislation ensures repeat offenders receive maximum sentences with no parole after being convicted with certain violent offences.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10673337


Garrett's assault revelation gut punch for ailing ACT

JOHN ARMSTRONG on POLITICS

The New Zealand Herald | 9:30AM - Wednesday, September 15, 2010


David Garrett's assault conviction has invited
calls of hypocrisy, given his espousal of a
"zero tolerance" approach to violent crime.
 — Photo: Mark Mitchell.

WHEN it comes to nails and coffins, ACT is in plentiful supply of both. Nor is it short of MPs whose behaviour has unwittingly begun digging its grave.

The news that one of the party's MPs has a conviction for assault is probably not spectacular enough to make ACT's current plight even more dire. But it does add another layer of veneer to the casket.

David Garrett's conviction, which dates from 2002 when he was working as a lawyer in Tonga, was always going to get prominence. Much more so, given he is ACT's law and order spokesman and an ardent promoter of the party's "three-strikes-and-you-are-out" sentencing policy.

Garrett faces accusations that he is a hypocrite because he has promoted a "zero tolerance" approach to violent crime while hiding his conviction on just such a charge.

The MP, however, disputes the conviction. He says he was smacked on the jaw and that he did not punch anyone. He lodged an appeal, although so far without securing a hearing.

Ironically, the seemingly bizarre circumstances surrounding his conviction provide a strong argument why judges have traditionally been given discretion in the sentencing of offenders and why allowing politicians to impose rigid instructions on the judiciary when dealing with repeat violent offenders under "three strikes" could be a big mistake.

ACT's leadership faces accusations it has been duplicitous. Garrett told Rodney Hide about his conviction before the last election when Garrett secured a slot high up ACT's list on the back of his links to the Sensible Sentencing Trust. Hide, however, neglected to tell the public.

Hide may have deemed the conviction, which resulted in Garrett being fined the princely sum of $10, no longer relevant, even though it occurred in the not-too-distant past.

Yet, as Labour's Phil Goff noted yesterday, ACT has consistently voted against "clean slate" legislation wiping the convictions of people who committed crimes in their youth but who have stayed on the straight and narrow ever since.

So it seems to be one rule for ACT and another for everyone else.

Had people known about Garrett's conviction, it would surely have been much more difficult for him to mount a high horse and crusade for "three strikes".

Yet his reason for being in Parliament at all is to promote a hardline stance on law and order.

That would have posed a real dilemma for Hide whether to change Garrett's portfolio responsibilities because of the conviction.

Even allowing for those factors, there was still a cover-up. As so often happens, the cover-up turns into something more damaging than whatever it was covering up. More so in Act's case, given it proclaims to be the party of "transparency and accountability".

It is not insignificant that Garrett holds the casting vote in any leadership rumble in the five-strong ACT caucus with Hide and deputy leader John Boscawen on one side and ousted deputy Heather Roy and Sir Roger Douglas on the other.

Hide's continued leadership may hinge on opinion polls registering a high enough party vote to enable Boscawen and Garrett to coat-tail back into Parliament at next year's election on the back of Hide holding his Epsom seat, something which is by no means certain any more.

What was most evident yesterday, however, was the contrast between ACT and the Maori Party. This week will see the latter achieving its major goal of having got legislation before Parliament abolishing Labour's hated foreshore and seabed law. ACT, meanwhile, is mired in yet another distraction it does not need.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10673531


ACT MP Garrett admits creating false identity

By ADAM BENNETT - The New Zealand Herald | 2:19PM - Wednesday, September 15, 2010


ACT MP David Garrett. — Photo: Dean Purcell.

ACT's hard line law and order spokesman MP David Garrett has told Parliament he created a false identity by applying for a passport in the name of a dead child 26 years ago.

In a statement to the House, Mr Garrett this afternoon said he had used the method outlined in Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal to apply for the passport.

Mr Garrett was arrested years later as part of an investigation into bogus passports, conducted by the police in the wake of the discovery Israeli Mossad agents had used the same method to obtain New Zealand passports.

He was discharged without conviction in 2005 and given permanent name suppression.

He said the suppression was the reason he had not commented to media on the issue when it was raised earlier today.

Mr Garrett said he had applied for the passport as a prank — to see if it could be done — and had never used the passport, which had since expired.

The MP said he had expressed remorse to the parents of the child and written to apologise to them. Today he said he would carry the remorse with him for the rest of his life.

ACT leader Rodney Hide confirmed Mr Garrett had disclosed the matter to him at the time he was asked to stand for the party at the 2008 election.

"He was so concerned that he thought it ruled him out and I persuaded him to stand notwithstanding that."

Asked why the matter had not been disclosed earlier Mr Hide said it was "always difficult because you don't know how much whether every person who stands for office should stand up and tell of everything bad that they've done in their life or acts that they regret".

"I regarded it as in the past and that he had been processed by the authorities, it wasn't something that was outstanding."

"What I said to David was you'll be judged by how you perform as a candidate and as a Member of Parliament and in that respect he's been outstanding."

Mr Hide did not believe Mr Garrett should stand down as an MP because of the incident.

Mr Garrett, who led the party's "three strikes" policy on tougher sentencing for serious violent offences this week confirmed he was convicted of assault in 2002 in Tonga.

Mr Hide said the judge accepted it was the prank of a young man and Mr Garrett was discharged without conviction.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10673605


• The Nats' mate from ACT, David Garrett, shows yet again he is a nasty arsehole

• ~-~ Act always was revolting ~-~

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

ROFLAMO....on Radio NZ's Checkpoing (which is on now), both David Garrett and Rodney Hide have refused to be interviewed by Mary Wilson.

She has however just been interviewing Garth McVicar and it has been interesting to listen to Garth being slippery and spouting spin when Mary pointed out to him that David Garrett committed passport fraud and stole a dead baby's identity while he was the Sensible Sentencing Trust's lawyer, and that he pushed for name suppression (and was granted it) while pushing the anti-name suppression line on behalf of the Sensible Sentencing Trust at the same time....and....Garth McVicar admitted to Mary Wilson that he KNEW about the passport fraud conviction, but chose to keep quiet about it.

So I guess that makes Garth McVicar a hypocrite too! 

[nitpicker1]

 

...now that so much has been revealed, and therefore probably more skellingtings lingering in the shadows - who is going to run David Garret's CV past the SIS?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Identity theft ‘no harmless prank’

By MARTIN KAY, IAN STEWARD and TRACY WATKINS - Stuff.co.nz with NZPA | 10:58AM - Thursday, 16 September 2010



THE FATHER of a newborn baby whose identity was stolen says ACT MP David Garrett should resign from Parliament after the MP explained the crime away as a "harmless prank".

The identity of Graham Peach's dead baby son Michael was stolen by Bruce Dale, who was jailed in 2008 for two years and four months after he obtained the name.

Mr Garrett yesterday revealed in Parliament that he had stolen the identity of a dead baby to get a fake passport, inspired by the novel The Day of the Jackal.

He told Parliament he pleaded guilty and was discharged without conviction. His name was suppressed, but he said he was revealing the crime under parliamentary privilege after news leaked to the media.

Mr Peach and Michael's mother Maureen Peach, had tended his grave for 47 years before it was revealed his name had been taken by Bruce Dale.

"We just couldn't believe it. This only happens to anyone else, it doesn't happen to you," Mr Peach told Radio New Zealand.

Mr Garrett's statement to the House came two days after he admitted he had a 2002 conviction for assault, following a fight outside a Tongan bar.

Following Mr Garrett's revelation, Mr Peach said the parents of the boy whose identity Mr Garrett had stolen would have felt the same emotions they had felt.

"That they had been abused."

"I don't know how he can sit in Parliament, to tell you the honest truth. I really, really don't. Why didn't he come out and say what he had done beforehand, instead of hiding. He is ashamed of what he has done now he has been caught out and now he wants to say it's a prank."

"He should be absolutely ashamed to say that, it's not a prank. I wouldn't wish it on him to go through."

Parliament did not need such untruthfulness, he said.

"If I had done something like that I would have to resign."

ACT'S FUTURE

ACT leader Rodney Hide is cutting short a trip to Hong Kong to return to Wellington.

It is understood Mr Hide will return tomorrow to front the media after revelations about Mr Garrett's criminal past.

Mr Hide has been in Hong Kong for his son's 21st birthday.

Asked if the ACT party had a future MP Sir Roger Douglas said "of course it does."

"ACT has a perfect future."

The Speakers office confirmed today that Mr Garrett is still the ACT party nominee for the Speakers tour to Israel.

Former ACT MP Deborah Coddington told Radio NZ the situation was farcical and the party appeared to be deeply divided.

She said the ongoing sideshow was not good for the Government either.

Ms Coddington said Mr Hide's reputation was also affected and the party's future was shaky.

APPLICATION

Mr Garrett has made an "urgent" application to the High Court to have the suppression order on his passport fraud case lifted, Deputy leader John Boscawen said today.

Mr Boscawen said Mr Garrett, whose reputation is in tatters after revelations of his criminal convictions, would talk to media as soon as that had been done.

When Speaker Lockwood Smith was asked if Mr Garrett was fit to be an MP he said:

"He's a Member of Parliament, there's not a lot as speaker I can do about that."

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English told Radio New Zealand it was not up to the National Party, which has a support agreement with ACT, to decide whether Mr Garrett was still fit to be an MP.

"He's explained his position to the house and the public and his supporters need to make up their own minds about that," he said.

"It is a matter for the ACT party."

Labour leader Phil Goff said he felt for the family of the dead child.

"The very worst thing here is for the family of that dead child whose identity was stolen," Mr Goff told Radio New Zealand.

"They have effectively been gagged for years by a suppression order while they have to listen to Mr Garrett pontificating about being opposed to suppression orders, being in favour of openness, being in favour of the rights of victims and he's been anything but."

Mr Goff said ACT had shown rank hypocrisy and it was time for National to stand a credible candidate against Mr Hide in Epsom.

FAMILY'S DISTRESS

The sister of the dead baby boy whose identity Mr Garrett stole has spoken of the family's distress.

The woman said last night that the boy's mother was still deeply upset that Mr Garrett had used the two-year-old's name to get a false passport in 1984, 22 years after the child died. "This is very upsetting. It's too distressing," she said.

He told Parliament he obtained the false passport after reading about the method used by the assassin in The Day of the Jackal, a thriller by Frederick Forsyth.

Mr Garrett said he was arrested in a police swoop on fake passports in 2005 — after two Israelis were caught using dead babies' identities to get New Zealand passports.

He told Parliament he pleaded guilty and was discharged without conviction. His name was suppressed, but he said he was revealing the crime under parliamentary privilege after news leaked to the media.

Mr Garrett, who was about 26 when he got the passport, said he regarded the crime at the time as a "harmless prank", but now realised the hurt it had caused the boy's family.

"To this day, I cannot explain the rationale behind my actions, except to say I was simply curious to see whether such a thing could be done."

"I gave no thought whatsoever to the effect it would have on others. The regret I feel at the hurt I unwittingly caused the family of the deceased child is something I carry with me today and will continue to carry for the rest of my life."

He said he had written to the family to apologise after his arrest.

He was trying to get the name suppression order reviewed or overturned so he could answer questions about the offending.

The revelations have raised questions about Mr Garrett's role as ACT law and order spokesman, in which he fronted the policy of "zero tolerance" for crime and steered through the controversial three strikes law.

ACT LEADER KNEW ABOUT INCIDENTS

ACT leader Rodney Hide said he knew about both incidents well before Mr Garrett became an MP.

"When I first suggested that he should put his name forward to stand, he said, ‘There's a couple of things you should know’, and he was quite reluctant."

"I said, ‘Look, plenty of people have done things in their past — it's what you do now, how you campaign and what you do in Parliament that counts’, but he was always concerned it would come out."

Mr Hide said last night that using a dead baby's identity to get a passport was a "horrific" crime but Mr Garrett would remain law and order spokesman.

Mr Garrett was a lawyer for the hardline law and order lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust before entering Parliament.

Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said last night that Mr Garrett should get a second chance.

"I still believe he has a lot to offer this country. David, in hindsight, will be wishing he'd been honest with New Zealand at the same time [as] he was honest with Rodney Hide."

Many people had past criminal convictions but had turned their lives around.

Detective Inspector Neil Hallett, who led the swoop on fake passports after the arrest of the Israelis, said stealing a dead infant's identity was heart wrenching for families when the crime was discovered.

"They dealt with the issue, then 30 or 40 years later it gets brought up again."

______________________________________

CAUGHT OUT

Anyone using a dead person's identity to obtain a passport has a high likelihood of being caught. Systems including death-record checks, a shorter term of passport validity and the introduction of e-passports have made the crime easier to detect. Fictional assassin "The Jackal" kept his cover in Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel The Day of the Jackal by using names from headstones to apply for birth certificates and false passports.

People who have been caught in New Zealand include:

2006: Frank Macskasy, 48, of Upper Hutt, is fined $2000 for forgery after using the name and details of a dead baby to get a passport. He said he had wanted to try The Day of the Jackal scam.

2006: Porirua man Dacey Jon Cameron is jailed for two years after attempting to obtain a passport in the name of a dead baby. Cameron changed his name by deed poll in 2004 to that of an infant who died almost four decades before and applied for a passport soon after.

2006: Peter Fulcher, a former kingpin in the Mr Asia drug syndicate, escapes a jail term despite admitting stealing the identity of a five-year-old who died in 1945, to obtain a passport.

2006: Rotorua man Christopher Mark Grose, 36, is fined $10,000 after stealing the identity of a dead baby to obtain a passport.

2005: William Kevin Roach, 49, a United States citizen, is jailed after admitting forgery charges. Also inspired by The Day of the Jackal, he assumed the identity of a baby after visiting a Tauranga cemetery.

2000: Jo-Anne Mary Cole, 43, is sentenced to 4½ years' jail after being convicted of fraud and passport offences. Cole also used the Forsyth techniques.

______________________________________

IN GARRETT'S OWN WORDS

• “If you target offenders at the lower end, you stop them from descending down the road to more serious crimes.”
  
  — Speech to Sensible Sentencing Trust, August 25.

• “In the age of the internet, suppressing names can seem pointless to the point of [being] farcical.”
  
  — Blog post on June 16.

• “Criminals are not stupid. They may not have university degrees or even have finished high school, but they know about cause and effect as it affects them.”
  
  — Speech to Parliament, May 25.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4133210/Identity-theft-no-harmless-prank

[nitpicker1]

  The mind boggles.  One thing leads to another?  So where and when did he complete his law degree? 



Last year he compared homosexuality to paedophilia during a television interview he did apparently drunk. http://www.3news.co.nz/ACT-MPs-comments-blamed-on-oil-rig-background/tabid/419/articleID/109577/Default.aspx
 
So is he another parliamentarian who conducts Beehive business while under the affluence of inkahol ?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

what an arrogant piece of shite. a first time politician and probably a last time one.

The word probably doesn't even come into it following the past couple of days.

Definitely a one-term wonder and maybe even a part-term wonder.

I guess he may prove to be the final nail in the ACT coffin too! 

[Magoo]

I guess he may prove to be the final nail in the ACT coffin too! 

One can only hope.

[Bruno Bastardo]

Just when I was thinking ACT and Garrett couldn't get any worse, they surprise me again.

What a rabble.

[Bruno Bastardo]

The story even made prime time TV news in Brisbane last night. Showed NZ in a very good light.

Thanks ACT!

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Garth McVicar vouched for disgraced MP

By IAN STEWARD - Stuff.co.nz with NZPA | 12:49PM - Thursday, 04 November 2010



ANTI-CRIME CAMPAIGNER Garth McVicar wrote to judges in support of disgraced MP David Garrett after he was found to have stolen a dead baby's identity to use in a passport scam.

Former ACT MP Garrett, who made his name as a tough-on-crime campaigner, left parliament after revelations about the case.

A search of his court file has revealed Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar wrote to the judge in the case saying Garrett had been "a huge help to the Sensible Sentencing Trust".

"David may have made a mistake in his past life but we have no hesitation in endorsing and vouching for the David Garrett we know today."

In a memorandum to the court, Mr Garrett's lawyer Gary Gotlieb stated that his client had "no previous convictions of any kind". It has since been revealed that Mr Garrett was convicted after a brawl in Tonga in 2002.

McVicar said Garret had worked, unpaid, for the trust helping victims to prepare submissions, drafting policy and legislation and helping with the legal action the trust was supporting on behalf of Tai Hobson, the husband of one of the victims in the William Bell — Panmure RSA killings.

Two other lawyer friends also wrote in support of Garrett.

Legal submissions by Garrett's lawyers said he he committed the offending as "a bit of a lark" and it was, in the present circumstances, "truly trivial".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4308067/Garth-McVicar-vouched-for-disgraced-MP

[reality]

....more good work from David Seymour
 
ACT TO TAKE EUTHANASIA BEFORE PARLIAMENT

David Seymour is impressing me more and more.

He is using his time in parliament to do meaningful things, like introducing a euthanasia bill, something Labour lacks the courage to do, and a far better use of a referendum than a stupid flag debate.
 
A bill calling to legalise voluntary euthanasia will be lodged by ACT leader David Seymour in Parliament on Wednesday.

The bill is being presented on the same day former Labour MP Maryann Street, who in the last parliamentary term proposed and championed the End-of-Life Choice bill, will have a petition heard at health select committee.

The petition, which has 8795 signatures, garnered cross-party support when it was presented at Parliament in June by Street and Matt Vickers, husband of Lecretia Seales, who died of a brain tumour on the same day she lost her High Court bid to choose to die. 


An inquiry was born out of Street’s petition and members of the health select committee would look at the factors that contributed to a person wanting to end their life, as well as the experiences of other countries who have adopted euthanasia laws.

Seales spent her final months fighting for the courts to rule in favour of assisted dying but she learnt on her death bed that she had been denied her dying wish.

It’s understood Seymour’s bill was likely to be modest and wouldn’t go as far as some people would like, but would draw from the experiences of similar bills that have come up for debate recently overseas.

In England the House of Commons overwhelmingly rejected the legislation of assisted dying when members voted three to one against the bill getting a second reading in September.

Meanwhile in California a landmark right-to-die bill was signed last week after Catholic Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill making it the fourth state in the country to legalise euthanasia.

It’s understood a public poll of almost 3000 people has been commissioned by ACT, which has revealed wide-spread support for assisted dying.

 It’s time, and good on Seymour for introducing this bill.

by Cameron Slater on October 14, 2015 at 10:00am

 – Fairfax

[reality]

..well done to David Seymour and ACT

Trans-Tasman roll call - the best and worst of the 2015 political year
 
David who? ACT leader David Seymour takes out the title for Politician of the Year in the annual transTasman roll call

National is starting to suffer third termitis, and some of its minister's are burnt out. That's the view of transTasman, which has just released its annual roll call, the publication MPs look forward to with equal parts excitement and dread.

Labour does not fare much better in the yearly roundup - transTasman's editors say Labour is still reeling from electoral defeat and they have published a list of MPs whose time is up.

Most MPs will wince when they read their report card from roll call, which strips bare the political rhetoric and delivers an unvarnished opinion on Parliament's best and worst performers.


This year's publication has delivered a big curve ball, meanwhile, with its award for politician of the year going to an MP who many Kiwis may never have heard of, ACT leader David Seymour. 

Seymour knocks Prime Minster John Key and Finance Minister Bill English off their perch - with transTasman saying Seymour represents a new generation of MP. While not much was expected of him when he entered Parliament last year, he has surprised everyone with "his skill, his workload and his ability to do the job of an MMP minor party". That is, to help the Government, but also criticise it and have its own opinions when necessary.

"Seymour has done all this, and done it tactically, belying his age (32) and lack of experience."

Foreign Minister Murray McCully: Scores highly but is he burnt out after a huge year?

Others have not fared so well, with transTasman doling out some harsh words for some of Parliament's lesser lights. But the big guns have not escaped the sights of transTasman's editors either - they say National is showing signs of third-termitis and senior ministers like Gerry Brownlee and Murray McCully are looking tired, out of sorts, or burnt out.

"Some are looking to the future - [Speaker] David Carter looks as though he will be pleased to relinquish the Speaker's chair for a Knighthood and a cushy foreign posting, where he will no longer have to be selectively deaf, while Tim Groser will also be looking forward to an ambassadorial posting". 

But in their usual acerbic fashion, the transTasman editors do not hold out much hope for the next generation of ministers, pointing that while a clean out would make way for new faces "we are loath to call it all talent".

Labour fares little better, with transTasman saying it is still reeling from electoral defeat and Andrew Little's ascension to the top job.



"He is battling to get his caucus behind him and to an extent has succeeded, but there are still many in the party's ranks who should be looking to their futures - Clayton Cosgrove, David Cunliffe, David Parker and Trevor Mallard should all be looking for new jobs."

As for the minor parties, "political mercenary" Peter Dunne "is still waiting to see which way the wind will blow, Winston Peters still has his group well under his thumb, while the Greens are coming to terms with a post Russel Norman direction as James Shaw makes an impressive debut in the co-leadership stakes".

The Maori Party is dismissed as disappointing.

Here is a list of the best and worst performers after Seymour, who scored 8.5/10.

Top Five - National

Finance Minister Bill English -  8/10

"A foundation for the Government's ongoing success. Dependable and canny as always, finally getting the books back into the black, even if only for a short time, has been a big deal for him. The power behind the throne."

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully 8/10

"He has been a virtual blur this year, rushing through so many countries and doing so much. Failed to secure Middle East peace though. A strong year for the man, which has ended in a hospital bed. He made a massive effort."

Prime Minister John Key - 7.5/10

Takes a tumble from last year's rating of 9.5. His popularity is undented, despite ponytail gate and other controversies.....The flag debate may deflate his ego but he is still far and away New Zealand's most popular leader."

Justice Minister Amy Adams - 7.5/10

"We said she would be one to watch and she has added to that impression with strong performances across all her portfolios."

Trade Minister Tim Groser - 7.5/10

"Another minister who has had a huge year and weathered some storms. He is expected to leave soon for a less pressured environment."

Bottom five - National

List MP Paul Foster-Bell - 2/10

"Last year we suggested he sharpen up his act. He hasn't."

Taranaki MP Barbara Kuriger - 2/10

Says she wants ot help promote regional growth. Her own area is doing well but it's clear she hasn't had much impact anywhere else."

List MP Melissa Lee- 2/10
"Probably should be considering another career. Her bus has well and truly pulled out."

Kaikoura MP Stuart Smith - 2/10

Replaced an MP who was a waste of space, but proving he's better is tough as well, says transTasman.

Coromandel MP Scott Simpson, Rodney MP Mark Mitchell, List MP Brett Hudson and List MP Nuk Korako - all on 2.5/10

On Simpson, transTasman says: "Can't seem to get anyone's attention outside the committee he chairs". On Mitchell, they say:  "Another holder of a safe seat. A good example of why we should consider fixed terms for MPs." Hudson: "We said he would have to prove he is anything more than a lightweight. So far still punching at his expected level." Korako: A man considered genial by most, who has done nothing to change anyone's opinion.

Top five - Labour

Annette King - 6.5/10

Struggles to shake off the mantle of the 90s but is still a dominant force in the party. Labour will need her experience heading into a tough election in 2017.

Andrew Little - 6/10

Making a good first of the leadership, getting his MPs on side and on message. Still not using all his MPs strengths to full advantage. Polls need to move quickly and needs better advice.

Kelvin Davis - 6/10

Gets up the PM's nose and has a social conscience.....is ready to be thrown into the attack and relishing it.

Chris Hipkins - 6/10

If Labour ever gets back into power, he will be at the top table.

Phil Twyford 6/10

Another of the young Labour stars who has worked his heart out on housing and transport issues. Deserves a big role in the next Labour Government.

Bottom five - Labour

Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene - 2/10

Another MP going nowhere fast. No prospect of advancement.

Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson - 2/10

Another Labour MP on her last legs. Needs to move on.

Mangere MP Su'a William Sio -2.5/10

His role is to deliver the Pacific Island vote and as long as he is there he probably will

List MP Clayton Cosgrove, Mana MP Kris Faafoi, Tamaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare, List MP Sue Moroney, Manukau East MP Jenny Salesa, Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri  - 3/10

Cosgrove is "a shadow of his old self" and on the outer - probably time to go, says trans-Tasman. Of the others, it says Faafoi had promise, but is yet to deliver, Moroney has worked hard but "it's not enough", Salesa has talent but hasn't shown it and Henare has had no memorable moments so far.

The rest

NZ First leader Winston Peters - 7/10

Stealing the Northland by-election from National proves once again his political judgement rarely fails him and he doesn't need pollsters to tell him where the voter sentiments lie. He still holds dreams of being king-ma

Green Party co-leader James Shaw - 5.5/10

"One to watch. Could be a real threat to Labour and deserves to be where he is."

National had five MPs increase their score from last year, five stay the same and 33 decrease their score.

Labour had no MPs rise, four stay the same and 22 drop.


 - Stuff

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

No hotlink provided?

Must be because the article was written by an incompetent idiot and that would be obvious if the hotlink was provided so we could see who that idiot is.

I wonder who David Seymour talks to in the ACT caucus room? A mirror, perhaps?   

[reality]

Yes....he is obviously talking to alot of people somewhere to be voted "Politician of the Year"

..not bad on the CV for a young guy...lookis like he may have a big future in politics...future PM?