Wednesday 18 September 2013

When do lies become dangerous to your health,


Truth is a very important element within a democracy; it is the corner stone to our justice system, our education system and our social system. Truth is something we teach our children so as to ensure their acceptance in the world that awaits them. But alas sometimes parents fail and a person slips through the checks and balances and progresses to the top job.
For a while we developed a pattern of lies that led some to grow fat on half truths and even outright lies told on a massive scale via public relations fed propergander.
That time has arrived yet again here in New Zealand. First we had the lie about our GCSB and their illegal spying on Kim Dotcom, and then we had the lie about John Banks in regard to campaign donations from Dotcom and Sky City.
Next we had the huge fibs about meetings between Government and Sky City Bosses, and then we had the phone call to Rio-Tinto’s boss and the sudden gift of thirty million dollars so as to improve the possible sale of shares of Meridian Energy. Earlier we had a quick visit to Hollywood followed by a massive hand out to Warner Brothers. Each of these events together amounted to tens of millions of dollars, but now we have the mother of all lies attached to a corporate-welfare grant to Chorus, an overseas owned company once owned by telecom. Let’s look at the latest Q and A relating to that massive porky,
September 17th 2013: [Question time]
Hon David Cunliffe: Speaking of submissions, does the Prime Minister agree with Vodafone that the unbundled bit stream access (UBA) pricing proposal delivers “unnecessary corporate welfare to Chorus, at the expense of all consumers who will pay more for telecommunications services,”; if not, why not?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No, because under every scenario, consumers will pay less.
Hon David Cunliffe: Given that the Prime Minister’s actions have overridden both the contract entered into by his Minister Steven Joyce and the regulatory process of the independent regulator to provide a $600 million subsidy to one of New Zealand’s most powerful corporates, would he agree that this smells and tastes of crony capitalism?
September 17th 2013: [Question time]
Hon David Parker: Did the Government’s deal giving a $30 million subsidy to the smelter, which overrode Treasury advice that said it had no economic justification, come before or after a telephone call between the Prime Minister and the smelter boss?
Hon David Cunliffe: Another phone call.
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: It is outrageous that people use telephones! I am not aware of that particular time line, but I can tell the member that if he wants to back Treasury advice, then he should see Treasury’s advice on his NZ Power proposal.
Hon David Parker: Did the Minister for Economic Development seek the approval of the Minister of Finance before he pressured Vodafone, Federated Farmers, and 2degrees not to join the “Axe the Copper Tax” campaign; if so, is that the same Steven Joyce who refused a base price for copper when the ultra-fast broadband contract was tendered to Chorus and now wants to put in place a base price, which economists say is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Chorus?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I do talk with the Minister for Economic Development from time to time. I find him particularly agreeable. We tend to agree, particularly today, on most things. I disagree with the member’s characterisation of my friend the Minister for Economic Development and his conversations with those three parties. The Minister for Economic Development explained to those three parties what was actually involved, because the “Axe the Copper Tax” campaign is actually not honest, there is no subsidy proposed for Chorus, the Chorus contract is not being changed to increase its revenues, and the Government is not introducing a copper tax.
Now there one common factor in all the events above and that is that both John Key and Steven Joyce have both been involved in telling porkies, not accidentally but intentionally, both are experts at telling fibs, in fact both their past employment history almost demanded that they be well versed in that art form…But like all behaviours such as the use of mis-truths there comes a time of revelation and that time has arrived for these two highly promoted car salesmen.
Winston Churchill said, and I quote: “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is”. Quote ends. And we now have the truth: Massive corporate welfare being dished out at your expense, but what the heck you are simply pawns in a huge Ponzi Scheme run by a couple of experts in the field.  
If you would like to listen to Wheelers Corner Radio programme:
http://www.accessmanawatu.co.nz/Shows/Show-Details.aspx?SHOWID=8c464e43-cbed-43d9-842c-e0458fc75424 is my show page on access website. It has all of my available on-demand episodes. Or you can also use this link: http://www.accessradio.org/media/ondemand/play.asx?uid=1216772083-629 to play the latest on demand episode at any time.


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