At a time when the country needs strong definitive leadership, and less than two weeks before a general election resting on a knife-edge, Denise Lee stirred up trouble by emailing a select bunch of colleagues criticism of their leader.
Cam Slater says Lee is easily led.
“It was mind-boggling and incredibly naive of Denise Lee. In a fit of pique, she and her henchman who leaked, ankle tapped the National Party campaign.
Denise Lee was clearly played by some bitter losers and as a result her career prospects are now rather dim.”
Internal factions have wracked the Nats for months and just when new leader Judith Collins makes unexpected political headway, Lee strikes. If anyone needed proof of the cancerous malcontents still lurking in the rank and file of the Nats, Denise Lee provided it.
During an interview this week Collins said if National win the election she will launch an enquiry into the performance of the Auckland City Council, in particular Auckland Transport.
“Everywhere I go in Auckland, there is frustration and dismay at the council. Its own polling shows only one in four Aucklanders were satisfied with its performance over the past 12 months,” Collins says.
“With our economy under tremendous pressure, we can’t afford to have our largest local government arrangement with such low performance.
“Aucklanders deserve to see their money and their city better served. We believe Auckland’s congestion can be reduced and it can have a bright future.”
In December 2019 Lee pushed for much the same thing.
“National is proposing to establish an independent auditor that will make sure CCO’s like Auckland Transport are properly accountable to the people of Auckland, Local Government (Auckland) spokesperson Denise Lee says.”
Lee and Collins both want the Auckland City Council to be held to account, so why did Lee take exception to Collins’s announcement?
“Leaders do make decisions. That’s part of leadership And I think I know what you’re talking about and of course the issue is that’s something the campaign team has worked on for weeks,” Collins said.
“During campaigns, you know, sometimes the leader has to go out and make that announcement and that’s how it works.”
Other National MPs had not signed off on the policy, but the party campaign team had.
Campaign teams do make decisions during campaign, and I understand that the MP involved (Denise Lee), it’s her first-time campaigning as an MP, the thing is that’s what leaders do… I call it the leader’s call,” Collins said.”
Collins’ indicates a simple case of bratty behaviour because Lee was not included in the Nats’ discussions.
Lee was appointed Auckland City Councillor in 2013, switching to national politics in 2017, so why wasn’t she included in the discussions about Auckland City Council?
Perhaps Lee’s hissy fit and point scoring with sympathetic colleagues provides a clue. If Lee is lucky enough to be returned to government by an electorate unaware of her destructive elements, she certainly deserves to occupy the naughty chair.
I would love to give National two ticks blue this year, but because Lee is my National candidate it will be one tick blue – for the party.
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