Jacinda Ardern claimed that her Labour Government would be the most open and transparent government ever. That was the slogan; reality turned out to be nothing less than an orchestrated litany of lies, cover ups and flannel. They had zero commitment to openness and transparency, and total commitment to deceiving the public
The latest example is the cover-up and lies over Three Waters’ entrenchment. Remember they claimed at the time it was all just a horrible mistake and they were fixing it?
Documents going back to November 2021 show Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta was repeatedly warned by officials against entrenching parts of the Three Waters reforms.
The documents, released to the Herald under the Official Information Act, show Mahuta began considering the second (and initially successful) bid to entrench part of the bill as early as September 29, more than a month before a select committee report revealed to the public and Labour’s wider caucus that the Greens were likely to try to entrench part of the legislation.
An email shows Mahuta’s officials provided feedback on the Green Party SOP (proposed amendment) that ultimately entrenched part of the bill.
The documents also reveal a meeting with Green MP Eugenie Sage about the entrenchment provision that Mahuta did not disclose in her ministerial diary. National says Mahuta needs to front up about why the meeting was not published in the diary and the government needs to come clean about what led to Labour’s decision to vote for entrenchment in the first place.
A spokesperson for Mahuta said she had “already noted that a mistake was made, and the government has now fixed it”.
NZ Herald
They were plotting it for months before they did it, then they hid meetings and ignored officials. When busted they tried flannel and obfuscation. That was all a sham too.
Labour MPs, including some senior MPs, appeared to be completely blindsided by what they had voted on including the now-prime minister, Hipkins, who only became aware of exactly what had been passed after the fact.
Watts said that the timeline showed Mahuta should have been more explicit about her intentions to caucus far earlier, given the idea of trying to entrench the provision was raised by September 25, two months before the vote, and was clear by October 25, one month before the vote. But this did not happen.
The select committee published its report on November 11, making clear the Greens’ intention to pursue entrenchment.
On November 22, an email between officials at DIA and Mahuta’s office shows officials were providing feedback on the Green Party’s SOP.
Comments suggest there was an openness on the part of officials and the Government for some back and forth with the Greens to get the SOP right.
“[I]f this doesn’t achieve what the Green party want, welcome to come back to us,” the email said.
The decision to vote for entrenchment was made so late it did not even make it into Mahuta’s speaking notes for the committee stage, where it was voted on.
NZ Herald
They are disingenuous and dishonest, and everything they’ve said about the issue is a clear-cut case of disinformation.
The only thing you can trust Labour to do is lie. Labour have become arrogant, doctrinaire and out of touch.
Time for a change.
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