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And so it has proven: the Labour Party continues to hide or obfuscate the truth or quite simply just tell porkies. These people continuously back up my previous description where I used the words ‘low-level intelligentsia’. They continue to display the same behaviour that got them thrown out of office. It appears they are either very slow learners or think they can get away with it. Probably both.
Two cases in point are Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and leader Chris Hipkins. Verrall comes across as not a particularly likeable person and her tone of voice does nothing to assist.
Verrall has wasted time suggesting that Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello has links in some way to the tobacco industry, centered around the smoking laws which the government is currently reviewing. The insinuation from Verrall is that Costello is in some way protecting the companies involved in the industry, however she has failed to prove anything. She has nevertheless persisted, maybe on the premise that the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
With her carping and “certain information” continually being leaked, there were suspicions about what was going on and if there’s one MP capable of getting to the bottom of spurious behaviour, it is Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and, sure enough, last week in parliament he hit a home run.
His original allegation was conclusively proven to be true: A family relative of Verrall’s was involved. The media, who (of course) had done no investigative work themselves, were quick to to take their usual partisan positions, but Winston was not about to humour them.
Enter Chris Hipkins to defend Verrall and dump on Peters. It transpires Hipkins has no more idea of what a ‘close relative’ is than what a woman is.
It turns out that the person involved was Verrall’s sister-in-law and she is employed by Health NZ – a fact which was disclosed to Health NZ but, in another example of how the inept public service is, it failed (hard to think it wasn’t deliberate) to inform Casey Costello.
The whole thing stinks on a number of levels. Firstly the abominable behaviour of Verrall. Secondly the disgusting conduct of Health NZ. And thirdly the outright lie told by Hipkins.
Verrall’s sister-in-law was having meetings with Costello so this relationship should have been declared and the minister informed.
In order to score cheap political points, the Labour Party carries on until eventually it shoots itself in the foot.
