The Winston Circus hangover continues

Winston Peters

Peters faces questions over donations in Parliament

"This whole affair is a shameful episode of dirty politics."

Winston Peters July 29 2008


You bet it is, but it is Winston Peters that has made the scandal over his secret donations "shameful" and "dirty".

In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that Peters has in fact accepted secret donations from wealthy backers, this Minister has fudged the whole issue and wiggled out of the crapper by obfuscation, omission of fact and legalese. Everything but the truth.

Peters has lied. That is clear to most, except the Prime Minister, who has given her full backing to to him so she and her Labour Party can keep their last grip on power, which is quickly slipping from their fingers.

In Parliament today Peters continued the circus and came out against National's Craig Foss for having a conflict of interest owning shares and Greens co-leader Russel Norman for having an affair. Vintage Peters.

He refused to clear up the mounting accusations made against him.

The minority Labour government would topple if Peters was sacked for his failure to clear up his corrupt actions and Clarks already tattered reputation for her own law breaking and lies is further stretched because of her support for her Foreign Minister.

Corruption like this would lead to the sacking of most individuals in private employment situations.

It appears once again though that politicians, especially those from the left, are exceptions to this accepted rule.

Related Political Animal reading

Discretion was the essential part of Vela Donation
Winston Peter's Glenn donation scandal: But wait, there is more!
Peter's hangs himself in February Paul Henry Interview
Peter's admits lying about Glenn donation
Winston's silence is telling
Labour gets tangled in Peter's lies
Leaked Glenn Email
Winston got secret donations from Owen Glenn
The Owen Glenn Story: Singing the same tune but hitting a bum note

c Political Animal 2008

NZ Herald Digipoll: July 29 2008

The latest political poll shows the trend that started in polls from August 2007. A wide gap of support between National and Labour. National has been ahead in the majority of polls since that date and has consistently polled above a 20 point lead over Labour.

There were several polls out 9 days ago that suggested a claw back by Labour but the Roy Morgan Poll from that weekend showed the continued trend that today's Herald Digipoll shows.

Labour's destruction in the 2008 election.

It will be very interesting to see polls out after the scandal surrounding Winston Peters and his corrupt secret donations from big business and Helen Clarks tacit support for him and this corruption.

5:00AM Tuesday July 29, 2008
By Paula Oliver

John Key has a 3.1 per cent lead over Helen Clark in the preferred PM stakes. Photos / Alan Gibson, Sarah Ivey

National has widened its lead in this month's Herald-DigiPoll survey, recording its highest support in a year, while Labour has dropped to just above 30 per cent with the election no more than 3 1/2 months away.

The poll is the first to be completed since New Zealand First leader Winston Peters became embroiled in fund-raising controversies, but his party has gained slightly and his personal rating has dropped only marginally.

National leads Labour by 24.6 percentage points - reversing signs of a Government comeback in other polls.

National has risen half a percentage point since June to 55.4 per cent support, while Labour has dropped 1.6 points to 30.8.

The only other party to get across the crucial 5 per cent threshold to enter Parliament is the Greens, with 5.5 per cent. But New Zealand First, at 4.1 per cent, is edging closer.

National would govern alone if the poll were translated into seats. The election must be held by November 15.

Continued

Related Political Animal reading

TV One Colmar Brunton Poll: July 20 2008
TV3 News Poll: July 20 2008
Fairfax Neilson Poll: July 19 2008
Roy Morgan Poll: July 18 2008

c Political Animal 2008

Stocks on my Watchlist: NZ Farming Systems Uruguay

On Saturday night I was watching New Zealand's TV One, a conservative channel with middle of the road programming and an audience of mostly over 50 year olds. I'm not there yet.

What I saw at 7.00pm was the channels longest running show, Country Calendar. The show has been running for my whole life, slightly longer than 40 years.

I haven't seen country Calendar for many years but used to regularly watch it in the 70s and 80s.

From my memory it has always been about innovative farming and new ways to make farming easier and therefore increasing the bottom line.

I have checked in periodically over the years and have lost interest because it seems to have lost its focus, for me, on its essential businesslike thrust and become just another "lifestyle show".

Last Saturday I was blown away though, transfixed on the programme as I used to be so many years ago.

The show was about PGG Wrightsons Ltd [PGW.NZ] push into dairy farming. In partnership with its stake in NZ Farming Systems Uruguay Ltd [NZS.NZ] NZFSU, which is managed, part-owned by Wrightson and listed on the NZ Stockmarket, this New Zealand company is forging a new frontier in farming outside its familiar home environment.

As many New Zealanders might know, dairy farming in New Zealand has become big business. It is an industry that contributes a massive amount to our export earnings.

However higher costs of production, labour, land cost and development,inadequate milk supply to meet world dairy demand now and into the future, an NZ dairy sector dominated by a major global milk supplier in Fonterra short of supply, and a whole host of other rising business costs mean the cheaper cost of dairy farming in places like Uruguay make the future of NZ Farming Systems very exciting.

If we look at the way New Zealand's biggest company Fonterra operates, we see that they control a large amount of the worlds milk supply. Much of that milk supply comes from outside New Zealand because we simply cannot produce enough milk solids to keep up with world demand for dairy produce.

NZFSU is a great first step for a listed New Zealand company to take a part in the growing dairy boom. India and China are increasingly becoming dairy consumers and investors in NZFSU will be well placed to reap the financial rewards as the market becomes more mature in Uruguay.

The cheaper cost of doing business in this infant market, with lower land, labour, tax and other ongoing costs, and its geographical position closer to already big dairy consumers like mainland USA, give clear business advantages to the early entrants into new dairy producer markets.

Unlike Fonterra though, mum and dad investors are able to take a stake in NZFSU by buying a chunk of its listed shares.

Fonterra shareholders, dairy farm owners, decided to put off a partial float of their company in a meeting held last year, so buying NZFSU or PGG Wrightson shares is the only way kiwis can get a stake in New Zealand's biggest industry.

It may well be one of the best long term investments one could make considering current and future dairy demand.


Related Links

NZ Farming Systems Uruguay - Investor relations
PPG Wrightsons


From Fishpond.co.nz



Buy Bird on a Wire: The Inside Story from a Straight Talking CEO & more @ Fishpond.co.nz





c Share Investor 2008

NZ HERALD: John Key-Part two

3:00PM Saturday July 26, 2008By Carroll du Chateau, Paula Oliver and Eugene Bingham

Key giving his State of the Nation speech this year. Photo / Martin Sykes


Part One of the John Key story
John Key in photos
John Key in his own words
Parliament's $50m MP
'I'm more liberal than I look'
John Key Timeline

For someone whose career had been a series of champagne glass-chinking highs, John Key's first day in Parliament was a shock. Flushed with his victory in Helensville, he was almost jumping out of his skin at the chance to get started on the next part of his life plan. The first day of his journey to be Prime Minister.

And he walked into a blood bath.

The country had been brutal in its judgment of National in 2002, its support on polling day collapsing to 20.9 per cent, the 66-year-old party's worst-ever election result.

Amid the carnage, Key had been the bright spot. Auckland's Westies had reacted well to the new face with its big smile and a man willing to roll up his sleeves and hammer together his own hoardings. As it had earlier in his life, Key's self-confidence and willingness had paid off, and he won the Helensville seat by 1705 votes.

On the Tuesday morning following the election, Key flew to Wellington for his first caucus meeting. "I went in feeling euphoric and left feeling depressed," he recalls.

The departing MPs, some retiring, many defeated, stepped up to receive their farewell gift (a silver tray), said their farewells, and left. The survivors and the few newcomers - Key, Don Brash, Judith Collins, Brian Connell and Sandra Goudie - huddled together.

It was a sober introduction to Parliamentary life for this retired merchant banker. Last week, in part one of this project, we told his background story, the steps he took to reach Parliament. This week we examine Key's rise to the top of the party and explore what he stands for.

Key achieved his goal of getting elected, even as voters mauled his party. His longer term ambition to be Prime Minister is now within reach. But which John Key will emerge? The centrist figure who has embraced so many existing policies that his critics label "Labour-lite"; or the career banker and money-man, who linked fast economic growth with fewer holidays for workers (two weeks' annual leave, in fact), said he could not see any reason to own Air New Zealand, and accused some DPB mothers of "breeding for business".

In a little more than three months, New Zealanders will know if Key occupies the Beehive. The bigger question is will they know what to expect from him? In this, the second part of our far-reaching examination of the 46-year-old, we push past the window dressing to reveal what he believes in and how he operates.

We have read hundreds of Key's speeches, trawled through the Parliamentary records of his questions to ministers, and pored over interview transcripts dating back to the start of his political career. As well, we have interviewed dozens of MPs, including those from other parties in an attempt to glean as full a picture as possible. Those interviews are among about 100 we have now undertaken as part of this project.



Related Political Animal reading

Part One of the John Key story

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c Political Animal 2008