Was the contractor told?
The Weekend Herald reported that they understand the Police inquiry into the death of Folole Muliaga has established that the son did not inform the contractor about the seriousness of her condition as the family have claimed.
It also appears that the Muliagas’ power had been cut off up to four times before the disconnection last month.
And finally it seems the police inquiry also found that the contractor had used his discretion the same day and did not cut off the power at another home where there was a sick child.
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Tags: New Zealand
June 18th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
As so many have predicted on this and other blogs, there was a whole lot more to this story than met the eye.
Where does Dear Leader’s strident criticism of Mercury Energy sit now? Will she regret running off at the lip in the manner that she did? When is the next round of polls due out?
June 18th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I always knew the contractor in question was not responsible for the tragic event.
How come other people could think he is????
June 18th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
kinda puts dear leaders comments into a bit of a context doesn’t it?
June 18th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
kinda puts dear leaders comments into a bit of a context doesn’t it?
June 18th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
I’m rejoining ME first thing tomorrow and abusing the first PI I see…a small female one… elderly….by phone…anonymously.
June 18th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Like “Dear Leader”, will use that epithet in the future.
Yeah, Dear Leader is pulling all the wrong moves at the mo. Just love it!!
June 18th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Trevor Mallard urged everyone to stay calm, and let the investigation take its course.
Mercury Energy said the contractors version of events were different to what had been reported in the media, and that the contractor did excercise discretion when made aware of circumstances earlier had decided not to disconnect on compassionate grounds.
Then Helen Clark bowled in – literally. While Mercury Energy executives waited to be invited in to meet with the familiy, she just walked past them.
Looks more like a cynical stunt to try an boost her poor polling than trying to be sympathetic to a family who had just lost their mother.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Third world people living in a supposedly first world country will frequently invite disaster upon themselves.The cultural divide is too great for many immigrants to jump.Why do we continue to import people who we should know by now are not here in their or our best interests?
Humanitarian issues?UN protocols?
Now Labour is thinking about an influx of inflamed Iraqies into NZ.Give me bloody strength.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Yes siree! This whole sad espisode was Clark playing her PI consituents like a cheap ukelele to shore up the brown vote. Like the cynical socialist she is, she re-enforced the idea of PIers as on-going passive victims of a rapacious white society as evidenced by the Mercury Energy corporation, and the PIers therefore need dear Aunty Hulun to sort out the baddies with a sharp rebuke.
If I ws a PIer, I would be furious with her and family spokesperson, Brendon Sheehan, patronising racism that portrayed all PIers as hopeless cases needing the constant intervention of Nanny State to save them from themselves.
And while Clark scored even more Brownie Points (pun intended) by going to the funeral, she didn’t find the time to go to Dept of Corrections blood-on-its-hands, funeral of Liam Ashley. But then he was a white teenage boy from a taxpaying middle class home – and is therefore of no use to Labour in the polls.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Clark ramped this whole thing up because she could see the politics in getting on side with her South Pacific constituency. She was not interested in facts she just wanted to make a political point including going to the funeral and all the rest. Mallard wanted to take a softly softly approach get all the facts out etc. But she went in boots and all to make a point with the South Pacific constituency. She figured that the middle NZers who were annoyed with her will quickly forget that but the Pacific Islanders will never forget how she waded in on their behalf. That is her cynical calculation in this whole thing.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Trevor Mallard was right????
Isnt that one of the signs of the apocalypse?
June 18th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Selma dear, where art thou?
June 19th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Lefties, anyone? Seems a bit quiet.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Yes. Come and join us Selma. Jubjub’s sleeping and MacGyver’s finished.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Major re education camp on at the moment to prepare leftist trolls for the coming election jihad.
They’ve had to call in the second stringers, like Selma and Max to cover, until the new seasons propaganda has been well and truely implanted in the young professionals.
Kinda makes you miss Sonic and logix and co just a little bit doesn’t it? At least they rose before 10am.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:34 am
The Clark Tic dwells in the absence of “human decency” , because she enjoys masquerading in her usual unscrupulous decepetive manner, as she is the Queen of hyperbole and the gold medalist by a long country mile of political spin doctor manipulation. She is worthy of the offal pit .
June 19th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Yeah, those lefties, blathering on blaming people before all the facts are out. You guys would never do that – er, except in this thread right now, and, um, constantly since the news first broke, but apart from that, not once.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Selma is missing again(MIA) could be at one of the Dalia Lamas many meetings, but i dont think so , Selma is in bed brushing up on her chinese when we get that free ????trade agreement with the worse ,most abusive human rights country on our planet. The sort of people NZ needs to join with, Helen Clarks beloved communists , ahh this takes helen back to her radical days at uni,waving the little red book,and carring banners,(down with the west)
June 19th, 2007 at 7:09 am
“Trevor Mallard was right????
Isnt that one of the signs of the apocalypse?”
I know. That has scared me as well.
This gushing “forgiveness” by the family of the contractor was one of the things that got me. If I were that contractor I would WANT my say on TV after being painted as some sort of evil Scrooge character by all and sundry, including the Prime Accuser.
June 19th, 2007 at 7:17 am
“Now Labour is thinking about an influx of inflamed Iraqies into NZ.Give me bloody strength.”
WTF? Any links to this anyone?
G
June 19th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Don’t forget the Elestricity Commission’s guidelines were adequate. Follow procedure and no one gets hurt.
Don’t forget the guidelines for Philip Taito Field and other MPs are clear. “Don’t advantage yourself to the disadvantage of others”.
Another “gate” for Helen to hurdle
June 19th, 2007 at 8:30 am
“Trevor Mallard was right????
Isnt that one of the signs of the apocalypse?”
No, that’ll be when he’s polite to someone.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:39 am
The Beehive is truly turning into a “gated” community………
June 19th, 2007 at 9:07 am
The inquiry pissed all over “family spokesperson” brendan sheehan spectacularly, and I hope all the clowns who jumped up and down blaming Mercury feel a little subdued right now.
The comparison between the political response to this case and the Liam Ashley case is stark indeed, Helen Clark is a hollow, Machiavellian arsehole, I don’t know why (most of) you lefty sickos love her.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:24 am
I juts hope ME individuals et al consider some form of legal action against HC.
Mind you it could be a CLM, but what the heck, could argue loss of income earning potential for the remainder of your working life and go for the mega buck settlement.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:45 am
No comment by ME.
smart.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Yes, the Muliaga case shows how the MSM and the PM were taken for a ride with this case, and to some extent, so was I.
I made similar comments to this on the Journnz newsgroup, gaining support from one freelance journalist who knew someone at mercury, and was told what had actually happened but my comments were dismissed by a couple of others.
The problem with this story was that at first glance it fitted in with the prejudices of many journalists I have come across.
Sadly, as a right-winger , I tend to be very much in the minority of newsroom opinion.
But I would argue that my views are more in line with the readers and what is often the truth.
But back to the Muliagas.
So the family had had their power cut off several times before without any fatal consequences.
So obviously that oxygen machine wasn’t as vital as we were originally led to believe.
And the son did nothing to help, like call an
ambulance for hours, when he was able to.
I recall a blog reported that the Muliagas were
actually claiming $277 a week in government benefits,so it seems Working for Families was not too complicated, as I had wondered.
Thus, the Muliagas were not ignorant peasants with poor English, but rather a reasonably educated family who could cope with the rigours of our welfare sysem, queries from WINZ and the IRD.
In receipt of all this taxpayer support, I would say they were somewhat negligent in not paying their bills.
I would also say that since they were educated enough to claim so much welfare, they were also educated enough to converse to the police in English too.
After all, they had been in New Zealand six years,long enough to learn English, unless the government’s education system had failed them too.
Now the dust is settling for the Coroner’s Inquest, I feel that the media needs to look at how it covered the story.
Was it too easy to take the Sheehan-fed line of evil corporate v poor and innocent family?
Was the media too slow in noting the government’s role in this, particulalrly when Helen Clark became involved.
It did eventually, noting that Mercury is an SOE where the government appoints the board and sets the financial targets. You might not have known Mercury was state-owned judging by some tv coverage.
Was the media being too PC and culturally sensitive in its coverage, not wishing to pry much into the Muliaga’s role in this. Or the support they gave their church or what they might have got in return. Michael
Laws last week commented as much in the SST.
And bearing all this in mind, don’t we now need
to examine how the PM dealt with this drama now the truth is known.
Now, we see a case of a woman whose overeating led her to die. And at such a fortuitous time that a state-owned, thus taxpayer-funded power company felt so guilt-ridden they stumped up $10,000.
As those sweet old dears sitting for a bus say in the 4 Square advert :”How very convenient.”
June 19th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Whose conduct is more disgraceful in this affair – the media, the family spokesman or the PM ? The Police get another kicking and Mercury is the big bad profit hungry corporation. It all adds up to a pissant, PC culture of intimidation in this country and will take a lot of turning around – I just hope it can be achieved.
June 19th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Also, it was buried in a side column on page 6 – why didn’t it have a huge headline on the front page “Mercury not to blame”. Or would that have admitted their journalists were taken in by the spin?
June 19th, 2007 at 10:50 am
With the usual caveats as to media reports a cynic might suggest that this is the real reason the Sheehan didn’t want the police investigation to continue.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:22 am
DarrenG’s cruel assertion about overeating + dying is patronising, simplistic & arrogant. Has he seen the coroners report? and knows something we dont. Knowing something about cardiac conditions and also the details of many who unfortunately find themselves sitting in a CCU I would suggest obesity is significantly down the list of risk factors. From the presentations to these units the risk factors tend to be being male, 40-50 (yep that’s right!!!)& being athletic… Don’t read about that do ya??? It’s easy to throw stones DarrenG but me I say “there but for the grace of God” and that’s nothing to do with body weight and much more to do with non modifiable risk factors( like genetic predisposition) and a huge dollop of bad luck.
We were all cautioned to wait for official reports but many simply did not and chose to take extreme positions at both ends of the spectrum. Those who choose to make callous & heartless comments should hope their lives may continue to be blessed with good health. And that should they find themselves acutely or terminally unwell before their time, that people will be more charitable in their support of them. Be pissed at the spokesperson and the political posturing but for Gods sake leave the deceased and her bereaved family out of this.
Our innate capacity for empathy is the source of that most precious of all qualities; compassion. The Dalai Lama
June 19th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Lisa – essentially you are saying Mrs Muliaga played absolutley no role in her own premature death?
Why bother with Public Health messages such as cessation of smoking, immunisation, handwashing and safe food handling practise, five a day fruit and veges,and moderate eating and excercise campaigns, which are all based on longitudinal global scientific research to bring benefits to all, if anyone who dares criticise those, like Mrs Muliaga, who ignored medical expertise and therefore hastened her own death, is shut down through the use of guilt and accusations of lack of empathy. I almost expected the power duo of ‘racism’ and ‘sexism’ to be dragged out to further quell debate.
Mrs Muliaga was within her right to reject her host cultures Western medicine knowing the inevitable but that ‘right’ then disallows them to turn around and blame everyone else for her sad death.
Yes, the family is traumatised and the tragedy of motherless children is heartbreaking but as the family openly sought trial by media mainly via family spokesperson Brendan Sheehan, then they need as much scrutiny as Mercury Energy.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Now it all goes quiet. There are plenty of other “interesting” stories to be told. No outrage at the PM’s PMT outburst, no public dismantling of Sheehan’s diatribes and cynical misinformation campaign. No backlash by media angry at having been so manipulated – no we wait for the Coroner.
Now remind me again who has just appointed Coroners under a restructure and reorganisation? And who was it that chose no not reappoint the Wellington Coroner who had said some things contrary to the Government Line? Oh yes – Dr M Cullen Esq.
As DarrenG puts it “How convenient”
Don’t hold your individual or collective breaths for the truth to set you free in this case. It will be licky to make a column inch on page 4 during the World Cup – attended of course by T Mallard, W Peters (and probably HC on a state visit to meet the new HOS of France) et al of course.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Lisa, your violin is out of tune by at least a semi-tone.
Darren’s assertion simply summarizes the numerous reports which listed the commentary from the DHB. Do you remember it? Among other things, there was ‘surpise’ expressed by senior medical staff that anyone should think the dear lady dies because her machine was turned off. There was reliable commentary to the effect the dear lady had been advised over many years to ‘change her lifestyle’ which is socialistspeak for ‘eat less and exercise more.’ There is even reliable commentary to the effect her medical conditions were terminal and furthermore, her continuing existence depended on her taking her prescribed medications EVERY day.
There are many reports affirming that she had stopped taking her medication some WEEKS earlier and that when her sons offered to call an ambulance or seek other help, she instructed them not to do so.
My assessment of the available information is that she was a devout Christian who was tired of life here on earth and was keen to cross over the River Jordan and be with her God. I have no real problem with that but I do have a problem with comments such as yours which ascribe to anyone who dispassionately lists the evidence before us qualities of simplistic, patronizing cruelty and arrogance. The dear lady was in the final processes of suicide when an unfortunate and innocent Mercury energy contractor came along.
Sheehan and Clark turned the event into a circus, aided and abetted by a pathetically inadequate herd of ill educated journaists,
I think I might write a play about it and go get me some of that gummint funding, eh?
June 19th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Typo … “lucky” not “licky” although I suppose it could well be.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
There is no story here, she was ill, she died.
The real issue is why didn’t the lefty/unionist son in law, who’d have known the benefit entitlement system cover to cover help his family to get an emergency benefit! That’s what I’d like to know?
Clark cancelled a trip to Nelson on some BS PR wrought to slip her ugly mug in front of the cameras to score a few VERY cheep points.
Ironic it was those in south Auckland that put her back in power.
Helen stick to what you do best, sweet FA.
June 19th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I remain unsure as to how come so many people KNOW the cause of Mrs Muliagas death. I understood it to be cardiomyopathy but could be wrong as I probably just read it in the paper. However if that is the case the causes of this unfortunate condition are many and include inherited anbormal genes, idiopathic (cause not known), abnormal proteins, fast heart rate,damaged heart muscle from previous cardiac events, viral infections,heart valve abnormalities, some medications & high B/P & abnormal heart rythym. The list is long and actually only a few of those causes are modifiable so how come so many assume this ladys weight/lifestyle caused her premature dying. Purely speculative and whilst I too am apalled at the antics the surrounded her dying particularly on the part of Sheehan, the harsh criticsm this lady and her family have received leaves me feeling cold.If that means my violin is out of tune, I am happy to play off key. I cringed too as the TV cameras caught the ME executives in Samoan attire sitting x legged in the family home looking awkward and like they would rather be anywhere else. Their part may well have been less harshly critised if they had been a little humble at the outset and expressed regret and sadness without arrogantly denying they had done anything wrong until the investigations had been completed.Perhaps the 10K was goodwill for this transgression. I always think one can be sorry even not having done anything wrong – Humility
Sally you must have missed the racism card because it certainly was out in full force but not in the way that you allude to but from posters on this and other threads & talk back callers as they assassinated Mrs Muliaga and her familys character in the most vile of ways. Read back through some recent archives on this matter for a real treat. And whilst I support the public health messages encouraging healthy living I know that even lean,immunised,fit, non smoking vege eating people with great food handling & handwashing behaviour sometimes get sick and die prematurely. Tragic but true, ask anyone who works in the healthcare professions. Yep there are risk factors but sometimes and not as infrequently as you might think there are not and it is truely just exceptionally bad luck.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Lisa – I absolutely agree with your assessment of health risk management. All of us know of someone either directly or indirectly who died suddenly despite doing all the ‘right’ things to minimise a premature death.
But it is easy to be anecdotal or know of individual cases of sudden death and likewise we also hear of, say, a grandmother who lives to 100 despite years of roistering, smoking and drinking. I simply take the scientific benefits of a good diet, non-smoking etc and stretch out the benefit over the population to get a predictability that lessens the chances of an unhealthy lifestyle leading to premature death.
My extended family has a genetic pre-disposition towards Type 1 and 2 diabetes and we do all we can to minimise the risk of contracting Type 2. Will we be successful or will our efforts be in vain? I don’t know but at least I tried and won’t blame the gummint and the health system if me or a family member contracts it.
Yes, no doubt the rednecks came out to play but the muteness over any media re-examination of subsequent facts is far more troubling. I am sure there are many NZers unaware of later facts and are still caught up in Mercury-Energy-is-the-devil type drivel due to lack of prominence given to the story.
The Lefty media had a field day with this story
but has failed to seriously follow-up with the subsequent facts which certainly does not make the family look like blameless victims. I reiterate I think the family spokesperson Brendon Sheehan has done the Muliaga family no favours with his rhetoric but I bet the media will not hold him accountable for his hysterical accusations of “corporate murder”.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
“n receipt of all this taxpayer support, I would say they were somewhat negligent in not paying their bills.”
They certainly didn’t skimp on the corned beef though.
June 19th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
dudes,
If Coca Cola run the water supply,
as they do in places
some peoples going to dehydrate and die,
I myself prayed that this corporate switch off thing
would happen to Telekom’s
Teresa Gattung,
She
SWITCH OFF USERS
SUPPLY ONLY DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLERS
June 19th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Just a thought……
given the comments by Clark directed towards the contracter involved in this case, would there be prima facie evidence pointing towards a civil suit aginst the PM for defamation?
I doubt however the contracter involved would press charges as that would be seen to be profiting from this tragedy…….ironic isn’t it?
June 19th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
I don’t know why (most of) you lefty sickos love her
Because we get a handout from her government by sucking Helen’s (State’s) tits.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Hey, the Mulies were practising socialists …
Hardly able to think/shit without supervision.
Who knew?
What did you expect?