Kees Keizer

The NZ Herald has an interview with the secret taper – Mr Kees Keizer. He claims it was all a sort of spur of the moment thing. As Tui says yeah right.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Mr Keizer said he came up with the idea to tape MPs at the cocktail party before National’s August conference on the spur of the moment

Yes of course. You’re sitting around a Friday planning what to do for the weekend, and you think hey I’ll go a cocktail party of a party I despise and try and tape them all. Of course that was spur of the moment, and wow I just happened to have a tape recorder in my pocket.

Mr Keizer said he took a digital recorder and had “legitimately” entered the conference by paying for a ticket – although he would not say what name he used.

Which is admitting he purchased it under false pretences.

Once Mr Keizer was in, he said he used his real full name and said he was interested in joining the Young Nats.

Actually he said he was a Young National, according at least one person who talked to him.

Mr Keizer has drip-fed the tapes to TV3 political editor Duncan Garner and refused to comment when asked if there would be more before the election. Mr Garner has indicated there could be more.

And of course something you do on the spur of a moment as a prank, you leak selectively to TV3 by anonymous e-mail timing each one for maximum political damage.

Mr Keizer said he had not edited the recordings to change the context but rather to keep his voice secret. He refused to release the full recordings so this could be tested.

And this tells us all we need to know. Now that his identity is known, there is no reason for him not to release a full recording. And the ethics of any media organisation that runs a selective extract will beyond doubt be tested with the Broadcating Standards Authority.

It was one thing to accept partial recordings when the sender was anonymous and wanted to keep his identity secret. But there is no ethical reason why TV3 could accept a partial recording now his identity is known. Doing so would indicate partisan motives rather than journalistic ones.

He said while he had friends and connections in the Labour, including those on the Labour-affiliated website The Standard, he also had friends in National too.

The Standard is the website where a blogger calling himself Batman posted about John Key’s supposed links H-Fee. That blogger is believed to be a senior official, most likely party president Mike Williams, although he has denied it was him.

The chances that his mates at The Standard don’t know all about it are nil, and as many of them are ministerial and parliamentary staffers, you can be sure Labour knows exactly what is in the tapes.

“I’d like to just absolutely confirm that I’m not a member of any political party and I’ve not been put into this by any political party or organisation.”

Of course he was not put up to it. The thought that Helen sits on the 9th floor ordering such tapings is ridicolous. But look at what he has not denied – that he has kept Labour informed of what is in the tapes, so they can plan their campaign around them.

Mr Keizer said his complaint about the EMA advert – made just days before the cocktail party – was not linked to Labour, but rather that he “wanted to learn more about the Electoral Finance Act and saw this as an opportunity.”

Now if anything confirms Keizer as an unmitigated liar, it is this statement. He complained about the EMA advert as an opportunity to learn more about the EFA!!!

“What you heard was genuine, there was no editing specifically to have it so it was in misleading quotes.” …

Mr Keizer said he would not be releasing the entire tape.

“Most of it is useless. It wouldn’t do any credit to anyone.”

So if he is telling the truth, why wouldn’t he release the full tape to show the full answers and what he said to elecit those answers? There is only one logical reason.

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