Herald on Worth
June 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am by David FarrarI think the Herald editorial today nails it:
John Key is not the first Prime Minister to sack a Cabinet member for conduct unbecoming a minister. Helen Clark, until her third term, made quite an art of it. Mr Key could learn from her. The art lies in an economy of words. When the deed is done the Prime Minister should explain the dismissal in terms that do not invite a prolonged discussion.
We should not have had this daily game of political ping-pong between Mr Key and his opposite, Phil Goff, over who knew what and when, about complaints from women who say they received the unwanted attentions of former Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth. There must be far more important matters on Mr Key’s plate, if not Mr Goff’s.
Agreed. Sometimes John’s propensity to be open and responsive can backfire on him. As the editorial says, an economy of words would be preferable to arguing over what time the phone call was – especially when you get it wrong.
It is a measure of Labour’s desperation for attention that its leader is making comment. Normally when something of this nature surfaces the rival party is content to keep out of it, calculating that it has nothing to gain and much to lose by taking cheap shots at a target that is fatally wounded.
In this case, Mr Goff sees an opportunity to besmirch Mr Key with the fact that the complaint on which the Prime Minister acted was not the first he had received. The first, from a woman in the Labour Party, had been relayed by Mr Goff a few weeks earlier. He says Mr Key did not bother to check it out.
Mr Goff said the woman had been offered public posts and there was email traffic to prove it. But when challenged to produce that evidence, Mr Goff had to admit he did not have it. Still, he thinks Mr Key should have asked for it.
Desperation for attention is the motive. And Goff has failed totally to front up with any evidence. The handful of texts in today’s Herald, are not grounds to sack an MP, especially as they are given without any context of all the texts both sent and received.
Then he tried to organise a meeting between the woman and Mr Key with himself present for her support. Mr Key agreed to it, though not with Mr Goff present, then decided the woman should talk to his chief of staff instead, and Mr Goff could be present. But Mr Goff advised the woman she should not accept anything less than a meeting with the Prime Minister.
And as I said yesterday, Goff’s career as a sexual harrassment counsellor is not going to be a long one.
Whether or not it comes to that, the political career of a once prominent Auckland lawyer, the long-time chairman of the firm Simpson Grierson, is plainly over. Mr Key says he will not have him back in his Cabinet regardless of the result of a police investigation of the complaint from a second woman. In that respect, he echoes the attitude of Helen Clark who held her ministers to higher standards of behaviour than those defined in criminal law.
Mind you, Helen did recycle those she sacked – even those who broke the law.
The Herald’s inquiries suggest the second complaint against Dr Worth are unlikely to result in charges. The complainant, a businesswoman in her 40s, is said to have accepted the minister’s hospitality in a Wellington hotel and had breakfast with him next morning.
If that is correct, that will be a huge relief to Dr Worth and his family. Losing your Ministerial job, or even your parliamentary job, is nothing compared to possibily losing your freedom.
Tags: John Key, NZ Herald, Phil Goff, Richard Worth
June 10th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Shorter Tories
“Please make this issue go away, Please!”
A bit of a change from last week when this was a triumph for the decisive leadership of “Honest” John Key eh chums!
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Jesus H Christ.
This still going on???
I’ve got a new headline.
The ant crawled across the window pane.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:08 am
It was only on Sunday that you made this comment
“They MM are merely the mouthpiece of a corrupt and self serving elitist class that is at war with NZ’s middle class. These so called journalists will be hung from lamp posts when the revolution comes, as partners in crime to corrupt governments, and that time is getting closer every day. I can’t wait to see their corpses swinging in the wind, with every two lamp posts supporting a twirling politician separated by one mainstream media “journalist” with their neck stretched to the maximum.”
Now you want us all just to forget about it?
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:09 am
“Shorter Tories”
“Tories????”
Gawd you’re a know nothing little commie.
If there ever were some real Tories in National they might amount to something.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Better get the rope greased hangman!
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Here are the texts, lifted from the Herald. They seem completely innocuous.
* Do you want to come swimming?
* How you getting on with the Goa purchase?
* Does that possibly mean you might be back [in India] in mid January with a discreet ITG group?
* You are my favourite new best friend to use a Facebook expression. RWW
* I don’t need anything. Perhaps a tie from the Indian School of Business at Gachibowli but that might be impossible. RWW XX
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Sorry all, comment at 11.08 was on the wrong thread.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:20 am
“Now you want us all just to forget about it?”
What the hell has that got to do with Worth??
…and I don’t give a damn whether you forget about it or not, but you should really get over the delusion that you speak for any “US”.
You’re just a lone sneaking little commie coward who has no other intent other than to desperately lie about and smear those who disagree with your insane socialist vision.
Here’s the reality Sonik.
The “us” is just a symptom of your typically collectivist brain damage.
There is really no “us”.
There is only you.
A lone little yellow backed loser who should have given up years ago.
Your stinking ideology is doomed, and no amount of panicky lies and smears from the likes of despicable cowardly scum like you will save it
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Is Goff serious?? these texts are obviously banter between two consenting adults – get your friggin beak out of the gutter you muppet with what little pride you have left.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Sometimes John’s propensity to be open and responsive can backfire on him.
Ummm… the problem is not Key’s openness, quite the opposite. He should have dismissed the Indian woman’s complaint straight away and it would have gone away. The real issue is what transpired with the Korean woman, but no charge has been laid as yet. Key could make that go away too by simply telling us what he knows and ensuring it would all be wrapping fish and chips tomorrow.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:27 am
This one in particular shows that the woman was texting him back. Looks like she asked him if he wanted her to get anything. What a load of smelly shit.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am
hmmm, it’s tempting to say John should be more like Helen at a time like this and say “nothing to see here. Move on”. But we’re sick of that arrogant attitude from our PM, and actually it is refreshing to have a PM that is open and responsive.
Just be yourself John, the media will tire of Goff’s transparent political games over this sorry affair soon enough. His bleating is showing himself to be the sort of PM we *don’t* want in office.
….
which reminds me of another Helengrad trick – have a toady MP throw a ball to the press that they are more interested in following when there is something politically damaging/ embarrassing on the radar. Like, oh, musings over a new stadium on the waterfront in Auckland for instance.
….
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
What intrigues me about all this is the mind-numbing level of detail given to this story by the MSM. It’s clearly not a big deal, given the above texts but the media and Labour are trying to say that it’s the biggest scandal since Profumo. And all the while there is a police investigation into Worth on another matter, which IS clearly a serious one, but seems to have been forgotten (presumably because it’s easier to beat up an allegation than to report on something that won’t have quite the same level of prurient detail). Strange priorities.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
This leftie agrees – Goff has hardly covered the Labour party in glory with this. The opposition’s time would be better spent making constructive suggestions for how (in their opinion) the Govt should be running the country…
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Yeah sonic! only redbaiter knows whats best for “us”
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
HERALD…….”Whether or not it comes to that, the political career of a once prominent Auckland lawyer, the long-time chairman of the firm Simpson Grierson, .”
Perhaps he should replace PALMER as head of the Law Commission. The Government are unlikely to get very sympathetic recommendations from Palmer, and the Liabour plant from the Crown Law Office might then get a bit of a ginger up as well.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
If the leftist troll Sonic/Catatonic/Insanic typifies the standard of his supporters Phil Gaffe has a snowball’s chance in Hell of ever becoming Prime Minister.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Be very good to see the media grow up and jsut stop reporting on this yawn of a topic, we should be so lucky. A reporter within the Herald that would let it go would be as rare as rocking horse shit!
Ratbiter – finally agree with one of your posts….. YEAH HA
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
THe real issues to me are:
Firstly, John Key not being disciplined and sticking to his script. He needs to work much harder on that. He has opened all the doors for this to spread into the irritant it has become.
Secondly, his PR team seem to have lacked a coherent view of where this could go and prepared. Key should have said up front about the police investigation and then shut up, citing unwillingness to jeopardise an investigation. ANything else could have been ‘leaked’ behind the scenes. Instead they appear to have been caught off guard by the blindingly obvious questions that were going to arise and instead of managing this have been reacting reacting reacting, and so appeared less than Prime Ministerial.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Yes absolutely-
This issue needs the H1/H2 treatment i.e Oh well I,m leaving those issues to the police, I have more important issues around such as running the country! and we have just released another iniative today that will see all schools receive new mouse traps etc.(not running around the press pack of vultures)
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
The way I see it – Richard Worth was just a regular guy looking to get laid!
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
“accepted his hospitality”
I have a new favorite euphemism.
Vote:June 10th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Phil-(in)-Goff must be new to this panty-sniffing game of his. He is way out of his depth.
Vote: