Darren do good
June 17th, 2010 at 10:59 am by David FarrarStuff reports:
Take a bow, Labour’s Darren Hughes – at least one former minister has proven capable of separating personal from work spending.
Credit card receipts from Mr Hughes’ ministerial days show that on a trip to a conference in Australia in August 2008 with a staffer, any alcohol they drank at restaurants was paid for in cash separately. Only meals went on the ministerial card.
Mr Hughes was also quick to question his bill – a $7 hotel minibar charge for pistachios in Auckland was reimbursed by the hotel when he said he had not eaten them.
Mr Hughes said it was his custom to separate the cost of alcohol and pay for it personally.
Darren is a very smart lad. You can’t get into trouble doing that. He wasn’t obliged to, but he did. It is called a risk averse approach.
Related posts:
- The Darren Hughes saga
- The Darren Hughes investigation
- Anderton’s arrogance
- Ministerial credit cards
June 17th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Not that I agree with his politcs but he was taught the political skills by a supreme master ( mistress) and it shows.
Rule number 1. Never give the enemy an easy target.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Hughes understands improper management of this nickle and dime stuff is what can finish you in politics. If Hughes can do this so can Carter and Anderton and everyone else. It is NOT rocket science.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Still a ginga
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I suspect it’s partly due to the different generations… Hughes is Gen Y/X, and the troughers are mainly the Boomers.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Note to Shane, Chris, Parekura, Phil Heatley et al.
It’s not rocket science. Darren Hughes has shown all and sundry how to manage the personal/business conundrum.
And on the subject of Hughes, I still regard him as a potential future Labour leader, but with a caveat. He should stand down at the next election, and take six years at least away from politics. He needs to get a job in the private sector (and I’m sure that there would be offers), and broaden his horizons. He has considerable political acumen, but he needs to get out into the real world for a while, and away from the protective bubble of Parliament. He could then return to poltical life in his late 30′s, but with a much more rounded view. Just a thought …
[DPF: I think Darren has a very good future ahead of him, and could well be PM one day. However I agree he would benefit from some private sector experience]
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Correct NoCash,
Those of us who received our tertiary education in the post-universal-allowance era know money is hard to come by, and feel wrong sponging drinks off our mates… or anyone else.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Says who? The rules are quite clear that alcohol cannot be purchased on the taxpayer tab unless it directly relates to a ministerial function. Dinner at the hotel isn’t a ministerial function, so we don’t pick up the tab. I say he was obliged to do this.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Thats Helen, Micheal, Dyunhoven and now Hughes… that still leaves a lot of ratebags.
Who said you had to be a bit rough round the edges to be a politician.
I’ll take that back… Helen was definitely rough round the edges.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:29 am
What was Darren Hughes the Minister of?
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Tim Groser take note – why should the taxpayer pay for his personal drinking habit.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:33 am
It really raises the question of how many Ministers should there be?
The Conventional Wisdom is that Helen maintained a majority of her Caucus in Ministerial positions with the attendant salary, allowance, accommodation, travel and perk opportunities at her whim so that she was untouchable in a leadership vote.
The sheer number of Ministerial Credit Cards would seem to support this view.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:41 am
That’s “yes” and “no” running neck and neck for second place, with “I don’t care” pwning both…
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:48 am
A damn good suggestion, even if just for a term. And by then Labour might be starting to get a bit of traction again.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Bullshit Inventory
No business with any sense of profit acumen would allow the maniac mentally ill socialist Darren Hughes into their ranks. Imagint teh damage he could do! Any business that employed this red madman would be a financil wreck within months.
If that spotty arrogant ginga pillock showed up at the door of my business with his vacant pathetic CV I would take great pleasure in calling the police to have him thrown out with great prejudice.
I think flipping burgers in Maccas with the other no-hopers and unemployed single mothers would be about appropriate to his moral calibre.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 11:59 am
He needs to get a job in the private sector (and I’m sure that there would be offers),
Lobbyist?
I suppose he has a fleeting familiarity with transport issues…
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Hughes is genuine, smart and has his head screwed on. Pity he is a member of the labour party. However they may reinvent themselves one day, but how tainted would he be?
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Credit where it is due. Chris Carter take note. Perhaps if you have to take your partner with you you should pay cash for having to upgrade to a king size bed!
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Have always thought Darren was onto it and have always believed he will go far.
Interesting suggestion by Inventory2 yes if he has a caveat it would make sense as they have invested a lot in him (early promotions etc) and he has the astuteness to grow, either way he will do OK… But being in opposition at moment is good also for him to build up the political skills…
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Darren doesn’t stink… but he has a new born smell about him… soft and mushy.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Ugh. I was quietly hoping Darren would burn in all of this. Buuut No. Seems that as well as being Teachers Pet, he’s also reasonably astute.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Hughes managed to lose one of the safest Labour seats in part because he was more interested in Darren Hughes than his constituants. We will be paying for the ginga for the rest of his life as he will never get a real job and he doesn’t want one anyway.
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Inventory2 (4523) Says:
June 17th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Maybe an age entry of 35+ is in order to get rid of career politicians?
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
So how does this squeky clean revellation fit with a single man paying for two rooms in Brisbane and redacting one room participant’s name…
H/T Whaleoil http://whaleoil.gotcha.co.nz/files/2010/06/out-54-0.png
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Or maybe a 3 term maximum Mike!
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Could be a staffer Too Right…
Vote:June 17th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Or a stiffer Jeremy…
Vote:June 18th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Whose hotel room, in addition to his own, did he pay for in Brisbane, on our credit card?
I see information was blotted out.
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