Do you have a copy
September 16th, 2010 at 1:44 pm by David FarrarIf anyone has a copy of the original post made at Red Alert, which they edited – could you please send it to me.
UPDATE: Thanks to the many readers who sent a copy through. What they deleted was:
By David Parker and Phil Twyford
We understand this is a serious matter but we think ACT and National have some questions to answer.
To Rt Hon John Key Prime Minister and Minister of SIS: When the Israelis stole identities of children for false passports, did the Government force the Israeli Ambassador to resign and leave the country, and if so, has the Government considered a similar response to Government MP David Garrett?
Supplementary: Has the Minister received any intelligence reports about ACT MPs or is that an oxymoron?
Supplementary: Has the Minister received any intelligence reports about Ilich Ramírez Sanchez (aka Carlos the Jackal) having escaped prison in France and being sighted in Tonga and New Zealand?
To Hon Rodney Hide the Minister of Local Government: Does he stand by his statement that he is bringing “transparency and accountability to local government”?
Supplementary 1: How can he expect transparency in local government when he in central government has suppressed David Garrett’s criminal record for two years and his own for even longer?
Supplementary: Will he reinstate Heather Roy who has demonstrated a strong commitment to transparency by proactively releasing documents to the media?
To Hon Maurice Williamson the Minister of Customs: Is the Minister confident the new Smartgate system is capable of picking up false passports?
Supplementary: What sort of passport would facilitate the quickest progress through Smartgate: a diplomatic passport, the new Kiwi digital passport, or a David Garrett passport, and is this just more good news for the Government?
Supplementary: What percentage of ACT politicians have convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour in airports and would this be picked up by Smartgate?
To Hon John Boscawen, Minister of Consumer Affairs: Does misleading and deceptive conduct breach the Fair Trading Act?
Supplementary: Does he think it was misleading and deceptive conduct for Mr Garrett, in his presence, to tell journalists last week that he had no other convictions?
Supplementary: Is it now ACT party policy that conviction politicians must have criminal convictions rather than principles?
Supplementary: Will the Government be prosecuting Garth McVicar and “Sensible Sentencing Trust” under the Fair Trading Act for crimes against tautology?
That’s our first stab. We invite readers to submit their own questions below. Especially ACT MPs or staffers who may well have more information they wish to share.
Don’t know why they deleted them. I think they’re great!
September 16th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Revisionism, the corner stone of socialism.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
While they were at it, why didn’t they delete David Cunliffe’s “poem” as well?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Revisionism, the corner stone of socialism.
Revisionism in this case would probably entail denying that it happened at all, or changing the text of the ‘joke’. They have stated that they agreed it was in bad taste and took it down, big deal.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Oh I’m sorry its not a suficient degree of revisionism for stephen, lets wait five minutes and I’m sure we’ll get there.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Looks like it was a comedic take on Garrett’s identity theft scandal. Which malcolm has also done, hilariously, on the thread re MikeE’s tweet (which is also funny).
So either the pinched sphincters of the politically correct got upset by something that was funny but politically incorrect, or the two MPs tried for funny and got something so excreable that it was offensive not because of its topic but because of its complete lack of humour.
I have my money on “both”.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Slightly OT, but it seems that one or two of the Labour members who regularly contribute to Red Alert are struggling with the inevitable conflict of their roles as MP’s with those of bloggers. Mallard’s blunder earlier in the week was a prime example.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I agree I2, I’ve mentioned that before – and also Duncan Garner was blogging way outside his supposed impartial journalist zone too.
I think Labour have tried to do the right thing starting a joint forum that the masses can join, but the more they try and control the message the more they defeat the purpose of it. Worse, they are easily seen to be floundering.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Heh, I retract my second assumption… some of those are funny. So it was due to irritation caused to the pinched sphincters of the politicaly corrrect left. I recommend an application of Preparation H(TFU).
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
It is pretty damn funny.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Yeah, seems a bit of an overreaction on the part of the Red Alert commenters. Almost faux posturing.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I don’t see why it was pulled… Nothing offensive to me there…
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Harmless but trivial nonsense. The whole issue seems overblown to me, and there is certainly no need to take it seriously. The authors probably realize that.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Can’t argue with this…it is funny.Fair game, we’d do it too in reverse.
There really is huge anally retentive prudish streak in this country…
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
How bad a crime do you have to commit to be rejected by ACT – a ‘strike’ offence?
BREAKING NEWS: John Barlow announced as new ACT Corrections spokesman.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
The only reasons I can see why they’d pull this are:
1) They’re taking the political heat away from Garret by trivialising it so soon (so a mileage thing).
2) They could feel that by making fun of it they could be re-victimising the parents of the child or children in similar cases.
They’re all pretty funny to me.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Supplementary question to the Prime Minister: Is he aware that David Garrett now says he will resign from Parliament so long as the Imam drops plans for the Ground Zero mosque?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
More likely because it is arguably in breach of a suppression order. Still, quite funny though.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Maybe they thought it would get much more mileage by posting, then retracting, then leaking so some blog with a much bigger readership would post it so they could have a bigger laugh without the same risk of being accused of insensitivity.
That’s more likely, but the suppression has been more than breached anyway, it’s had a hurricane blow it out of the water.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
@rich prick – Good point, that is more likely. No one seems to have worked out if everyone can be talking about this yet? Is DPF breaking the law?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
To Hon Maurice Williamson the Minister of Customs: Is the Minister confident that David Garrett is smart enough to be picked up by the new Smartgate system; if not, will the old dumbgate system be retained just in case?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
So this is written by David parker, himself with a conviction and Phil Twyford who can’t even win a selection in any seat in the country.
Nice fellas….
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
So this is written by someone with how many convictions?? But he’s a nice fella so that’s ok.
Ok, ok, all MPs and jokesters have to be squeaky clean now. Any more nannyisms?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
I’m not backing Garrett you dumb shit, he should never have had suppression for that, like no one should have suppression.
Fuckwit.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Does this mean Whale is sitting on more information yet to be drip fed?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
‘he should never have had suppression for that, like no one should have suppression.’
I didn’t know english was a second language for Whaleoil.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I wonder when the legal advisor to the Association of Criminals and Tax Lawyers is going to down tools and mount a decent defence of her crooked little cohort.
They’re all “Cactus” now.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Rodney’s really in a hole now.
I see not much is making it past Cactus Kate’s moderation since he arrived in HK. She used to let her wit do the moderating.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Does this mean that Heather Roy (or Simon Ewing-Jarvie) has breached the name suppression order?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Moderately amusing.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
“I didn’t know english was a second language for Whaleoil.”
To Whale a spell chucker is where he has a spell at chucking some words together.
—
re OP: my goodness. they’re turning on their own MPs now. I was expecting at least some kind of baby eating humour.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
HAHAHA! Gold.
I especially liked:
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
>Does this mean that Heather Roy (or Simon Ewing-Jarvie) has breached the name suppression order?
Most of the media (and DPF, just by the way) have breached the order. I’m sure they’ll all be charged, found guilty, and fined. Then the media will all resign their jobs because it would be disgraceful for blatant law breakers to appear on television and write for newspapers, and hypocritical for them to report about other people’s crimes when they themselves don’t give a toss about the law or the courts.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Most of the media (and DPF, just by the way) have breached the order
What they’ve done is quote a statement in the house which is not constrained by suppression orders and repeating the statement is by definition not contempt of court.
Trafigua (and Carter-Ruck) seriously copped a beating when this situation occurred in the UK (and the really stupid thing was that the facts were on their side, a simple article in a sympathetic newspaper would have deflated the underlying controversy).
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Peter… Surely they haven’t JUST quoted the statement in the house, but editorialised about it and added detail to it. But it is an interesting point… does an MP speaking in the house trump a judge’s suppression order? You’re saying they do. Do our judges agree?
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
“Most of the media (and DPF, just by the way) have breached the order”
Yes, up to the point when I understand an alternative order was made (presumably today) as reported by the media, but I have doubts about that, the courts just do not usually work that fast. Whatever, Hide has played this very poorly and ACT may well be history. If there is more to come, and I suspect there is, further defending Garrett may prove to be the nail nailed too far.
Vote:September 16th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Metcalph is correct vis-a-vis privilege, but only to the extent of the exact commentary in the House. Red Alert went beyond that and onto other matters not mentioned in the House which we assume are also the subject of suppression, or if untrue actionable in defamation.
Vote:September 17th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I am staggered that everyone is getting so upset about Rodney’s conviction. Rodney admitted to it in his book – which was published over 3 years ago. Mind you I am not surprised that the left didn’t know as it would require them to a) buy Rodney’s book and b) know how to read.
BTW: According to his book Rodney paid a 15 pound fine so I guess he has lied to the media. Mind you they lies to us all the time
Vote:September 17th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
I love Red Alert – it’s fun, it makes my day, so don’t knock it.
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