Transtasman Political Letter - 3 August Digest
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3rd August 2006
The Govt, desperately trying to shut down the Field affair, forces out an apology ... But it satisfies no-one ... United
Future’s Peter Dunne says it’s “vital” a code of standards is developed for MPs ... Opposition is building up to the
Govt’s capital gains tax on foreign investments ... Official papers reveal the depth of a bitter scrap in the Wellington
bureaucracy ... And the Air Force gets its new choppers, but at a cost.
Field’s Grudging Apology Leaves Parliament Tarnished
Taito Phillip Field offered up a grudging apology this week for “any reduction in the public confidence” in Parliament
he had caused.
Dynamics Shift Within Parliament
The Field affair has subtly shifted the dynamics within Parliament. Labour has lost some of the hubris which coloured
its approach to Parliamentary tactics, and several of its Ministers, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe in particular,
in stonewalling National’s questions, have been tarnished by the fallout.
Dunne Calls For Code Of Conduct
Even the Govt’s allies in Parliament believe the outcome of the Taito Phillip Field case is “unsatisfactory.”
Pulling Something Out Of Doha’s Wreckage
The suspension of the Doha Round of WTO talks cast NZ farming industries into despair, and left Trade Minister Phil Goff
and other key figures sifting through the wreckage.
CAPITAL TALK
The private hospital Winston Peters has been in is very private. It refers calls about patients to a Public Relations outfit.
Play Of The Week: Field Manoeuvres
A by-election in Mangere? A surprising number of people think Labour should have nothing to worry about such a prospect
if Taito Phillip Field walks or is pushed.
Transtasman is a subscriber newsletter published weekly and read widely in New Zealand and abroad. The above is a
summary of this week's edition. To subscribe and read the full newsletter see... http://Transtasman.co.nz