1. A WORD FROM THE PREZ
2. CLARK FLIP-FLOPS AGAIN ON IRAQ
3. HOT GOSS FROM PARLIAMENT
4. TOP TEN NEW SHOWS FOR MAORI TV
5. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

1. A WORD FROM THE PREZ

2. CLARK FLIP-FLOPS AGAIN ON IRAQ

National Leader Bill English says the Government’s plan to send up to 160 engineering and support staff to help with reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan is an attempt by Helen Clark to curry favour with Washington.

"While the decision to commit the New Zealand Defence Force engineering group has National's full support, it looks like a wild swing by a Prime Minister who obviously can't make up her mind when it comes to foreign policy."

"Helen Clark's embarrassing criticism of the United States - which she has tried to explain away as her 'principled' stand on New Zealand's sovereignty - has affected New Zealand's relations to such an extent that this backward flip has become essential.

"There's no doubt that while credibility counts in international relations, so too does reliability which our Prime Minister seriously lacks. There is no strategic planning process, no careful judgement - just a clumsy display of back pedalling.”

ACT Leader Richard Prebble also welcomed the Government's decision to abandon its policy of refusing to assist in Iraq except as part of a UN force.

"It has been obvious all year that the UN is incapable of responding to the Iraq crisis.

"The government does owe it to the New Zealand public to explain why it was so wrong to send any troops to Iraq except under the United Nations, and now it is so right to send troops to work directly under the British who are part of the coalition of the willing,” said Mr Prebble.

3. HOT GOSS FROM PARLIAMENT

Sad news punters – Sneaky R Wilson is no more. He has written one last column, but it is a bit too naughty for Scoop to publish.

To read the latest (and last) column, to see some of the highlights and predictions for the year ahead, and to find out why Sneaky is no more – please go to this address:

http://youngnats.org.nz/new_write

Thank you for all your feedback, I am glad that people have enjoyed reading this column as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

My lips are sealed!

-Sneaky R Wilson

4. TOP TEN NEW SHOWS FOR MAORI TV

1. Maggie's Wira Gardner Show - Wira gets spectacular results with horse manure and lots of taxpayer's money.

2. Trackside - business programme for state-sector entrepreneurs explaining how to set up hidden income through your TAB account.

3. Survivor - before being finally voted off MTS Island, Trevor jacks up a cushy job with Te Puni Kokiri.

4. 24 - Parekura Horomia counts the number of deep-fried Mars bars he can eat in one sitting.

5. Two Thousand Acres of Sky - Donna Hall lodges a surprising new treaty claim.

6. The Making of 'Whale Rider' - Kiwi engineers discuss the construction of Parekura Horomia's ministerial self-drive car.

7. Third Watch - after her latest Treaty case Donna Hall splashes out on yet another Cartier.

8. Moeke in the Middle - Moeke bites the big one after finding himself pinned between Rodney Hide and Parekura Horomia.

9. The Young and the Jobless - Hone loses his job at the grocery store after Margaret Wilson jacks up the youth minimum wage.

10. Worst Case Scenario - watch as MTS directors hire John Davey as chief executive (to be continued).

Be brave and pass it on!

St Molesworth
http://www.geocities.com/stmolesworth

5. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

This is a great site with dirt on almost every celebrity – I particularly like the mug shot of Bill Gates from the 1970s, when he was taken into custody for a traffic offense. It also has actual copies of the backstage demands of divas like Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com

Any views expressed here are not necessarily those of New Zealand Young Nationals, or the New Zealand National Party.

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Editor: Grant Tyrrell

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