Tamihere Report

Purely in a professional sense, I have to admire the 9th floor spin machine. We now have newspapers running the headlines that John Tamihere will be cleared by the White Report.

One has to read furthe rin to see it is just referring to the liability over the tax on the $195,000. Well this part of the scandal has been known for some months anyway as the Trust have accepted responsibility. So the clearance relates to something already known.

In the NZ Herald we get some further details. There we find that if their source is correct John Tamihere is in fact criticised over a four-wheel-drive vehicle he received and tax liability for a 1998 bonus of $22,784.

So the tactic is to get the media to focus on the areas where he has been cleared, and not worry about the others.