And the winner is …

Okay some good research done by readers on whether any past Government’s can compete with this one for the title of most corrupt.

Amongst the serious entries (had to be as good as covering up MPs having immigrants as unpaid labour, refusing to pay back money, deliberate breaches of electoral law etc.), we had:

* Holyoake years for mini-cartels and import licenses. But as this is still current Green and Progressive party policy, and was universal policy in the 60s this is ruled out.

* Lange Government for selling off two French Agents for $500,000. But as no personal gain was involved doesn’t qualify as corrupt.

* Muldoon for usurpation of Parliament (Fitzgerald v Muldoon), This isn’t bad having parallels to Darnton v Clark) but again no personal gain for Muldoon involved – he was merely illegally implementing election policy.

* Peter M nominated a series of foreign corrupt Governments ranging from Jean Chretien to any Nigerian Government.

* Lange Government for hiding that the BNZ was almost bankrupt, and that the country had a $5 billion deficit. Not so much corrupt as incompetent.

* Grant M makes a strong case for the Hall Government with settlers bribed with confiscated land

* Vogel and Seddon also pick up some nominations

* Don Brash chimes in with agreement that Vogel, Hall and Seddon may have been more corrupt than the current Government so amends his statement about this Government being the most corrupt *ever* to merely “The Clark Labour Government is the most corrupt government in the last hundred years.” 🙂

* Finally Cardinal Walsingham chimes in with a nomination for Hall also

So the consensus is that the Hall Government is the most corrupt ever, and the Clark Government is only in second or third place. Mind you if people give her a fourth term, I am sure she can claim the mantle off the good Sir Joseph Ward!!