If National spun like Labour

Helen Clark has tried to spin the issue of the $800,000 as an issue nothing to do with her or Labour but as a dispute between Parliamentary Service and the Auditor-General. She has declared we have done nothing wrong and they have said they refuse to pay it back, regardless of what the Auditor-General says.

Now think if National applied the same tactics to the GST broadcasting error. The Electoral Commission actually pays the bills for the broadcasting so if National spun like Labour, they would have claimed “This is nothing to do with National – its is a dispute between the broadcasters and the Electoral Commission”.

And instead of agreeing to pay it back, and proposing a bill which will legally allow them to pay it back, they would have said “No it isn’t our fault the advertising agency booked too much time. How we were to know. We have done nothing wrong so won’t pay a cent”.

And instead of immediately notifying the Electoral Commission of the error, accepting all responsibility for the error, and agreeing to face any penalthy that comes their way, National would have constantly attacked the Electoral Commission as “unfair” and “smearing” National.

The difference between the two approaches is huge.