The Greens and inquiries
Toby Manhire blogs at The Listener:
John Key has dismissed the Green party call for an inquiry into the raid on Kim Dotcom’s mansion by saying that the Greens call for an inquiry on virtually everything.
“It’s sort of the boy who cried wolf a few too many times I think,” the prime minister said on TVNZ Breakfast this morning.
Is he right?
Here are some of the things Green MPs have demanded independent inquiries into (some have been successful) over the last 18 months.
Australian shipments of uranium passing through NZ ports.
Hydraulic fracturing (successful).
The death of SAS solider Leon Smith in Afghanistan.
SAS prison transfers in Afghanistan.
South Canterbury Finance affair.
The police case against Urewera Four.
Leak of Ports of Auckland worker’s details.
Genetic experiments on animals.
The Sky City convention centre negotiations.
Alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka in 2009.
The Rena accident and oil spill response.
NZ’s dependence on imported oil.
Good to see a journalist doing research to substantiate a claim. That is indeed a fair number of inquiries demanded.
The sad thing is that the Greens will ignore the results of an inquiry, if it clashes with their beliefs. Take for example the Royal Commission on Genetic Engineering.