Has Jacinda read her own coalition agreement?
NewstalkZB reports:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is defending her deputy, and New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters, amid criticism over donations to his party from the racing industry.
Yes she is defending NZ First having massive secret donations from the racing industry and in return delivering huge financial windfalls to the racing industry with taxpayer money.
Peters, also Minister of Racing, has delivered lucrative benefits to the industry since taking the portfolio’s reins in 2017.
National finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith said this afternoon New Zealanders needed reassurance that there had been no undue influence as a result of the donations.
“We have New Zealand First ministers making large decisions about large spending and all New Zealanders want to be assured about the integrity of the decision-making.”
But Ardern said these sorts of accusations were “not fair”.
“Racing policy, decisions, bills, as with any decision we make, as a Government, goes through considerable scrutiny – no one policy is ever decided by one party, they go through all of us.”
Jacinda needs to read the Labour and NZ First Coalition agreement. It requires Labour to “Support New Zealand First’s Racing policy”. There is no other portfolio which has the agreement requiring the Government to support one party’s entire policy. This shows how massively important it was that NZ First could guarantee to its funders their policies would be implemented.