I was sorry to see this …
Article here at stuff.co.nz
As I said when the Lombard Finance charges were laid, I had quite a bit to do with Doug Graham and Bill Jeffries as cabinet minsters when I was a journo in the Press Gallery. I liked them both.
This result will give pause for thought to Wyatt Creech and John Luxton, two former cabinet ministers who were at one time board members of Mark Bryers’ crooked Blue Chip property … scheme. I heard the liquidator is going after them.
[Blue Chip companies Liquidator Jeff] Meltzer said those named in the claim included Mark Bryers, the Blue Chip boss bankrupted in 2009, former Cabinet ministers Wyatt Creech and John Luxton, and ex-chairman Jock Irvine. But many others were also named, he said, refusing to issue a list.
– P
Its a bit like the situation with Ansett NZ …. some very highflying captains of industry on the board of that particular one …. those who have keep on getting more board appointments – with little or no accountability. These guys i hope – are only the tip of a very big iceberg.
Its a horrible irony that one of the biggest charlatans – Sir Michael Fay is probably the only hope for Crafar Farms. At least he is doing something useful for real Kiwis on this occasion.
Then you get that breathless speaker Dame Jenny Shipley – picking up a cool $1,000 a day to sit on her padded derriere deliberating over the cockup that is Christchurch post earthquake. She is the one who told us all in a school marm type fashion “we cant keep poking the chinese in the eye with a sharp stick…” Why not – its fun.
One doesn’t have to ruminate very deeply to work out the WIIFM of ‘public service’ … besides the no-doubt-deeply-held personal convictions that ‘the other side’ (whatever your own political persuasion) would run the country to hell in a hand-basket, there’s the delightful opportunity to be in the position of ladling out jobs for the boys/girls as a reward for loyalty and services rendered.
The Prime Minister’s electorate chairman sitting on the board of NZ on Air is just a recent example — it’s only natural to give perks to people you know and trust … Labour and National both did it and will again. Such is life.
As for Mrs Shipley, I think you do her a disservice. She’s not a dimwit and she would, in my view add considerable value — in acumen and contacts — to whichever board of directors was lucky enough to attract her.
On the bigger picture of silver-haired patricians being used to soothe the punters of finance companies, well, see my earlier post. I’m deeply disappointed that Creech and Luxton didn’t do everything in their power to shut down Mark Bryers’ Blue Chip operation when they woke up to it.
Instead (John Luxton spoke to a journo about this, I have the article in my archive) they resigned and quietly walked away… leaving the dodgy operation to lever more funds out of unsuspecting victims.
Horrible.
I agree Peter it never ceases to amaze me when qualified people such as Shipley get into positions to what average people seem like a lot of money there immediate reaction is envy, Ivan there is often valid reasons why these people get $1000 a day. Just because its out of peoples reach does not make it unworthy.
Scott Yorke at ImperatorFish shares a wry thought:
Worth a read: http://www.imperatorfish.com/2012/02/villain-or-fool.html