Tamihere Speech On The Media – 30 March 2005

This is the first opportunity I have had to address the House since making a substantive personal statement on November 4th 2004 and resigning my Ministerial warrants. That personal statement pre-empted the findings of the White Inquiry and the SFO clearance of me and have proven to be true.

Firstly, I want to thank the rank and file Kiwis in the heartland that reserved their judgement and were extraordinarily kind and fair to myself and family. Secondly, I wanted to acknowledge the support and commitment of caucus colleagues in this House over this difficult period, but particularly Clayton Cosgrove who provided significant support and advice.

It is important in our democracy that politicians are placed under significant scrutiny and that the media ask the hard questions about politicians’ conduct. The media, is right to ask searching questions and to opine on illegality, wrong doing, values, standards, ethics and morality. This is important and I have withstood that intense scrutiny. A new level of accountability has been set for MPs, I welcome that.

I want now to pose questions of my own to the media but particularly concentrating on the relationship between Duncan Garner of TV3 and his soul mate, Rodney Philip Hide.

There is no doubt that Rodney Philip Hide and Duncan Garner were called in to the Waipareira Trust as early as August 2004 to help shape and frame a four week media and Parliamentary hatchet job on myself, starting 14 October 2004. The main architect in bringing them together was Duncan Garner’s uncle known as Bruce Silver Bryant, Chief Financial Advisor at the Waipareira Trust. To be fair he is the Uncle of Duncan Garner’s defacto wife, Mahinerangi Forbes. She works for TV3. He contacted Duncan to provide him with the exclusive scoop. Duncan didn’t investigate, Duncan conspired.

My questions are: Did Duncan Garner and Rodney Hide know that Bruce Silver Bryant was investigated for taking backhanders and inducements in an insurance scam? Did they know the same Bruce Silver Bryant was investigated for wrongfully signing off financial audits in a multi-million dollar insurance collapse?

Did they know when the ACT Party was attacking TWOA that Bruce Bryant was the main financial advisor to Rongo Wetere? Did they know that Bruce Bryant designed the scheme to move $7m from the Wananga to a company owned by his son who was married to Rongo Wetere’s daughter? Did they know Bruce Bryant designed the company known as ‘Oma Investments’ where $12m was moved from the Wananga and did they know that Bruce Bryant only resigned from Oma Investments this month, March 2005?

Why did Garner or Hide protect Bryant, but attacked Wetere?

It is one thing for the media to report the news, it is another thing when Duncan Garner, his Uncle and Rodney Hide get together to manufacture the news for rating purposes only. The toll that others have to pay for this behaviour is significant. The human carnage is devastating.

Did Duncan Garner and Rodney Hide know that Reg Ratahi was an Inland Revenue tax inspector of over eighteen years? Did they know Bruce Bryant holds himself out to be a tax specialist? Did they know that Briant and Ratahi oversaw payments the day the tax allegations were made against me they were wrong, but they made them anyway.

We know a decent journalist called Audrey Young from the NZ Herald seven days into the hatchet job published an account, (21 October 2004) entitled ‘John Tamihere – the case for and against’. Just asking some simple questions and obtaining some reasonable expert advice lead her to the conclusion that the White Inquiry reached clearing myself on all allegations.

Did Duncan Garner and Rodney Hide accept this – NO they continued on day after day making it up. Does Duncan Garner conduct an independent media consultancy business – if so who are his clients and how is he paid? Are they associated with the ACT Party? Obviously TV3 does not pay well. The Parliamentary Library will provide evidence that Garner gives Rodney Hide rating at 2% in the polls with a 80% disapproval rating more airtime than any other politician in Parliament. I bet TV3 doesn’t broadcast this. They should be ashamed of themselves.

ENDS

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