"Judith Collins has been caught out not telling the truth.
She has misled the New Zealand public; she has misled her boss the Prime Minister; and her best defence is that she lied to us, by omission.
It is simply not good enough. She is no longer fit to be a Minister, she has failed the truth test. I have been saying this for a week now: She did not just pop in to Oravida, she planned it weeks out.
Now, we know she had a top level dinner and meeting with Oravida bosses and a senior official from the Chinese Government, all in a private capacity. There is no such thing when you are representing NZ as a Minister overseas.
Remember, her husband is a director of this firm. That’s the conflict. The Collins family stands to gain from the success of this company. You don’t just forget this sort of detail, you hold it back on purpose, and that’s what she has done.
I have always said when you put a Minister or MP in a tight spot, their default setting is to lie. They do not tell the truth and this is what has happened here. Collins has once again proven my theory correct.
She has misled the NZ public and that’s not acceptable. She has lost the confidence of a nation. She has misled the PM – and that’s where it always used to get terminal for Ministers with Helen Clark in charge. But John Key has decided to tough this one out. It’s the wrong decision. He should sack her.
He sacked Nick Smith for less in my opinion. Collins simply tried to bluff us, but she has failed and she has been caught out. She’s not indispensable. Her reputation is shot.
It’s clear the Chinese saw her visit and subsequent website appearance as an ‘endorsement’. But the Prime Minister continues to claim it was just a ‘promotion’. There is absolutely no difference. It’s the same thing. It’s semantics Prime Minister. The John Key of old would have crucified Helen Clark for such garbage. He needs to step back and see this for what it is.
He has been implicated in Judith Collins’s web of deceit. She has misled Kiwis and she has misled the Prime Minister. She is no longer fit to hold the warrant as Justice Minister."
I can’t say it anymore direct than this: She should be sacked.
