Labour leader Phil Goff remains adamant that he was not briefed by SIS director Dr Warren Tucker on the Israeli backpacker investigation.
Goff's oponents are painting him as a liar, all on the strength of a note from a meeting released by the SIS to attack blogger Cameron Slater under the Official Information Act.
Quite why the SIS released this information to Slater, who was only ever going to use it to discredit Goff, when it would not release the same information to Fairfax, and when it seldom releases information on any matter to anyone, is another question.
In any event, the notes from the meeting don't tell us much.
So are we any closer to knowing what was discussed? No. Goff said he had no discussion on the topic, and the notes say the matter was discussed. Someone is either mistaken or is lying.
But we don't know who. So claims Goff is lying are unfounded, because the evidence is inconclusive. Notes from a meeting can be erroneous, just as a person's recollection of what happened at that meeting can be wrong.
It seems pretty clear that this has been another attack orchestrated by National's pet bloggers on Phil Goff, probably at the behest of their masters, aided by a compliant news media that much prefers scandal to serious policy analysis.
Friday, August 5, 2011
4 comments:
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It seems pretty clear that this has been another attack orchestrated by National's pet bloggers on Phil Goff, probably at the behest of their masters, aided by a compliant news media that much prefers scandal to serious policy analysis.
ReplyDeleteIt was GOFF who put out a presser at lunchtime yesterday protesting his innocence. It was GOFF who accused the SIS Head of lying. It is GOFF who seems prepared to die in a ditch on this issue.
Check out Robert Winter's comments here:
http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2011/08/cameron-slaters-greatest-hit.html
Unless I am much mistaken Goff has not accused Tucker of lying. Do you have evidence to the contrary?
ReplyDeleteGoff issued a press release to defend himself against the claims made by a number of people that he has lied. What exactly is he supposed to do if he is right? Just say nothing and let people conclude he's weak and has stuffed up again.
Supposing Goff has told the truth. If so then all he has done is defend himself from the usual attacks.
You'd be nailing him to the wall if he'd stayed quiet.
I agree with your thinking Scott and wrote this 'parallel' post earlier.
ReplyDeletehttp://robertguyton.blogspot.com/2011/08/whipping-goff.html
ps I recommend that you disregard the comments of 'Inv2' as he is fanatically partisan and a blogger who, more than any other, has day after day, attacked Phil Goff on the flimsiest of pretences, all smothered in his unctuous 'dear oh dear oh dear' phrase.
Totally agree Robert, it's the angsty oh-so-concerned poseurs like Invertebrate2 that repulse the most, greasy amateur hams of the tawdry fascisti sideshow.
ReplyDelete