TAU FOR TE ATATU?

Bet Phil Goff had a serious case of indigestion after reading the Sunday Star Times this morning.

He is now in an untenable position after the Sunday Star Times has revealed that Chris Carter sought the advice from ex PM Helen Clark on returning to parliament. So he has decided on the strength of a wee korero with her to head back to work in Wellington.

ERRANT WEST AUCKLAND MP Chris Carter last night broke his silence, saying he was returning to parliament, having taken advice from the party's former head, Helen Clark.

Last week Labour leader Phil Goff told Carter to head home to think about his future, after his refusal to front to media and apologise for using his ministerial credit card to buy flowers and massages.

Goff said Carter, MP for Te Atatu, had failed to express contrition and forced him to apologise unreservedly.

Yip, so now he tells us all that he has sough the advice of Aunty Helen about the situation he had got himself in due to his arrogance and overblown sense of entitlement.

And by association she has now shown that she sees no wrong doing among any of her former troughing Ministers.

It is clear that Carter has respect for Clark but none for Goff. Carter also indicates that he is not sorry. He shows no contrition. He displays all the characteristics of a narcissist..

So Goff now has no choice. He will have to cut him loose.

When the Sunday Star-Times asked Carter if he felt pressured into apologising, he replied: "I think that, ah, ah, we had discussions around it, of course. I think I needed time to reflect on it. When you are shoved into a corridor with a whole lot of journalists who have been waiting three-and-a-half hours to interview you... it wasn't very conducive to clear thinking."

Carter said: "We could argue the rights and wrongs of whether I've done anything wrong. The only personal items were two bunches of flowers that a staff member sent on their card, and all ministerial travel was signed off."

He said the apology was given "because you have to think about what is good for the Labour Party".

And at the end of the day the country's sickliest political fruit cake is a stranger to the truth. And he has no political antennae if he agrees to be questioned at length by the Sunday Star Times on such tricky issues.

Carter was embarrassed again last week when it was revealed he promised exclusive interviews to both TV3 and TV One. "I guess I just wanted to be nice. It's called PR, that's what politicians do."

So Goff, to ensure any semblance of respect, will have to cut him lose and do it quickly.So there will have to be a by election in Te Atatu. That means Nationals Tau Henare will have to step up to the plate. Thats good - Tau looks to us to be as ready as he ever would be to take back Te Atatu.

SAFE UNSAFE

The Sunday Star Times is carrying a free advert today for one of the best financed animal extremist groups in the country - SAFE. Their mouthpiece Mike King, has become all self righteous over what he believes is "animal cruelty" - the sow crate, used to protect sows while they are farrowing ( pregnant) Pigs are notorious for rolling on their young and getting pretty vicious with each other when they are pregnant.

We have always wondered why the media give so much time to King who has convinced the public of New Zealand that he knew nothing about the conditions that pigs are kept in. Strange that his change of stance and sudden insights came on the back of the fact that his contract with the Pork Board came to an end.

Anyway back to the crap that the SST has belched out today.. As we said it is a free advert for an activist group that is well funded. So why didn't the paper give the same column inches space to the Pork Board? Like -where is the balance, the fairness, the accuracy? More importantly, where is the journalism? It is nothing more than a puffy advert for SAFE. no doubt the journo was all starry eyed drooling over the " celebs" they interviewed for the story.

And lets get back to thhe basis of this argument. Sows being kept in a small pen so they can't harm themselves or their piglets.

Picture this, a woman confined to bed for the last few weeks of her pregnancy for say high blood pressure - she is not allowed to move apart from going to the toilet... It is done to give her the best chance. Same in the pork industry. Same reason, same treatment.

And we wonder if Mike King had turned up unannounced in the middle of the night at the maternity ward what the reaction would have been from pregnant mums?

They most likely would have become deeply upset, screamed, cried and probably injured themselves.

So whats the bloody problem? The problem is bad journalism, an easy story and celebrity who is could be argued had a snitch on with his former employer and now has got a serious case of selective piousness. Venal he is.

We will buy a bloody big ham this Christmas. We hope we can find a good New Zealand one.

We support New Zealand primary industries, Its not easy out there and we believe that they do a fantastic job of producing good food in a good way.

Get out there and do the same.

WONDER WHERE THE SUNDAY STAR TIMES GOT THIS STORY?

We were amused to see this story in the SST about the curious public servant clown phobic and the circus themed Christmas party...

We ran it here on Roarprawn 5 days ago .

Alf Grumble asked the question -Is the public service a safe place for clown phobics to work?

ONE CHIEF TO RULE THEM ALL

All eyes in Parliament are on the journalists employed by the three Fairfax mastheads, the DomPost, Sunday Star Times and the Christchurch Press. Fairfax is to chuck them all in one room in the Gallery and appoint a bureau chief from among the current staff- or possibly appoint from outside the organisation.

The days of serious competition between the Dead Tree Press papers will undoubtedly disappear.

The reasonably recently arrived Aussie scribe who took up the political editorship at the Sunday Star Times is apparently seriously miffed at the change in circumstances which means he may lose some status in the musical chairs game that's about to play out.

Apparently there is a book running in the round house on who is the front runner is of the two main contenders - Tracy Watkins of the DomPost and the ginga from Christchurch Colin Espiner. The good money is on Espiner who is a good mate of Paul Thompson, Group Executive Editor, one of the favoured few in the Fairfax managerial stable.

A parliamentary insider reckon the reshuffle wont make bugger all difference to the quality of the column inches produced by Fairfax. Apparently, corridor stops - designed to get quick sound bites to populate ever hungry online new sites are now the staple for parliamentary journalists. No real investigation, no having deep and meaningfuls with Minsters and MP's and bugger all OIA's. They just follow up on the ones the opposition churn out.

Sad Really.

No doubt this will all be a hot topic at the impending nuptials of the old southern media curmudgeon Barry Soper and his youthful bride Heather du Plessis - Allan.

FAIRFAX DOWN GRADED.

It doesnt surprise us that Fairfax has been downgraded by Standard and Poors ... We still reckon we will be one Sunday paper down by Xmas.

SUNDAY STAR NEWS

We think it may only be a matter of time before the Sunday News disappears off the newstands.

We were wondering if we were going slightly barmy this morning, menopause does that to you periodically, as we immersed ourselves in the Sunday papers - normally we get all three , The Sunday News, Sunday Star Times and the Herald on Sunday but the HOS was not available in Masterton this morning.

Anyway page A6 and A7 had stories and pictures of Kirsten Dunne Powell written by Jonathan Marshall - It was on Page 3 of the Sunday News with his byline. On A6 was a story from Catherine Woulfe on Tattoos - it appeared with the same picture and byline on page 6 of the News .

Then Leigh Vand Der Stoep did a yarn on Serial Slayers on A7 and again, with her byline it appeared in the Sunday News on page 13.

This may have been happening for a while but its the first time we have noticed it and it does not bode well for competition and a better deal for readers - It also means you pay twice for the same news.

So why have two newspapers? We think that the Sunday News days are numbered....