7

Why do Politicians Lie?

by Whaleoil on June 7, 2010

Len Brown is a TrougherIt isn’t so much the lies and the cheating that gets the politicians it is the excuses and the cover-ups and today we see len Brown caught by such an occurence.

Caught with his hand in the till, his first insticnt was to be silent, but when pressed for some reasoning behind his “borrowing ” of ratepayer funds for a “norty” with the missus, some groceries and a stereo system he had to lie.

He said an “administrative mistake” led to the Rendezvous Hotel booking being charged to his council credit card instead of his personal one. As well, when he bought the hi-fi system – it was “essential” to get it that day – he did not have his personal card with him.

Mr Brown could not recall the purchase of groceries at Foodtown Takanini, nor the event they were for, but accepted they were for personal use and reimbursed the council.

The lie is obvious, usually they are the best ones, but tell me a man alive today who has a wallet that doesn’t have his personal credit card in it but miraculously does have the council credit card. It isn’t like he has a rack of cards on his dresser and loads his wallet with the cards he thinks he will need that day.

He can’t profess to not know the rules, he is a lawyer. Len Brown has known this was going to come out since the day Jonathan Marshall asked him, along with other Auckland Mayors about their credit card expenses in relation to the drunken sot that runs the North Shore.

Now his Labour advisors, the painting burner David Lewis, and council funded flunky Conor Roberts are going to have to run more lies to cover the “borrowing” of all the money.

Labour’s paid bloggers at The Standard are trying desperately to bring Banksie into all this but they will fail on one basis. He doesn’t even have a Mayoral Credit Card.

“The people of Auckland are going to have to make some very big judgments quite soon about the person best qualified to lead the Super City and I pride myself on delivering affordable progress and being frugal with other people’s money,” he said.

Mr Banks said he had never had a credit card as mayor or when he was a National Party Cabinet minister.

“I just think they are such high risk and it leaves people open to temptation and abuse.

“In the context of the Super City, if I get a run at the top job I certainly won’t have a credit card, nor will any other elected official.“

No amount of spin or trying to blame this outrage on me or DPF can get away from the fact that Len Brown used the council paid credit card for personal expenses, Len Brown got his tame CEO to sign them off and Len Brown only paid the expenses back when sprung by the only real journalist this country seems to have.

Tagged: • • •

Related posts

  • chuck

    “tell me a man alive today who has a wallet that doesn’t have his personal credit card in it but miraculously does have the council credit card.”

    Cam, the closest explanation I could come up with is that I have on occasion taken my credit card out by the computer to pay a bill online. I could forget to put it back. Another thing I have done when paying by credit card is to slip my credit card in a jacket pocket when my hands are full with the purchase and the receipt. My intention is to put the credit card back in my wallet when my hands are free I have forgot.

    That could a good explanation for Brown – except most people would have either another credit card or a cash flow card.

    Could you please give us more details? When were the credit card purchases made and when were the discovered?

    Brown should be given a chance to explain.

    I would like him to answer a couple of questions.

    Mr Brown if you were working for a law firm would you behave in the same way in you use of a company credit card?

    If such purchases were discovered by accounts before you told them do you think you would have a job?

  • coge

    If this individual cannot keep track of his own finances, this does not bode well for Auckland’s future finances.

  • inventory2

    Interestingly, but nor surprisingly, all derogatory comments on Eddie’s thread (not sure if it’s Eddie R or Eddie M) are earning bans. In the meantime, a leftie can can call John Banks a “homophobic prick” and not even earn a tut tut!

  • jimmie

    I think he is telling the truth. Its likely that he has gotten so used to booking stuff up on the council credit card that he doesn’t bother taking any other card with him when he goes shopping.

    I mean he only gets a 6 figure salary – surely he is entitled to a little extra top up via the credit card as 100,000/year is a bit of a struggle really.

    I mean Brown probably would like to put a special rate through the council books to fund his lifestyle – kind of a Mayoral Relief Rate – where it relieves the Mayor of all those unnecessary daily expenses like food/power/mortgage payments/new car payments – how inconvenient for such a man (and his wife) to have to be concerned with such menial tasks.

    Someone should do a study on what mental processes are involved which cause people in elected positions to think that they are better and more entitled than Joe Bloggs. You should do a OIA for more detail Whale I’m sure there is more to this than just these several items.

  • http://whaleoil.gotcha.co.nz/members/donkey/ donkey

    Banks is like John Key when it comes to paying their own way – they have plenty of cash from working bloody hard and being well skilled at their chosen profession prior to deciding that working for NZ the country was what they wanted to do – if memory serves Banks donated his salary to charity just as Key does – at least that part of these 2 gents is quite refreshing compared with the rest – also we must remember that 99% of people on councils / govt departments etc would be lucky to get a job doing fuck all else, so they have no comprehension of what is theirs / not theirs to spend as they have never been accountable for a single thing they have done

  • michaele

    If Len Brown had ‘borrowed’ the money from the council till for the stereo he would be across the road at the district court as theft as a servant.

    And at every corporate the rule is the same – you never use your company card for private purposes. Using it means that the card becomes liable for FBT for the personal purchases portion. (You get private benefit from the interest free period.)

    Should the IRD start asking some questions of the Manukau CC? And the Police asking Len Brown some more?

  • megashitstirrer

    All ambitious politicians seeking higher office will find it necessary to tell lies at some point.

    Take Nick Smith, he is slipping and sliding in and out of factsville so often over the ets he doesnt know if truth is up or down anymore. Key and his gutless caucus back him up so that makes them all lying in chorus.

    Then there are the Greens, they lie at will because they have the higher moral authority. They are lying to save you and the planet stupid – so its OK for the Greens, you and I are just carbon swilling fuckwits.

    Some tell little white fibs to bolster their ego and others tell them all the time because they are pathologically inclined, such as Rodney Hide, his lies go unnoticed because he is insignificant, short and fat.

    Then you have Phil Goof, he lies in a beautifully crafted doctrine style because he is desperate, its his last shot at the evil empire and he has a heap of nasty homo backbenchers ready to shaft him (physically and politically).

    I can only think of one or two that have not and would not tell lies because they are our true NZ political heros, they would remain silent and more power to them.