Holly Walker

God help us if the Greens ever get control of Treasury – they can’t even read a Budget document.

The horribly sanctimonious Holly Walker got it embarrassingly wrong with her Budget analysis on Twitter.

Massive cuts to Ministry for the Environment spending in #Budget2013 – a 34.6% decrease.

— Holly Walker (@hollyrwalker) May 16, 2013

Now that would be massive news – if only it were true. Poor old Clint will be fuming that Holly didn’t check with him before spouting off.  Read more »

More jewels of wisdom espoused by Holly Walker and accordingly embraced by the Herald. Plenty of supporting comment by Twyford but did the Horrid actually think about contacting Nick Smith?

Handing state homes over to community providers may benefit corporate developers, the Green Party says.

Housing Minister Nick Smith has said he wants more social housing provided from within the community, rather than by the state.

Greens Housing spokeswoman Holly Walker said the community housing sector was an important part of solving the housing crisis.

But handing homes over to community organisations would risk benefiting corporate housing developers set up as pseudo-community providers.

“There is a real concern that if Nick Smith’s plan is fast-tracked the beneficiaries will be National’s developer mates, not the thousands of families in urgent need of affordable housing,” Ms Walker said.

“It’s important that the Government retains its responsibility for the wellbeing of low-incomes families and ensures that tenants in state, community, and private rental accommodation are all living in safe, secure, appropriate housing.

“Transferring properties to the community housing sector shouldn’t be seen as a chance to abdicate Government responsibility for the outcomes of those tenants.”  Read more »

Outgoing MP Trevor Mallard hosted a meeting in Hutt South for their next MP, Holly Walker. He looks so enthusiastic about it all too:

The meeting was on behalf of Young Labour and they were campaigning for what they call Tertiary Fares…or cheap public transport fared for young bludgers.  Read more »

Holly Walker has always protrayed a sort of cartoonish attitude to issues…like her silly ill conceived lobbying bill.

Now we know why. She thinks she is Velma Dinkley.

The resemblance is uncanny:

Holly Walker’s lobbying bill is in trouble…but here is an idea for her to consider with fundraising.

The sold-out walking tour began along the Spree River here, within sight of theReichstag’s glass dome. But the group would not visit the historic Parliament building, Checkpoint Charlie or the Brandenburg Gate. About 30 people assembled instead to spend a gray Saturday afternoon in November standing outside office buildings in a cold drizzle.

They were there to follow Timo Lange, 30, dressed all in black, with a hint of stubble on his chin, to learn how influence peddlers ply their trade in the German capital. Mr. Lange is a campaigner for the nonprofit group LobbyControl, which began giving the tours in 2009, to unexpected success for such a seemingly wonky subject.

This year the group has given 144 tours for about 3,400 participants, who pay around $13 (half price for students). The tour’s success reflects an electorate that, by American standards, has a low tolerance for money in politics.

Holly Walker has announced:

The Green Party is pleased that the Government Administration Committee will take extra time to carefully consider the Lobbying Disclosure Bill.

…

The committee has been granted a six month extension until July next year before reporting the Bill back to the House. This extension is to allow Ms Walker to develop further options for the committee’s consideration, taking into account the issues raised in submissions.

“This extension means the committee can really give the Bill the time it deserves to ensure that the lobbying disclosure regime is the best it can be,” said Ms Walker.

…

“I will prepare some options for the committee to consider to ensure we work towards a lobbying disclosure regime appropriate for New Zealand’s political context.

Oh come on, despite all the offers to help, Walker is wasting Parliament’s time for what my sources tell me will be an complete re-write of the Bill.  Select Committees are supposed to be for tweaking and reviewing a Bill not bending over backward to do a job of an incompetent MP.

Might I suggest some questions the Gallery should be asking:

• Will Holly Walker ensure that there is another round of public submissions on the new “redrafted” Bill?
• Will Holly Walker take up any of the offers from more qualified people to help redraft the Bill or will she continue the “pedestrian MP knows best” attitude?
• Will Holly Walker commit to not choosing favoured/left-wing submitters and blocking oral submissions she does not like?

The Securities Industry Association are not the first group to warn that Holly’s bill will actually encourage the very type of professional lobbyists she supposedly wants to avoid.  Her bill creates a regulatory monopoly.  Many who lobby part time will be put off by the new law or scared that they will fall foul of it.

Maybe she’s setting up a lobbying industry so she has a job to retire into?

MP Holly Walker’s Lobbying Disclosure Bill could set off a lobbying boom, the Securities Industry Association (SIA) warns.

The SIA, which represents stock brokers, said it supported Walker’s objective – increased transparency around lobbying activity and increased trust in political decision-making – but the approach taken in the bill would have the unintended consequence of forcing companies and interest groups to engage the services of professional lobbyists.

The bill was incorrectly focused on the entities that should be captured or exempted, rather than on information to be disclosed and the most efficient and effective way to ensure that the information was disclosed, the SIA said.

Holly Walker is taking a flogging from all sides with Dave Henderson of the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations of Aotearoa Do-Gooders Socialist Association of Aotearoa giving her a good slapping.

Ms Walker’s presentation to the select committee considering the bill contains four guiding principles:

1. Lobbying is a legitimate activity.

2. Open and accessible government and Parliament is vital.

. The public has a right to know who is lobbying MPs on which issues.

4. A lobbying disclosure regime needs to be practical, workable and fair.

No-one can disagree with these, but the bill before the House does not meet the last of the four. It is a sledgehammer for a nut.

What is being proposed doesn’t differentiate between the so-called bad lobbyists and those organisations and individuals who are participating in a democratic right to discuss and put forward a particular point of view.

No lobbying regime in the world has been able to come up with a justifiable definition of “good” vs “evil” lobbying.  Holly’s real motive to have a law that enables her to publicly target groups she doesn’t like when they meet with her political opponents.

What is being proposed doesn’t differentiate between the so-called bad lobbyists and those organisations and individuals who are participating in a democratic right to discuss and put forward a particular point of view.

This latter group accounts for 95 per cent of the lobbying that takes place in New Zealand.

These discussions are often about informing MPs and officials on the impact of particular policies and issues in our communities. These are crucial to a functioning democracy.

The bill is in danger of stifling these discussions through bureaucracy. It appears to be written around an assumption that a few unidentified suppliers of independent advice are somehow acting inappropriately and thus need to be regulated.

Even the lefties are effectively calling the Lobbying Bill undemocratic.

This bill will keep charities and community organisations from fulfilling their purpose as they spend their time, our donations and taxpayer money creating lists of all their interactions with MPs.

How can this work when many people expect to see their MP at the supermarket on a Saturday or at the school fair on a Sunday?

Interestingly, this morning the tip-line has learned that Holly has sought to block certain vocal critics of her Bill from presenting to the select committee.

More on that to come…

Holly Walker scoffed at the offer of Jordan Williams to fix her silly lobbying bill. She should have a snack of humble pie and pick up the phone and give Jordan a call.

A bill seeking to make lobbying of politicians more transparent could have a chilling effect on communication with members of Parliament says Mary Harris, the Clerk of Parliament.

She said the bill would affect daily dealings of MPs and their staff with the public “and potentially could discourage constituents from engaging with members and their offices”.

Because it covered communication with MPs and their staff it could have “significant implications” for the House in the performance of its functions.

She had concerns that what she called the broad definition of lobbying activity in the bill could have “a potential chilling effect on open communication” with MPs.

“Many hundreds of individuals and organisations have contact with members and ministers every day, both in relation to matters of public policy and also in respect of personal grievances and concerns,” she said in her submission yesterday to the government administration select committee considering the bill.

Ms Harris also believed requiring lobbyists to register under law could give them a status or pre-eminent standing in policymaking processes.

“Such standing might be desirable in larger democracies, where the size of the body politic means not all who wish to participate in parliamentary processes can do so,” she said. “This is not the case in New Zealand.”

…

Ms Harris said the bill as worded meant she and her staff were not exempted. She suggested the bill might be better limited to the decision-making processes of ministers rather than all MPs.

She also questioned the Auditor-General developing lobbying codes in light of her “existing constitutional relationships with members, ministers and the House and her role in auditing the public sector”.

The bill is a dog’s breakfast that has been sicked up on the carpet. It should be substantially amended or withdrawn entirely. At the very least Holly should call Jordan.

Julia Gillard has tipped over again after a shoe malfunction. She should have taken a leaf out of Holly Walker’s fashion tips and worn gumboots when walking on grass.

She sure is going to have a massive sore cankle in the morning.

Julia Gillard fell over spectacularly near the Gandhi Memorial in Delhi today after having yet another shoe problem.

On her way to a press conference on the last day of her tour of India, the Prime Minister lost a shoe when the heel dug into the soft grass.

Later she laughed off the incident, providing a lengthy explanation for the men around: “For men who get to wear flat shoes all day every day, if you wear a heel it can get embedded in soft grass.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard walks past the spot where she tripped earlier during her official visit to India.

”And then when you pull your foot out, the shoe doesn’t come, and then the rest of it is as you saw.”