Parliament

After a three week sitting MPs have a three week break coinciding with bad weather and school holidays.

Many MPs work diligently through these recesses, doing the hard yards in their electorates for most of the holidays. Those who are wise take a bit of time off as they can’t be working all the time.

The problem for me as a tax payer is those MPs who “spend some time with the family” for the full three weeks, doing fuck all in their constituency or for their party while waxing fat off the tax-payer.

All readers should ask their local MP if they are going on an extended holiday or if they will be working during recess, and ask them how many other holidays they have taken already this year. Many seem to think that school holiday recesses are always time off with the family, not a time to get on top of the issues in their electorate and doing the work for the party that put them there.

List MPs of course have no constituents and so tend to slope off un-noticed by anyone, including their party.

The latest parliamentary recess is almost at an end.

Recess is the time to find out whether your local MP or scum list MP trying to be local is any good.

A three week recess is a chance for dud MPs to skive of for a couple of weeks, dodging their responsibilities in the name of a two week break to “spend time with the family” or some other excuse.

Good MPs take some time off, but having just come out of the summer recess they don’t like taking too much time off because they want to spend time getting on top of constituent cases.

Some MPs end up on work trips overseas. These may be of some value, and may not be, often just being junkets and a big waste of time.

This category of MP is not as bad as the bludgers who take the tax payers money and go on holiday.

Here is Nick Smith’s personal statement to parliament today, where he announced his resignation from all portfolios.

David Carter gets worked up and sledges Grant Robertson hard:

The PM gave Labour’s Mr Invisible a lesson in why you don’t ask deliberately vague primary questions in Parliament.

Classic.  Shearer was lost for words, and Lockwood joined in the fun.

Play of the Day.

Enjoy this crushing by the Crusher who was clearly enjoying the General Debate yesterday:

Last night at the introduction of his bill, on behalf of the Hutt City Council, Trevor Mallard couldn’t help himself from being Mister Nasty.

Despite the platitudes of David Shearer that Labour will avoid the “Gotcha” politics of the past Trevor Mallard just can;t give it up. He took time to mock someone not even in the House, take umbrage at Lockwood Smith allegedly going to London and wishing a National member (unnamed) an early demise.

Of course it matters not that Aaron Gilmore is next on National’s list and so perhaps Mallard is wishing several National members would have heart attacks. It certainly seems that way from his little speech of nastiness.

Steven Joyce finished up the Address in Reply bebate by slaughtering all the Davids of Labour, it is today’s Play of the Day:

I was watching parliament and saw Winston Peters apparently skewer Anne Tolley…I even tweeted about it…I was going to call this play of the day…that was until I obtained the letter that he tabled. Watch the video before you read the document.

He mentioned “font” and “colour” of signs. Then he goes on to say that Anne Tolley wrote a letter “complaining” and “excusing her predecessor’s waywardness”.

The letter that he tabled says nothing of the sort and it is not how he described the letter to the house. In fact Anne Tolley praises the previous Minister, Judith Collins.

In point of fact I believe that Anne Tolley has good grounds to take this case to the Privileges Committee for Winston peters misleading the house.

Winston Peters has actually lied to and misled Parliament. He is nothing short of an unmitigated liar….and corrupt.

Document tabled by Winston Peters in parliament