the Rugby World Cup

A pommy trougher MP is in the news for organising a trip to the World Cup for other trougher MPs. They have scored some sweet-heart deals that aren’t available to ordinary pommy rugby fans.

The rugby-playing Labour politician involved in a drunken Commons brawl is organising a subsidised junket of up to eight weeks for MPs to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Paul Farrelly boasts that next year’s trip is ‘cheaper than any rugby travel package, and far better of course because of nine superb days organised by our hosts’.

The New Zealanders are laying on banquets, receptions and other ‘cultural’ entertainment for the MPs including ‘wine tasting’.

So far 24 have signed up for the jaunt.

In an email to MPs, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Farrelly, treasurer of the Parliamentary Rugby Club, offers colleagues the choice of a ‘basic’ two-week tour for £2,835.

Or they can stay for the whole two-month tournament, with tickets for all England matches right up to the final if the team gets there, for £12,279 plus an extra £2,700 to fly business-class.

Mr Farrelly says he hopes to bring down the cost by getting a sponsor.

Nice to know that the pommy troughers are expecting our own troughers to lavish them with banquets at the Beehive. I hope John Key knocks that little rort on the head straight away. Make them pay for their own food and piss.

Last night Mr Farrelly came under fire from some MPs, who said the jaunt was ‘insensitive’ at a time when ordinary Britons will be feeling the full force of spending cuts and tax increases.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Ordinary families will be outraged that MPs are getting a special deal to swan off to the World Cup. It is one more luxury most taxpayers don’t enjoy, but their representatives do.

‘It is insensitive, and will bring back memories of the expenses scandal.’

Meanwhile we have our own ongoing expenses scandals here.

Not too long ago Chris Carter stated that he had the names of 17 MP’s that were willing to vote against Phil Goff and his leadership. The Labour Leaders called him a liar and that there was no substance to his claims at all.

But it seems that he wasn’t lying at all.

Last night in the House an extraordinary event took place. What was it? The revelation that 17, that is right the same number as Chris Carter used, voted contrary (or not at all) to the way the remaining in Labour voted on the Rugby World Cup (Empowerment) Bill. National revealed the names in Parliament today.

What is interesting is the list of seventeen. Who are some of 17 defectors?

None other than:

• Brendan Burns
• Trevor Mallard
• Ruth Dyson
• Ross Robertson
• David Shearer
• Charles Chauvel
• Damian O’Connor
• Maryan Street
• Nania Mahuta
• Shane Jones
• Lianne Daizel
• Su’a William Sio
• George Hawkins
• Clayton Cosgrove
• Lynne Pillay

What is even more interesting though is the fact that despite the rules stating that in the event of split party vote, the said party must IMMEDIATELY present a list of the names of each voter. It took Labour over two hours to do this, and when they did present it they tried to say that they had allowed a conscience vote on the issue as they were a “party that allowed democracy”. But this was a split vote on a “Closure Motion”

Phil Goff and the Labour party are grasping at straws now.

So, is Chris Carter is not a liar after all Mr Goff?

I’m confused. Just a bare few months ago we had Geoffrey Palmer, wearing his Law Commission hat, recommending draconian changes to our liquor laws, allegedly because of our “binge drinking” culture.

Then the Government is said to be considering raising the drinking age from 18  to 20, despite the party voting resoundingly to oppose such a move at its National conference.

And just last week we had Steven Joyce announce changes to drink driving laws adding even more confusion around the drinking age. Essentially the government is saying that at 18 you can drink, but you can’t drive with any alcohol in your system until your are aged 20 years.

This is all horribly confusing. To make matters worse the Government administration select committee yesterday heard submissions on the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill which would make it easier to grant urgent approvals for temporary activities and facilities during the tournament.

So on one hand we have the Law Commission saying we have a binge drinking culture and on the other a government enabling quicker licensing for booze premises for the World Cup.

Mixed messages? I think so. Or perhaps there is a fair bit of lobbying going on behind the scenes filling the coffers of the lobbyists. Who would know?