Trevor Mallard

ᔥ Cactus Kate

Cactus compares Trevor Mallard to O.J. Simpson…and not in a good way:

Some people I know have played the game of dodging the civil serve. It can go on for months and you are well within your rights to do it and really there is no point other than adding to the psyche sport. Mallard I reckon is clever enough to drag it on for a month if he really wants to.

He is relying on the “OJ” effect, in so far that after a period of time you actually want OJ to escape as the whole process has become so hilarious.

But being neither an adored sports star or black, Mallard is probably not going to gain the same level of public sympathy.

Yes Trevor, we are laughing at you, not with you.

ᔥ NZ Herald

John Armstrong has excoriated the double standards of Labour leader David Shearer:

A straightforward case of glasshouses and the indiscriminate chucking of large rocks by Labour’s leader therein?

David Shearer took a firm line on John Banks’ recent troubles, demanding the Act leader be stood down as a minister while police investigate whether he breached local body electoral law.

That stance has come back to bite Shearer big-time in the form of Labour MP Shane Jones and the case of his four-year-old ministerial approval – despite officials’ advice – of citizenship for a Chinese millionaire who also happened to be a donor to the Labour Party.

The Prime Minister is accusing the Labour leader of hypocrisy. John Key is right. In failing to stand down Jones from his front bench, Shearer has not been 100 per cent consistent in applying the same standard to one of his MPs as he demanded should be applied to Banks.

John Armstrong forgets that John Banks was a private citizen whereas Shane Jones was actually a minister when he made the decisions.

He goes further:

That said, the conjunction of citizenship approvals, claims of having mates in Parliament and political donations make for a nasty smell which needs the application of political disinfectant. Jones could make life a lot easier for Shearer and things a lot clearer if he explained exactly why he approved Yan’s citizenship despite Yan being red-flagged by Interpol. Jones, however, is not commenting until Yan’s trial on fraud charges is over.

One thing that all political pundits and tragics should be aware of…that when Trevor Mallard is flinging around accusations about some sort of dodgy behaviour in National then he is covering from similar behaviour coming to light about one of Labour’s own. Labour attacked John Banks because they knew the Bill Liu case was coming up and they were hoping to bury their dodgy and shonky dealings under the political death, or so they hoped, of John Banks.

We will all know when Labour are serious about winning back power. They will show they have a moral compass. At the moment they are oscillating from one disaster to the next.

Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little have shown contempt for the law, their peers and their opponents by acting like school boys over being served papers. David Shearer should have told them to arrange to receive the papers and either go to court or apologise, as by avoiding being served they give the impression they think they are above the law.

Shearer himself has had an absolute shocker on the Shane Jones Bill Lui scandal. Whatever this blokes name really is he should never have been given citizenship and should never have had a function in the Labour caucus room celebrating getting his citizenship. A moral leader would have asked Jones to leave parliament.

The problem for Labour is while they have ethical and moral issues surrounding them they cannot put pressure on National over their ethics violations. An opposition is supposed to be very moral, and Labour are not.

Adam Bennett from the NZ Herald has tweeted that Andrew Little has been served:

“There aren’t fries with that, but you’ve been served” – A process server’s wee joke when he caught up with Andrew Little this evening.

— Adam Bennett (@AdDeville) May 21, 2012

John Key was right, he could run but he couldn’t hide.

Now all Andrew Little has to do is present the video like he promised….oh and I want to know if the process server was wearing a leather jacket.

ᔥ Southland Times

The Southland Times Editorial is scathing of Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little, describing them as not-so-artful dodgers int he headline:

Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little would have us see their machinations to avoid being served court papers as indicative of their sheer scorn for the allegation that they defamed ACC Minister Judith Collins.

But they’re being unwise.

Whatever the merits of the case itself, legal process itself does require respect. And it’s not getting it from this pair.

On top of which, they don’t necessarily emerge as being on the high ground, at all.

Whatever their rhetoric, and it has been loudly and jovially dismissive, the methodology of dodging legal papers requires actions that are liable to look like skulking and hiding.

It’s hardly a good look for men proclaiming they have nothing to fear.

More a striking contrast to the “bring it on” stance more commonly taken in such circumstances. It certainly set up Prime Minister John Key to deliver (and probably enjoy) the quote that they could run, but they couldn’t hide.

Where’s the Wally

Labour’s MP Trevor Mallard says he’ll be driving an unmarked car to avoid having papers served on him, as he and fellow MP Andrew Little laugh off defamation proceedings against them by ACC Minister Judith Collins.

ᔥ Legal Beagle

The erudute Graeme Edgeler points out that Mallard and Little can be served while at parliament….it just requires the Speaker’s permission. Considering that Trevor Mallard has been a constant prat in parliament with silly points of order and his own poor behaviour I suggest that Speaker Smith may actually give permission.

But I am more interested in the claim than MPs cannot be served legal process in Parliament.

Mostly, because it simply isn’t true. There is a limitation, but it’s not nearly as extensive as Andrew Little appears to believe. Standing Order 407 lists as example of a contempt of Parliament:

(c) serving legal process or causing legal process to be served within the parliamentary precincts, without the authority of the House or the Speaker, on any day on which the House sits or a committee meets:

The House is currently in recess. And even when the House is sitting, or a committee is meeting, the Speaker can still give permission for service to be effected (he might, for example, allow it on a day when no committee that member is on is sitting, or on Tuesday morning before the House sits, and during which time select committee’s rarely meet).

ᔥ NZ Herald

Andrew Little is hell bent on being a world class cock. I think he will find that Judith Collins process server will be a nice lawyer in a suit and tie not some imagined thug akin to a union boss. A John Key said yesterday, you can run but you can’t hide:

Labour MP Andrew Little says he intends making Judith Collins’ defamation action against him as difficult as possible and will film any attempt to serve him with court papers and post the video online to embarrass the Justice Minister.

Ms Collins this week initiated defamation proceedings in the High Court at Auckland against Mr Little and his colleague Trevor Mallard.

Ms Collins has said she is protecting her reputation after the pair claimed she had a hand in leaking a sensitive email from former National Party President Michelle Boag to the media. Mr Little and Mr Mallard have refused requests from Ms Collins’ lawyers to co-operate with their attempts to serve them with court papers.

Mr Little said Ms Collins would have to hire process servers to track him down outside Parliament grounds and issue him with the papers.

“They tend to be leather jacket-wearing thuggish guys, which is fair enough because they have a tough job to do.

“It won’t be a good look.”

If they caught up with him, he planned to film them and post the video online. “I’m going to make it as public as I can … people should be able to see the lengths to which this minister is prepared to go in what is a political exercise.

“I have absolutely no respect for the litigation, the process or the person behind it so I’m going to do what I can to make it as difficult as possible for her and anyone else involved in it.”

Leather jacket-wearing thuggish guys? Yep sounds like a union boss on the picket line to me.

ᔥ Sydney Morning Herald

CRAIG THOMSON has declined a request from the Victorian police to nominate the people he claims tried to set him up with prostitutes.

Officers from the Victorian fraud and extortion squad, who are investigating Mr Thomson over allegations he misused union funds on prostitutes and made cash withdrawals in excess of $100,000, contacted Mr Thomson this week asking him to provide information about his claims.

Mr Thomson’s lawyers, Holding Redlich, yesterday formally declined a police request that he provide a statement or nominate those he claims were involved in trying to frame him. Instead, Mr Thomson informed police that he will nominate certain people in his speech to Federal Parliament on Monday.

Following the Trevor Mallard play of never saying anything that he might be sued for outside the house in case he gets caught out lying and making shit up.

Next Thomson will be hiding in Parliament to stop being served with court papers.

ᔥ NZ Herald

Judith Collins has done what she promised and filed her defamation suit in the High Court. Trevor Mallard is going to play hide and seek as he tries to avoid being served.

Justice Minister Judith Collins has initiated High Court defamation action against Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little but the two Labour MPs remain defiant, saying the case is unlikely to make it into the courthouse.

Ms Collins in March said she would sue the two MPs and Radio New Zealand for comments they made during an interview on the state broadcaster which linked her to the leak of a sensitive email to her from former National Party president Michelle Boag.

The High Court at Auckland yesterday confirmed proceedings against Mr Mallard and Mr Little had been filed on behalf of Ms Collins. However in a further sign Ms Collins has decided against suing Radio NZ, the broadcaster was not named in the papers.

Mr Mallard late yesterday confirmed he’d received a letter from Ms Collins’ lawyers Morrison Kent informing him proceedings had been filed and asking him to co-operate in allowing papers to be served on him.

“I see no reason to co-operate in what is clearly a vexatious action.”

He did not believe a full court hearing on the matter would eventuate.

He must be planning on settling then if it isn;t going to court…that is if he has the stones to allow himself to be served.