David Farrar: Was Trevor quoting Jacinda?

In May I blogged a report from a meeting in Wairarapa which quoted former Speaker Trevor Mallard that the parliamentary protest was funded by Russia. I regarded the claim as risible.

Someone with ties to the former Government told me that Trevor wasn’t just hallucinating, but that in fact the then PMs Office had been telling people that they thought the protests were foreign funded. There was zero proof of this, but it seems it was a fervent belief by senior Government figures. There was even some reference to a report from DPMC that backed this up.

Ani O'Brien: Rot Part 3 - Coster's legacy and the political fallout

Part Three: What the McSkimming scandal means for politics in New Zealand

When corruption takes root in our institutions, it doesn’t stay contained. It spreads quietly, politically, sometimes strategically, and sometimes like a weed growing uncontrolled and putting down roots. The scandal now engulfing the Police isn’t just about bad cops or weak leadership. It’s about the decisions, alliances, and cowardice that allowed that culture to fester for years right under the noses of ministers, journalists, and senior bureaucrats who should have stopped it.