Thursday, 18 August 2022
Meet the JournalistsPremiumAucklandWellingtonCanterbury/South Island
CrimePoliticsHealthEducationEnvironment and ClimateNZ Herald FocusData journalismKāhu, Māori ContentPropertyWeather
Small BusinessOpinionPersonal FinanceEconomyBusiness TravelCapital Markets
Politics
Premium SportRugbyCommonwealth GamesCricketRacingNetballBoxingLeagueFootballSuper RugbyAthleticsBasketballMotorsportTennisCyclingGolfAmerican SportsHockeyUFC
NZH Local FocusThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay of Plenty TimesHawke's Bay TodayRotorua Daily PostWhanganui ChronicleStratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu Courier
Covid-19
Te Rito
Te Rito
OneRoof PropertyCommercial Property
Open JusticeVideoPodcastsTechnologyWorldOpinion
SpyTVMoviesBooksMusicCultureSideswipeCompetitions
Fashion & BeautyFood & DrinkRoyalsRelationshipsWellbeingPets & AnimalsVivaCanvasEat WellCompetitionsRestaurants & Menus
New Zealand TravelAustralia TravelInternational Travel
Our Green FutureRuralOneRoof Property
Career AdviceCorporate News
Driven MotoringPhotos
SudokuCodecrackerCrosswordsWordsearchDaily quizzes
Classifieds
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDriven MotoringThe CountryPhoto SalesNZ Herald InsightsWatchMeGrabOneiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
New Zealand|Politics

Mike Hosking: The Government's weakest link - Iain Lees-Galloway should be sacked

17 Oct, 2019 05:30 PM3 minutes to read
Mike Hosking gives his views on Labour minister Iain Lees-Galloway.

Mike Hosking gives his views on Labour minister Iain Lees-Galloway.

Mike Hosking
By
Mike Hosking

Mike Hosking is a breakfast host on Newstalk ZB.

VIEW PROFILE

COMMENT: To cap off a dreadful week in the polls for Labour, Iain Lees-Galloway added to it by reminding us what a hopeless, soft touch he is.

This "protected person" who has been given residency - despite six drink-driving convictions - is another product of a minister who was shown up shockingly in the Karel Sroubek case.

And here's the irony, he shouldn't actually have been in the job to make the "protected person" call. If Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had any backbone, and any ability to read the public's mood on Sroubek, Lees-Galloway would have been sacked.

And potentially someone semi-competent might have been put in and the bloke concerned would have stayed on their temporary visa.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

The minister's explanation that he only gave him residency because of cumbersome paperwork further insults us. It treats us like idiots.

READ MORE:
• Sroubek review: Immigration Minister to disempower himself in deportation cases
• Sroubek deportation review: Immigration NZ should have inquiry powers
• Premium - Juliana Carvalho: Is it crazy to end discrimination against people with disabilities?
• 'Significant shift' in temporary work visa system announced by Government

And it once again reveals Labour's real love of the United Nations, its charters, and its world view. The fact we have a tribunal that declares protected status to people we may well not want here, and in doing so makes the minister impotent, should be of concern to us all. And we only have this arrangement because of the treaty we signed in 1986 (you will note by another Labour government).

Not that the treaty on torture might not be widely supported, but if in signing it, we sign away a minister's and government's ability to make its own decisions, we have signed away sovereignty.

The Government tried to pin this on National given the case started in 2013. But critically what National did was keep the man on a working visa that needed reviewing.

Why? Because they might eventually be able to boot him out of the country. And giving residency is actually an honour. It's a privilege, it comes with rewards. Rewards a bloke, who numerous times has troubled the justice system, doesn't deserve.

Related articles

New Zealand

Hosking: Typhoon stupidity - rugby bosses have damaged the game

13 Oct 07:00 PM
New Zealand|Politics

Hosking: Polls reveal voters think Labour is all noise not enough action

14 Oct 06:15 PM
New Zealand|Politics

Hosking: Even the PM's gone cold on Fair Pay Agreements

15 Oct 05:52 PM
New Zealand|Politics

Hosking: This Govt has lofty ambitions but falls short on delivery

16 Oct 05:17 PM

You get to vote, you get to be on a jury, and critically you have a better path way to citizenship.

Why does Lee-Galloway think that's something to be handed out to people he must know the rest of us would be highly dubious of? How is the country enhanced? How is our reputation enhanced?

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

And what's almost as bad as having a tribunal with an extraordinarily dangerous amount of power is we know nothing of the details. We have to trust these people, and a not unreasonable question surely is, why should we?

If Sroubek and this case have taught us anything, it's that a lot goes on behind our gaze. The people making the calls, like Lees-Galloway has very specifically shown, are not up to much.

And they're making calls that not only we wouldn't necessarily like or agree with, but calls that might well in the long run endanger us - or cause us needless distress and hassle through the judicial process. And that behaviour is not just kept secret but rewarded.

Ian Lees-Galloway didn't put New Zealand and its people first in the Sroubek case, and he hasn't done it this time either. Why is he still in the job?

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

Person trapped after two-vehicle collision in Massey

18 Aug 01:07 AM
New ZealandUpdated

Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: 4540 new Covid cases, 473 in hospital, 16 deaths

18 Aug 01:00 AM
Kahu

Māori business leaders feel the Covid strain

18 Aug 01:00 AM
New Zealand

Scrap metal fire: Toxic smoke warning, residents to stay inside; blaze to burn across day

18 Aug 12:51 AM
New Zealand|CrimeUpdated

'You'd hope he'd learnt': Killer driver caught with 'large quantity' of drugs while on sentence

18 Aug 12:34 AM

Most Popular

Scrap metal fire: Toxic smoke warning, residents to stay inside; blaze to burn across day
New Zealand

Scrap metal fire: Toxic smoke warning, residents to stay inside; blaze to burn across day

18 Aug 12:51 AM
Wet, warm and windy: Auckland and Northland battered by heavy rain overnight
New Zealand

Wet, warm and windy: Auckland and Northland battered by heavy rain overnight

17 Aug 09:25 PM
Nelson to New York: TV's David Lomas and an emotional reunion of long-lost father and son
EntertainmentUpdated

Nelson to New York: TV's David Lomas and an emotional reunion of long-lost father and son

17 Aug 08:59 PM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2022 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP