Incredibly, there are now four separate official investigations into the ACC scandal. The decision of the Auditor General to launch her own inquiry gives this scandal legs just as the National Party would have hoped the story was dying down as they go into their Easter break. And all eyes are on Judith Collins and whether she will go ahead with her politically fraught defamation actions, with Duncan Garner asking Is Collins bluffing?. According to the iPredict market, there is currently only a 6% chance that the following stock will eventuate: 'Collins to file defamation proceedings against Mallard and/or Little by Fri 6 April'. Meanwhile, Collins has raised the stakes, saying she will resign if the leaked emails came from her office - see Vernon Small and John Hartevelt's ACC Minister Judith Collins lays job on the line. Interestingly, Duncan Garner also reports that Trevor Mallard 'is now hinting he has got something implicating Key's office in the ACC leaks. "It would be good to see John Key's communications with the right wing bloggers," Mr Mallard says'.
Today's must-read analysis of the ACC scandal is by Gordon Campbell writing in The Wellingtonian on The scandal behind the scandal. Although Campbell takes the scandal seriously, he says that the actual roots of the scandal are even more serious: 'The public continues to be short-changed by ACC, and the main reason that failure has not erupted into political scandal before is that both major parties have supported the quiet erosion of the scheme's original vision.... Long ago, we gave away our right to sue when harmed in accidents, in return for fair, readily available, compensation. The fact that successive governments have got away with welshing on that deal is the real ACC scandal'.
Auckland Mayor Len Brown is now feeling the pressure of the SkyCity deal with the Government, especially with Patrick Gower's story, Brown's mayoral campaign funded by SkyCity. It appears that although Brown used to be strongly anti-pokies, he is now in favour of the proposed trade-off deal. Is this because it's such a good deal for Auckland or is it - to read between the lines of Gower's piece - something to do with the fact that his mayoral campaign was backed by SkyCity with a $15,000 donation? Unsurprisingly, 'Mr Brown's silence is now being attacked by opposition parties'.
Two newspaper editorials also discuss the SkyCity deal today. The Dominion Post is scathing about the proposal in Pokies no way to pay for new centre, and the ODT laments the changes in society that have led to amateur sport being reliant on the proceeds of gambling (Flaws and benefits of pokies).
The Parliamentary Library has released its analysis of the Final Results for the 2011 New Zealand General Election and Referendum written by John Wilson. This provides useful details of not only all the raw results and voter-turnout facts, but also the demographic of the new Parliament - including the fact that 'In 2011 24 MPs (20% of MPs) listed their previous occupation as a 'business person', usually the single biggest occupational category in NZ Parliaments since 1990'. Those with occupational backgrounds in 'Media' or 'Local Government' are at their highest point under MMP, but those with a background in Accountancy or Trade Unions are at the lowest point. It contains lots of other insights about voters too, such as the fact that 'The 60+ age group is now the single largest voting cohort (821,500 voters) in New Zealand, representing 25% of all voters, and up from the 21% share this age group accounted for in 1996'.
