Today in Question Time, Finance Minister Bill English refused to hold a public inquiry into the collapse of South Canterbury Finance. His excuse? The government didn't have the resources to do it.
This is just bullshit. To point out the obvious, it just spent $1.7 billion on bailing out South Island gamblers and giving wealthy sharks a guaranteed return. If it can afford that, it can afford an inquiry.
And one needs to be held. The government has spent $1.7 billion of our money, bailing out a finance company which seems to have collapsed in dubious circumstances. We are entitled to know whether that money needed to be spent, whether it was well-spent, and whether we have been taken for a ride. If the government does not want to hold one, it can only be for one reason: they have something to hide.
