Back in the 1990's, Murray McCully gained a reputation for cronyism, appointing a pack of his mates to the Tourism Board, then dismissing them with unlawful golden handshakes when things fell apart. He was forced to resign as a Minister over this, but he doesn't seem to have learned anything from it - because now he's Minister of Foreign Affairs, he's up to the same old tricks. First, there was his corrupt awarding of a $78,500 untendered aid contract to former National MP and McCully crony Marc Blumsky. And now he's given another $54,000 of our money to another of his mates, Charles Finny, again without any sort of tender or proper process.
McCully seems to regard public money as his own personal piggy bank, which he can distribute to his mates. That is simply corrupt, and it is not how government is supposed to work in this country. If McCully can't follow the rules and administer his Ministry without engaging in corrupt cronyism - and he's had more than enough chances, and failed on every one - then he should be sacked. We cannot allow this sort of behaviour in our government, and a Prime Minister who tolerates it can only be regarded as aiding and abetting McCully's corruption.
