So, it turns out that Kim Dotcom got something in exchange for his $50,000 "anonymous" donation: John Banks lobbied Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson over OIO approval for the purchase of a Coatesville property. Politicians may see nothing wrong with this. But to the public, it looks a lot like bribery, and confirms all our suspicions about rich men using their money to get special favours from politicians.
So what does John Key think? Does he think this is OK?
Asked if he was happy for ministers to act unethically as long as they complied with the law, Mr Key said: "There is quite a wide definition of ethics ... The test I have to apply is the law."That would be a "yes" then...
But quite apart from displaying his moral bankruptcy and his hypocrisy in promising "higher standards of government", Key is also flat-out wrong. The Cabinet Manual is crystal clear on this:
In all these roles and at all times, Ministers are expected to act lawfully and to behave in a way that upholds, and is seen to uphold, the highest ethical standards.Banks fails that test. Time for him to go.
