Unbelieveable

That's the only way to describe last night's admissions by National MP Hamish Walker and former party president Michelle Boag that they were responsible for leaking the names of Covid-19 patients to the media. How could anyone possibly think that was a good idea? But I guess I'd forgotten what a pack of egotistical narcissists and abusive arseholes the National party is.

Both of them are basicly finished. Boag resigned from the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (previously NZ's most trusted charity), and from Nikki Kaye's campaign. Walker is likely to be de-selected this afternoon. And hopefully people will remember the complete lack of judgement displayed by both and never hire them for any position of trust ever again. But I am still appalled that this happened, appalled that Boag is such a sociopath to think that its OK to abuse the trust placed in her to solicit private medical information for the purposes of leaking it, appalled that Walker would then shop it round to try and cover up his own racism, and appalled that Muller ran a party where they could both think that was OK. Because this isn't just a problem of two individuals - its a problem of a lack of moral leadership in the National Party (and that's been lacking for a while).

Hopefully this has just cost National any chance of election victory. Because who would trust a party to run a country if they do things like this?

Climate Change: Still not serious

New National Party leader Todd Muller has been interviewed about his policies, and has promised to restart offshore fossil fuel exploration if elected:

The Bay of Plenty MP rolled former leader Simon Bridges last week, but says the party has not changed its stance on previous promises.

"That is absolutely National Party policy," Mr Muller told TVNZ1's Q+A with Jack Tame, when asked about the Government's 2018 policy to stop issuing new offshore oil and gas exploration permits.

The ban did not extend to current permits.

Muller is supposed to be one of the good guys on climate change in the National Party. Instead, this shows that he and the party are still not serious about climate action. After all, if you won't take the mildest of measures to decarbonise the economy - phasing out the supply of dirty gas over decades - then what hope is there that you'll move on carbon-free transport, or raising carbon prices, or on confronting the giant cow in the room?

But I guess it just goes to show: you can change the bald white man in charge, but underneath its the same dirty old National Party, clinging to the past and trying to destroy the future.