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Bali bomber Abu Baka Bashir has been released from Indonesia prison after only 26 months. Australia Prime Minister John Howard has written to the Indonesians to protest and will raise the matter personally in an upcoming summit. Compare that to our Foreign Minister, Winston Peter's response - nothing.

"What can we now possibly raise with Indonesia that has any merit other than an attempt to interfere with the law of Indonesia and its processes?"

In his appearance before the Foreign Affairs select committee this week, Peters continued his war with the NZ Herald by refuting earlier observations Phil Goff was the real foreign minister. The fact he felt it necessary to defend himself contrasts with his claims he is not concerned:

"It's water off my back but the fact that somebody internationally might perceive that to be a truthful statement is what I am concerned about."

Previous: Peters wimps out of Timor visit
Tags: Winston Peters

Rick Barker is making a meal out of the Civil Defence portfolio. Following the fiasco of the tsunami that wasn't, heavy snow in South Canterbury has forced the minister to reveal embarrassing insights - like the fact he did not realise it took electricity to pump water and run cell phone towers. In today's NZ Herald, John Armstrong writes:

If it has seemed in recent weeks as if Civil Defence is auditioning for some modern-day version of Dad's Army, there is now a simple explanation - the ministry's officials may merely be following the orders of their minister...

Mr Carter then contrasted the Prime Minister's statement that she was happy with Civil Defence's response with Mr Barker's insistence that things could have been done better. Who was right - Mr Barker or the Prime Minister? ... there was only one answer, even though it meant contradicting everything he had said about learning from mistakes.

One of the main reasons why a young Helen Clark entered politics was to campaign for international human rights, therefore it is surprising she has decided to give visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a free ride on the issue. This is in stark contrast to her comments through the 1990s, especially regarding National Prime Minister Jenny Shipley's relationship with China.

David Farrar notes Clark's shifting excuses for not raising human rights with Loong:

- No-one asked me to say anything.
- She had not been advised to do so by foreign affairs officials.
- Free speech doesn't meet the threshold for human rights issues.
- Singapore is entitled to have its own laws upheld.

The current spate of bad weather across the country has caused various problems for Ministers after Auckland was plunged into darkness for several hours and parts of the South Island are still suffering the impacts of heavy snow.

- Helen Clark is forced to defend her government from claims of third world infrastructure after seven years in office:

Dr Don Brash: How many years does Labour have to be in office before it starts delivering solutions, instead of procrastinating and prevaricating?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK: This Government has delivered immensely more investment in energy.

- David Parker is caught out on the vulnerability of Auckland's electricity supply.

"I will get a report within two weeks on why the wider system did not cope with the consequences of yesterday's line failure at the Otahuhu substation. It will be urgently considered and remedial action will be taken promptly. As a priority we are investigating whether an additional substation is needed to share the load at Otahuhu."

- Judith Tizard, the so-called Minister for Auckland, is shown up for the lightweight that she is.

Rodney Hide: As the Minister responsible for Auckland issues, what issues exactly does she take responsibility for?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD: This Government is determined that Auckland will have infrastructure so that it can be internationally competitive. I do not intend to duplicate the work of other Ministers, but to enable Auckland's messages to get through to Wellington and to work with this Government, which wants to support Auckland.

- Rick Barker is forced to admit his incompetence.

The Minister of Civil Defence, Rick Barker, has admitted New Zealand is not as prepared for an emergency as previously thought.

Current Minister for Economic Development, Trevor Mallard, has long been rumoured to covert the Finance role, something he surprisingly confirmed on TV One's Agenda programme on Saturday morning:

LISA: Mr Mallard I just want to raise a point there, it's always a good time to stock take so do you see yourself being Finance Minister at some point?
TREVOR: I'd like to be, you know, when that will be, you know, next term, term after that. I mean Michael's in his early 60s, we've seen a lot of Asian leaders go on for quite a period of time but I'm trying to do the understudy role.

But his recent statements may have made his wait a little longer. I'm sure Helen Clark will not be pleased that open speculation about Michael Cullen's shelf life has now extended to cabinet ministers. Additionally, he also dumped Clark in the Transpower debate surrounding the Auckland blackouts, advising her incorrectly:

Hon Dr NICK SMITH to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Does he agree with the Minister of Energy's statement on National Radio that "We're spending five times as much on capital works in the transmission area as was being spent a few years ago, five times as much every year", and does he agree with the statement of the Prime Minister in the House that "under the current Government, Transpower has been investing, on average, around $300 million per annum in its system."?

Hon TREVOR MALLARD: It was incorrect because it included the word "average" instead of contrasting the low of $52 million with a rapid upward trend in spending. As acting Minister at the time I take responsibility for the incorrect advice, and the Prime Minister has made her displeasure clear to me.

Ouch.

Former cabinet minister Marian Hobbs was openly hostile to Rick Barker during questions on the Karori Wildlife Sanctury. Newsroom reported the incident:

Ms Hobbs response to that was to exclaim 'bullshit' from the backbenches. She rolled her eyes and shook her head through most of his answers.

The question time transcript can be found here.

Once again Phil Goff is doing the real work of Foreign Minister, visiting New Zealand and Australian troops restoring order to East Timor. Meanwhile Winston Peters is sunning himself in the Cook Islands and will not visit Timor until it is safer.

"I'll go there the moment I think they can do that job without any impediment to the enforcement of peace in that country."

But Goff saw more value in visiting immediately:

"My visit is intended to give me a first-hand impression of the tasks our Defence Force is undertaking and what more needs to be done to restore security and stability in East Timor."

As with the rioting in the Solomons, Peters is too scared to put his feet on the ground but Goff has shown no such trepidation.

The trend for Peters to be absent from major regional crisis, despite his pledge to prioritise the Pacific, was noted by the NZ Herald in their June 8 editorial:

"... in the real foreign affairs portfolio, the Defence Minister, Phil Goff, sets off today for Dili in East Timor. Oddly, he follows in the steps of Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, who went before their Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, because Canberra has a notion that the foreign minister deals with major diplomatic issues."

Update June 17: Audrey Young has an article in the NZ Herald pointing out Goff's primacy in foreign affairs. Hattip: Kiwiblog

Mr Goff's recent trip to East Timor is a sensitive point.

[Clark] had decided that because Mr Goff had been the first minister into the Solomon Islands after the recent crisis, Mr Peters could be first into East Timor.

Mr Goff, however, sought a change in the plan because rather than wait, he was keen to accept an offer of a ride by Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson from Singapore where they had both been at a defence meeting. [...]

But Mr Peters is said to have been seething about it when he learned about it in Vanuatu, where he was leading a 50-strong delegation.

Mr Downer had been first in for Australia, and were Mr Goff still Foreign Minister and Mark Burton still Defence Minister, there is no doubt which minister would have gone first.

Labour is facing internal disaffection following the threatened resignation of two MPs: Marian Hobbs over the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary; and Taito Philip Field over his ongoing corruption investigation.

The Department of Internal Affairs' decision to pass over the Wildlife Sanctuary despite Helen Clark launching the Significant Community Based Projects Fund at Karori and describing it as the sort of project the fund would support. Hobbs made her disappointment public:

Ms Hobbs told The Dominion Post the decision was "crazy".

She had personally campaigned to get the fund established after finding it difficult to get money for the sanctuary.

"You can't imagine how hurt I feel having fought this through. It's embarrassing. It's bloody hurtful," she told the newspaper.

Today's Press backs up yesterday's Independent Financial Review article that Hobbs was so angry that she tendered her resignation to Clark but was talked down. A spokesperson for Clark said:

"Marian Hobbs is a loyal and capable member of the Labour caucus and we expect that to continue."

The never-ending corruption investigation of Taito Philip Field continues and it appears he is using the government's one seat majority as leverage. Rumours of him defecting to United Future or establishing his own party have circulated in the media. His only response so-far has been to say:

"Only God know the trust of what is going to happen ... you should ask him."

Labour were once renowned for their lack of leaks and tight discipline, it is beginning to unravel. Rumours are also saying that the Beehive is becoming increasing frantic with many negative stories running simultaneously and experienced staff leaving.

Tags: Labour disunity

New Zealand's part-time Foreign Minister Winston Peters spent his appearance on TV One's Agenda show obfuscating the facts and attacking the media - as usual.

1. Claiming credit for the work of others:

OWEN: Good morning Mr Peters, when you took up this position you laid out several goals for what you'd like to see happen in the Pacific region, what specifically have you done to realise those goals.
PETERS: Well precisely that I have set out to ensure that we maintained or increased our budget with respect to overseas government aid in this part of the world, the overall budget is up as well because we've got serious challenges to meet at this particular time and the policy that I have reprioritised namely to make the Pacific and our future the number one issue in Foreign Affairs is happening, it's recognised in Japan having increased its aid by 50% just a week ago to 402 million over three years, the European Union is also recognising that so is the United States and so in the sense of getting a refocus that is happening and has happened.

2. Contradicting himself in just two consecutive answers:

PETERS: Oh look I'm not bashing National I'm just pointing out that this party is a party of placebo politics and placebo policies, those policies which they do have were all stolen from New Zealand First. Who began to demand accountability on the Waitangi issue, who first talked about one law for everybody in this country, who first raised the issue of a ..referendum and the governance of this country, who for example said that all money collected from road taxes should be spent on roads. New Zealand First and Winston Peters said that and they stole those policies lock stock and barrel but the problem is they can't sell them.
OWEN: Does this mean that you couldn't work with National after the next election?
PETERS: No National's problem is that it advocates policies which are unworkable, I think it was Einstein who said that the true insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, that's what National's problem is they haven't got policies.

3. And of course attacking the media:

"Well no contrary to media statements which were utterly wrong..."

"...the media demanded that we leave our position pre election and join one or other side..."

"I just want to remind you their actions belie their statements, for the media to join them is I think you know somewhat shallow."

"Listen to Morning Report on Radio New Zealand, they have the Greens on and Act on every darn day and their contribution is zero."

"...the problem with polls in this country is that they're totally unaccountable..."

"Contrary to certain speculation by the media I'll retire when I'm good and ready to."

"Just get over it for godsake and the media understand that democracy is an evolving institution and this is just one form of it."

"The fact is of course that the other parties get an enormous amount of coverage, enormous amount of air time and television time and they have a whole forest full of papers written about them excepting one thing - they don't get to form governments... New Zealand First is not that sort of party because we don't suck up to the media, we don't play the media's silly games."

"...we are still a third party in this country so why am I seeing the 7th and the 5th parties constantly on Radio, TV and print media?"

"It's because you journalists rushed along and asked a stupid question of him."

And this is our premier diplomat talking, go figure.

Tags: Winston Peters

Michael Cullen has been filmed berating TVNZ political editor Guyon Espiner about media coverage of his budget. In quite an extraordinary piece he sternly growls:

"I absolutely believe it is a personal issue for some members of the press gallery. I'm absolutely sure that a number of members of the press gallery cannot look at this issue in a very objective fashion at all.

The Dom said it on Thursday morning, '$8.5 billion surplus and still no tax cuts'. So? What's the connection between the two? None!"

Ah, poor Michael. Two budgets in a row have bombed completely. The communications around both have been amateurish - and this from a deputy PM who was once feared for his potent ability to turn defence into attack. The vultures for his job are circling - deputy PM, Treasurer or both?