April 30, 2008
Investigate response to Press Council ruling
A Press Council ruling partially upholding a complaint by Air New Zealand against Investigate has been released today, which is somewhat surprising given that Investigate had been invited to place further evidence in front of the Press Council for a review next Monday.
The council ruled that Investigate had erred by calling the flights "secret", and that our cover montage of an Air New Zealand jet beside a military plane with a soldier nearby was also misleading.
Given that the issue has gone public prior to the review, Investigate has no choice but to release its submission to the Press Council below:
Dear Mary
Further to our last correspondence, please find attached a copy of an email from Air New Zealand head office, specifically the then Manager of Government Relations Rick Osborne, to senior officials inside MFAT.
The email is a further advisory to MFAT about some of the Australian troop flights.
Significantly, the email, at Air New Zealand's initiative, is classified "CONFIDENTIAL". Download file
Also significantly, the email is loosely contemporaneous (just a few weeks prior) with when Investigate was first alerted by Air New Zealand staff about the first flight. Those staff, I repeat, told the magazine the flights were confidential.
Continue reading "Investigate response to Press Council ruling"
Posted by Ian Wishart at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2008
Vector Energy sold to Chinese spy?
ANY STORM IN A PORT
China's Trojan horse in NZ
[The following story initially ran in the April 06 edition of Investigate magazine, but is directly relevant to the purchase announced April 28, 2008 of Vector Energy's Wellington grid by the same businessman]
The Hong Kong business conglomerate trying to purchase a stake in some of New Zealand's biggest port companies [and now the purchaser of energy company Vector] has been named as a front for the People's Liberation Army of China, and some of its associates have been caught shipping weapons and alleged WMD technology. IAN WISHART has more
His name is Li Ka-shing, and if his name sounds like a cash register there's a very good reason: this 77 year old Chinese businessman has just been ranked by Forbes magazine as the tenth wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune estimated at nearly US$20 billion. His companies, including Hutchison Whampoa, account for 10% of the value of the Hong Kong stock exchange and have tentacles that reach across the globe – more than forty countries according to one estimate – and in industries as varied as mobile telephone networks, electricity grids, retailing, shipping and real estate.
Continue reading "Vector Energy sold to Chinese spy?"
Posted by Ian Wishart at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2008
ABSOLUTE POWER
COMING SOON>> http://www.helenclarkbook.com
Posted by Ian Wishart at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)