Get a new lawyer Kim

Kim Dotcom reckons that he CAN stand for the New Zealand Parliament; his lawyer has told him that he can; the NBR reports:

Kim Dotcom now says he can stand for Parliament at next year's election.
Last week, the Teutonic tech titan told media he was going to form his own political party, and take a run at the ballot box himself - only for Kiwiblog's David Farrar to dig up Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act, whose citizenship provision seems to clearly ruleout Mr Dotcom.
But iin a new interview published today with the Washington Post, Mr Dotcom says, "When I made that statement, my lawyers were still looking into it, and their preliminary answer was that you can only run as a citizen of New Zealand. But they went through the full several hundred pages of New Zealand election law, and they found that if I’m a permanent resident of New Zealand who’s lived here for more than a year and is a registered voter — which I will be in November — you can run for office. I’ll get more specifics on Tuesday when I sit with my lawyers, but at the moment it looks like I can run myself."

We have some really bad news for Mr Dotcom, and for his lawyer, who might be looking for a new gig. He couldn't stand last week, he can't stand this week, and unless the Electoral Act changes before the next election, he won't be able to stand next year; check out these tweets on the matter from legal eagle Graeme Edgeler:

There USED TO BE a loophole in electoral law, but that was closed more than eight years ago. Given that Herr Dotcom seems to enjoy the best of everything else in life, we are surprised that his lawyer got it wrong.

Or maybe the lawyer didn't get it wrong at all, and maybe the Large German Gentleman was simply looking for another headline. We'll give it to him:

Dotcom jumps the shark; again!

There's just one small problem Kim

Kim Dotcom is planning to stand for Parliament in 2014; Stuff reports:

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom appears poised to run for parliament.  
The German millionaire, who is fighting extradition to the United States where he faces copyright charges, took to Twitter today to acknowledge his plans to enter politics. 
"My embryonic NZ political plans leaked by whistleblower. Still looking for partners. Not ready yet," Dotcom tweeted.
The larger than life entrepreneur has already had a big impact on Kiwi politics.
The 2012 police raid on his mansion exposed illegal spying on Kiwis by the GCSB, and an apology from Prime Minister John Key. 
Dotcom then had a very public showdown with Key at the parliamentary committee on the GCSB bill.
Whether he can find enough support to run in the 2014 election is not yet known. 

Herr Dotcom is going to need more than "enough support" to run for Parliament in 2014, or any time thereafter. He would need a change in electoral law; here's what the Electoral Commission advises:

1.2          Candidate eligibility

To be a candidate you must:

• be enrolled as a voter,
• be a New Zealand citizen, and
• not be disqualified from enrolling.

The main grounds of disqualification for enrolment that could affect eligibility to be a candidate are:

• the person is a New Zealand citizen who is outside New Zealand and has not been in New Zealand within the last three years,
• the person has been sentenced to imprisonment.

There are exceptions to these rules:  for example, in relation to public servants or members of the Defence Force who are on duty outside New Zealand, as well as members of their families.
There are other grounds of disqualification that affect a very small number of people.  For more details see section 80 of the Electoral Act.
Bankruptcy is not a ground for disqualification.
If you were born overseas, you will be asked to provide evidence with your nomination that you are a New Zealand citizen (such as a certificate of citizenship or a copy of your New Zealand passport).

You see Dear Readers, the Large German Gentleman is not a New Zealand citizen. One only has to remember the furore when the law was changed retrospectively after then New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven had an issue his New Zealand citizenship some years ago. 

And for as long as Dotcom is facing serious criminal charges in the United States, he is most certainly not going to pass New Zealand's good character test, so he will remain as a New Zealand resident, but not a citizen. He is ineligible to stand for Parliament.

You'd think that the Fairfax journalist who penned this non-story might have known that. What do they teach them at journalism school these days?

Our busiest ever week

We installed Sitemeter as a hit counter on Keeping Stock about four months after we started blogging. Each week, Sitemeter sends us a report of blog activity for the week from Tuesday to Monday. Quite why the week is configured that way is beyond us, but over a period of time, it all equals out.

And when we receive that report tomorrow, it's going to show a record number; check this out:

The numbers are small compared to the likes of Kiwiblog and Whaleoil, but as  "hobby bloggers", we're pretty happy to have hit 10,000 page-views in a week for the first time ever. And our average figure for unique visitors for a week has never before passed 900 per day. So we are treading new ground.

The reasons for the explosion in numbers this week and likely highest ever monthly figures are pretty obvious. There was David Shearer's fishy stunt and the admission of a secret meeting with John Key last Tuesday, Mr Shearer's resignation on Thursday, and the dreadful Kim Dotcom tweet yesterday. 

Each of those events produced a spike in traffic, but the cumulative effect of them all taking place within a seven-day period has had a very positive spin-off for visitor numbers. We are expecting that this month will trump our previous busiest month ever, which was November 2011: the lead-up to the 2011 General Election and reflecting on the result.

And we are well on the way to welcoming our millionth visitor. With an increase in blog traffic in recent months, we are likely to hit that milestone this side of Christmas.

As we've said in the past, we blog because we enjoy blogging. When it becomes an chore, and when the enjoyment factor ceases will be the time when we step away. For now however, we ARE enjoying blogging, and the numbers suggest that there are a few people out there who enjoy what we do.That makes it all worthwhile.

Tweet of the Day; Dotcom special - 26 August 2013

Kim Dotcom is at it again on Twitter.

The Large German Gentleman seems to have a bizarre sense of humour. Not only does he share his fantasies over the PM's daughter, but last year he showed a very injudicious side to his character making jokes about rape on social media, and an anti-semetic reference to John Key.

The media fawns over Kim Dotcom, but there is a dark side to the Large German Gentleman's character. Smart-arse references to the children of MP's in an attempt to score political points will do nothing for his public image.

DPF on the GCSB

Over at Kiwiblog, DPF has done a compare and contrast between the existing GCSB legislation from 2003, and the legislation that Parliament will pass this afternoon.

And rather than spend time reinventing the wheel, here's what DPF says:

The GCSB law has completed its committee stage, and will pass its third reading today.

Some people would have you believe that this law is a massive change from the current GCSB law passed by Helen Clark. Well, they are partially right. It is significantly different. I’ve detailed below my analysis of some of the major differences between the 2003 Helen Clark law and the 2013 John Key law.

Helen Clark GCSB law 2003	John Key GCSB law 2013
Inspector-General sole independent oversight	two person advisory panel to assist the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Inspector-General has no staff resources	Inspector-General has a Deputy
Inspector-General role is essentially reactive	Inspector-General to proactively annually review GCSB procedures, policies and compliance and do unscheduled audits
Inspector General not informed when a warrant is put on the register relating to a New Zealander	Inspector General is informed when a warrant is put on the register relating to a New Zealander
GCSB can’t intercept the communications of a NZ citizen or permanent resident but can assist “any public authority” on any matter relevant to their functions, and unclear if the former prevents the latter	GCSB can’t intercept the communications of a NZ citizen or permanent resident but can assist (only the) Police, Defence Force or SIS even if it involves a NZer.
No reporting of assistance given to other agencies	GCSB will be required to report annually on the number of instances when it has provided assistance to the Police, SIS or NZ Defence Force
No reporting on number of warrants and authorisations	GCSB will also be required to report annually on the number of warrants and authorisations issued
Intelligence and Security Committee has secret hearings to discuss the financial reviews of the performance of the GCSB and the SIS	Intelligence and Security Committee will hold public hearings annually to discuss the financial reviews of the performance of the GCSB and the SIS
ISC does not have to publicly report to Parliament	ISC to report annually to Parliament on its activities
No regular reviews of GCSB	An independent review of the operations and performance the GCSB and the NZSIS and their governing legislation in 2015, and thereafter every 5-7 years
GCSB has a function to protect any information that any public authority or other entity produces, sends, receives, or holds in any medium	GCSB function to protect any communications that any public entity processed, stored, or communicated in or through information infrastructures
No specification of limits of GCSB assistance	Specifies that GCSB can assist Police, Defence Force and SIS, but only for lawful activities such as where warrants have been granted
IPCA has no jurisdiction	Gives the IPCA and the IGIS jurisdiction to review any assistance given to Police and SIS respectively
No references to according to human rights standards	Specifies all functions of GCSB must accord with NZ law, and all human rights standards recognised by NZ law.
No references to not undertaking partisan activity	Specifies GCSB can’t be involved in any action that helps or harms a political party
No requirement to brief the Leader of the Opposition	GCSB Director required to brief Leader of Opposition regularly on major activities of GCSB
Requires GCSB to destroy any records not relating to GCSB objectives or functions	Required GCSB to not retain any information on NZers collected incidentally as part of foreign intelligence operations unless relates to serious crime, loss of life or national security threats
No special protection for legally privileged communications	Legally privileged communications explicitly exempted from scope of an interception warrant
No requirement to have a policy on personal information retention and use	GCSB required to work with Privacy Commission to have a policy on personal information retention and use
No restrictions in GCSB Act on retaining personal information	GCSB can only retain personal information for a lawful purpose, and can’t keep longer than required for any lawful purpose

This is not a complete analysis. I was hoping the Government may have such a document themselves, but it seems they don’t. So I put it together last night by comparing the 2003 Act and the latest SOP from the Government. I am sure I have missed out a couple of things, and over-simplified in a couple.

The point is to point out that the 2013 law is including a huge number of protections that the 2003 law is silent or, or missing. Those demanding the law not pass would have you implicitly think the status quo is superior. They are quite wrong, and mischievously so. Recall the current law does not ban the GCSB from assisting the Police and SIS. It has merely been said by lawyers to be unclear, and in fact the Inspector-General has said the assistance has been legal.

 I think the Government has bent over backwards to put protections into the law, partly as a result of their coalition partners. Have a read of the existing law, and decide for yourself.

So my question to all the people demanding National MPs cross the floor and vote against the bill, is where were you in 2003? Where were the protests against the 2003 law? Where were the demands Labour MPs in 2003 voted down Helen Clark’s law?

Also I ask how many media stories have focused on an actual side by side analysis of the old and laws, detailing all the changes? Or have they just live-streamed protest meetings?

It is unfortunate that amongst all the media coverage of the GCSB Bill, there has been little if any informed comment from our media as to just what the GCSB will and will not be permitted to do once the new law passes today. There has been an abundance of emotion and scaremongering, with phrases like "mass surveillance", "spying on your e-mails" and Godwin-like comparisons of the GCSB and the Government to the Gestapo.

Instead a blogger has taken the time and trouble to compare the 2003 and 2013 legislation in a reasoned an unemotional manner. A comparison such as this would have been helpful much earlier in the debate.

There will doubtless be plenty of hot air unleashed as the Third Reading debate takes place this afternoon. But when the sun rises tomorrow life will go on, and in due course the GCSB will know exactly what it is permitted to do, and what it is especially prohibited from doing. That level of certainty will help to ensure that a situation such as the Kim Dotcom one is not repeated. 

Is this the killer blow to Shearer's leadership?

The latest Roy Morgan poll is out, and it contains dreadful news for the Left in general, and for David Shearer and Labour especially; here are the gory details:

Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a large rise in support for Prime Minister John Key’s National Party to 51% (up 4% since July 1-14, 2013). Support for Key’s Coalition partners has changed little with the Maori Party 1.5% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 1% (up 0.5%) and United Future 0% (unchanged).
Support for Labour is 29% (down 2%); Greens are 10% (down 1.5%), New Zealand First 4% (down 0.5%), Mana Party 1% (down 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 1.5% (unchanged) and Others 1% (up 0.5%).
If a National Election were held now the latest NZ Roy Morgan Poll shows that the National-led Coalition parties would win easily.
The latest NZ Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is unchanged at 128.5 with 58.5% (up 0.5%) of New Zealanders saying New Zealand is ‘heading in the right direction’ compared to 30% (up 0.5%) that say New Zealand is ‘heading in the wrong direction’.
Gary Morgan says:

“Today’s New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll contains further good news for governing National (51%, up 4%) now up for the fourth straight Morgan Poll and well ahead of Labour/ Greens (39%, down 3.5%). This is the biggest lead for National since the 2011 New Zealand Election.
“The boost for PM John Key comes as the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) hit a five-year high against the Australian Dollar (AUD) at just under 90c AUD and amid rising optimism about the prospects for the New Zealand economy. The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating is near a three year high at 119.8 in July while the ANZ Business Outlook shows business confidence at a 14 year high.”

The rumours have been around for a while that Labour's internal polling with UMR has delivered a number with a two in front of it. Now Roy Morgan becomes the first external poll for some time to rate Labour that low. And Labour's potential support partners the Greens and NZ First are also down, with the Greens now in danger of dropping back into single figures for the first time in a very long time.

There's another dynamic at play here:

This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile telephone, with a NZ wide cross-section of 824 electors from July 15-28, 2013.

Those dates are critical here. Roy Morgan ceased polling last Sunday; AFTER protest meetings and marches against the GCSB Bill. To us, this indicates that concerns around spying are very much a beltway issue, as support for all the parties opposing the GCSB Bill (including the Maori Party) actually fell in this poll, despite saturation media coverage of Kim Dotcom and other luminaries telling us how evil John Key is. 

On the other hand however, the economy is growing, and that is what affects people on a daily basis. Following on from the Herald's chipper Mood of the Boardroom survey last week, the Roy Morgan organisation notes that the ANZ Business Outlook has business confidence at a 14-year high.

There's one area however where David Shearer gets lucky. Roy Morgan does not have a Preferred Prime Minister component to its polls, so there is no way of measuring whether Mr Shearer's personal popularity is soaring or sinking. That will be of small comfort to him though, given the awful poll result for Labour. 

For some months, the Roy Morgan poll swung in the wind, with one side then the other getting an advantage. This time around however a trend is starting to develop; support for National has increased markedly over three consecutive Morgan polls, and support for Labour has fallen in the same period. We suspect that there will have been some very anxious meetings in offices in Parliament last night as Labour MP's who are now threatened with extinction in 2014 digested the poll result. 

It's Thursday 1st August as we type this, and spring is now just 31 days away. Is there an end in sight to Labour's Winter of Discontent?

Rudman on Dotcom

We're guessing that unlike Herald journalist David Fisher, columnist Brian Rudman is not a fanboi of Kim Dotcom; he opines:

Kim Dotcom for mayor? Now there's a thought. If Prime Minister John Key is to be believed - and a recent poll suggests he has a certain problem there - it can only be a matter of time before the celebrity du jour throws his black cap into the Auckland mayoralty ring.
In anti-spying bill protests last week, the internet tycoon described Mr Key as "the biggest puppet of them all" of the United States Government. The Prime Minister's response from Seoul was "I think he loves the limelight".
He added: "You've got to remember he's got a long-term agenda here, and that is to try and convince people that he should be allowed to stay forever."
If his theory is right, then how better to sink your roots into the country than get yourself elected as mayor of the Super City. With a transport policy of busting congestion with a helicopter taxi service, along with free encrypted superfast broadband for all voters, to protect us from the Prime Minister's spies, the contest would rapidly come alive.
Mr Dotcom is that larger-than-life oddball that mayoral contests tend to attract.
Tim Shadbolt out West and Invercargill, for example, Boris Johnson in London, the appropriately named Mr Weiner in New York. Mayor Robbie was Auckland City's last flirtation with the eccentric, so we are overdue for one. The late Paul Holmes did fancy the job, only to be dissuaded after his television masters warned him that ruling the airwaves was really enough for any one person.

Rudman's piece today far drips with sarcasm, which is probably not a bad way to view anything surrounding the Large German Gentleman; he is something of a parody of himself. Although some would argue that Auckland and Kim Dotcom deserve one another, we couldn't possibly comment on that!

Why did Kim Dotcom not tell the truth?

When Kim Dotcom fronted the Intelligence Committee on Wednesday afternoon, he appeared surprised to have been allocated just 15 minutes. He claimed that he had been allocated 25 minutes, and that no-one had told him that a smaller allocation of time had been made.

That claim has been debunked; Newstalk ZB's Felix Marwick reports:

New information's emerged that indicates German businessman Kim Dotcom was told his submission time on the GCSB Bill was being reduced
On Wednesday Mr Dotcom complained about his speaking time before the Committee being cut and said he'd been told he would be given 25 minutes.
Parliamentary sources have told Newstalk ZB Mr Dotcom was contacted by email by the Intelligence and Security Committee ahead of his appearance and told his speaking time would be reduced.

Telling a fib to the select committee is not a good way to start your submission. What other untruths, partial truths and urban myths have come from the Large German Gentleman?

Tweet of the Day - 5 July 2013

Russel Norman tweeted thus on his way into the latest Intelligence Committee hearing this morning:

Dr Norman can keep running the "Key's total surveillance state" meme as much as he likes, but frequency of repeating a fib does not make it any less of a fib.

We wanted to reply to Dr Norman but we couldn't; he has blocked us. We thought that the Greens were the party of openness and transparency, but apparently that's no longer the case. We only saw Dr Norman's tweet because Kim Dotcom's personal Herald reporter David Fisher retweeded it!

"Hey Clint; are we pleased about this?"

Tweet of the Day - 3 July 2013

One News tweets:

Kim Dotcom's appearance before the Intelligence Committee today will have far more to do with political posturing than it will to do with the legislation being considered by the committee.

Sure; the raid on Dotcom's house and the surveillance of his prior to his arrest was very badly handled. But that does not change the fact that there are still serious criminal charges outstanding against Dotcom in the US, and that there is a strong likelihood that he will eventually be extradited to the US to face those charges.

Herr Dotcom may have done New Zealand a favour by exposing a flaw in our surveillance laws. But we reckon that will be the least of One News' concerns today as it sniffs out a sensational story with which to lead the "news" tonight.

Kim comes 98th out of 100

The annual Readers Digest Most Trusted list has been released, and whilst sportspeople dominate the top end, it should come as no surprise that politicians are well down the list.

But the company that they keep there is interesting; the Dom-Post reports:

The usual suspects took out the most-distrusted spots once again, with Hone Harawira the bottom of the list, joined by Kim Dotcom (98) and Winston Peters (97). Dotcom's low position and election donations seemed to rub off on John Banks, ranked this year at 99.
Wellington businessman and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, at 81 this year, was jokingly miffed to have come behind Prime Minister John Key (80). "It comes and goes. I think I've been as high as No 20 or something before." 

It will be interesting to see whether a copy of the list is tabled as an exhibit at Kim Dotcom's extradition hearing, whenever that finally takes place. Being ranked as being slightly more trustworthy than John Banks but slightly less trustworthy than Winston Peters will be a blow to the Large German Gentleman's not-inconsiderable ego.

And Peter Dunne can probably count himself lucky that this survey was taken prior to his fall from grace. The again, he may well have enhanced his image with "those" e-mails!