Deane Craw

The sheer joy of watching Casey Costello, former leader of Hobsons Pledge, publicly humiliate herself on a national stage is almost too much to bear. Her ludicrous attempt to equate nicotine to caffeine, suggesting a latte could cause lung cancer, is just the tip of the iceberg. Her claim that a document, clearly written by tobacco lobbyists, simply "turned up" on her desk, and her subsequent decision to hand it over to tobacco officials, is the epitome of dishonesty and a blatant disregard for her position as Associate Minister of Health. Then, she submits reports to cabinet advocating for a $216 million tax break for Phillip Morris, while simultaneously denying any lobbying for the tobacco industry. The sheer audacity of her lies, coupled with her nonchalant appearance on ZB talkback, where she feigned ignorance about the controversy, is truly comedic gold. Ayesha Verrall, please stop asking for her resignation Casey Costello is a liability and our best hope this is a one term government.

This is how the coalition government propaganda works they fire the existing board and replace them with one of their mates normally a former National party MP. They then blame the previous administration with accusations of overspending or mismanagment and then slash that departments budget with bombastic claims these budget cuts will improve services. Jobs for the mates by an unethical government hell bent on enriching the real estate industry.