Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

NZ Herald: PM reacts to Tamihere's outburst
RodneyHide.com: Tamihere speaks out

Just when you thought John Tamihere couldn't dig himself any deeper, he goes and gives an interview (well, he thought it was "off the record", despite Investigate Magazine Editor, Ian Wishart, plonking a tape recorder on the table before they began their lunchtime meeting.

Tamihere then spent the next 70 minutes slamming his colleagues, and dishing a bit of dirt on the Government. (See the story above for full details, and a selection of quotes from the interview). Of course, he's not wrong about a lot of the things he mentions (like Steve Maharey being a smarmy operator, the PM's minder Heather Simpson being a dangerous woman, and what a load of bollocks Unions are ;-)

Here's my favourite pieces...

* "Unions, I can't stand them... It's always about threats and intimidation, and 'we've got big balls, what have you got?' "

* "They [Helen Clark and her mates] don’t have families. They’ve got nothing but the ability to plot."

* "So there’s operators like him [Maharey] who are very swarmy, very clever, but no substance."

* "But she’s [the PM] no good with emotions. She goes to pieces."

* "[The most powerful network in the Labour executive?] The Labour Party Wimmins Division."

* "I think we f…ked up with out 2004 amendments to the Employment Relations Act."

* "(The Parliamentary press gallery are) utterly and totally useless. And sycophantic. You know and I know there's no investigative journalism done in that bloody gallery."

* "I hear Maori talking about how they were burnt out of the Orakei marae in 1951 and so on. Big deal."

* "We wouldn't survive without (Finance Minister Michael) Cullen -- he can cut a deal on a piece of legislation, he can change a single word in a piece of legislation without those other b**tards (coalition partners) knowing about it."

I think I've changed my mind about this fellow... Keep him in Parliament, just move him to the other side! ;-)