Another happy day at the ACT party

Oh deep joy, another fun day at the office for the crutch that continues to support the National government. For those who don't know New Zealand politics, ACT are 'the liberal party' - allegedly! In any proper democracy they would be to the right of National, the equivalent of the Conservatives or the Republicans. ACT's policies are very business orientated, anti-public ownership of anything and authoritarian when it comes to public safety, human rights, and most conveniently, law and order. Led by a pit bull terrier called Rodney Hide,  the party has six MP's, one elected (Mr. Hide) and five party seats. Mr. Hide came to power with two main political views; first was the creation of the Auckland super city, the second was a 'perk buster', out to name and shame public servants who were exploiting the system and spending tax payers money. This was great until he was caught dipping his hands into the purse - spending $21K taking his girlfriend overseas on an official trip.

More recently deputy leader Heather Roy was ousted - why? She dared criticize the leader labelling him a bully and a control freak. But nothing could match the buffoonery of their law and order spokesman David Garrett. The former Sensible Sentencing Trust legal advisor has been credited as the brains behind ACT's 'three strikes' policy, namely that on the third conviction you receive a life (25 year) sentence, regardless of the crime - how liberal!!

So what has Garrett done? Well, firstly it has been revealed he was convicted of assault in Tonga, involved in a street brawl, nice.... But then the clincher - inspired by the book The Day of the Jackal  Garrett thought he would do some espionage of his own - quite the little James Bond (ladies spot the likeness?) - and obtained the birth certificate of a deceased infant and acquired a fake passport.
"I foolishly undertook what I naively saw as a harmless prank, one that was to later have repercussions both for me personally and others who did not deserve to be hurt by my thoughtless actions," said Garrett.

So what of the ACT party now - quite simply they are an embarrassment, but unfortunately the government need them and their support to have a majority. If ever there was a reason to question democracy and the integrity of politicians this sorry example gives robust justification