Dot is funny

I like political satire. A lot. This song skewers John Banks, the sole “Act Party” Member of Parliament who is currently embroiled in a controversy (and police investigation) over possibly illegal campaign contributions. The joke in this song is that Banks continually claims he can’t remember things. Uh huh, right.

When current Prime Minister John Key was Leader of the Opposition, he insisted that then-Prime Minister Helen Clark stand down Winston Peters when he was embroiled in his own campaign contributions scandal. Now, of course, he’s taking the exact opposite position because he needs Banks’ vote in Parliament to keep in government. Hypocrisy is the first word that comes to mind to describe John Key’s position.

The video was made by Kim Dotcom who gave Banks some of the campaign contributions in question when Banks unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the merged Auckland. Part of the strategy of Banks and Prime Minister John Key has been to try and dismiss the serious allegations because they were made by Dotcom, who they have villainised. The US government, at the behest of the US entertainment lobby, is alleging Dotcom is a criminal, but he is—or ought to be—presumed innocent until proven guilty. At the moment, we have only the allegations of the US government’s lawyers, but John Key and the New Zealand newsmedia are going along with the meme that he’s guilty; that, too, serves the interests of the US entertainment lobby.

I actually expect that Key, who is known to become angry, petty and petulant when people oppose him publicly, will order TVNZ to file a takedown order over the sampling of some of their audio. It’s the kind of thing Key would do.

So, what we have is a huge mess, and a huge headache for John Key. John Banks is damaged goods: If he survives all this and serves to the end of this term of government, he stands no chance of re-election. All of which means that even if Dotcom is ultimately convicted, he will nevertheless have had a role in bringing down John Banks, and that’s something for which we can all be grateful.