This is a collection of some interesting and insightful tweets about New Zealand's Malaysian diplomat controversy involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Murray McCully. The most recent tweets are first, and more will be added. [Read more below]
Is Mfat's John Allen still our highest paid civil servant?
The very latest from the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. pic.twitter.com/VM8BtEZb8q
Just to float a crazy notion, perhaps #Rizalman isn't about covering Murray McCully's arse or collecting his scalp?
It is possible to consistently believe MFAT screwed up horribly and inexcusibly over #Rizalman AND the Minister is an utter numpty. Really.
Extraordinary to see McCully, the cunning Dark Prince, getting such a thrashing. That's what happens when you take your eye off the ball.
Matthew Hooton @MatthewHootonNZ
I reckon hapless #JohnAllenMFAT should resign immediately. Otherwise McCully is (unfairly) going to get the blame #nzpol
Grant Robertson @grantrobertson1
McCully didn't ask any question of officials for 6 weeks about alleged sex attack by diplomat? Either a lie or absolute dereliction of duty.
McCully wont have to resign but he will have to get used to Colin Craig as MP for East Coast Bays, or wherever it was McCully USED to be
Key will punish McCully by taking East Coast Bays off him. That'll fix him for getting caught telling Mfat to bury it
Feel so terribly sorry for Murray McCully. Wherever he goes he has the rotten luck to arrive just as all the staff are turning incompetent.
Feel so terribly sorry for Murray McCully. Wherever he goes he has the rotten luck to arrive just as all the staff are turning incompetent.
It makes McCully's Tourism Board incompetence in the 90s look almost ok...
At least Murray McCully ensured that the Rugby World Cup trains ran on tim..... wait a minute.
MFAT staff think they're so intellectually superior this just proves they're a bunch of out of touch idiots in the real world.
It makes McCully's Tourism Board incompetence in the 90s look almost ok...
Murray McCully left it for 7 weeks, does nothing, zip, zero, and now calls it good and proper process. Resign now. Totally useless.
Murray McCully's finest hour. Not. Heads to roll? Never.
That's very decent of Malaysia to bail NZ out by sending that diplomat back. Especially after we insulted them by calling them liars.
What I don't get is that the PM was briefed on may 12, same day as the informal ambiguity happened. Either MFAT lied to pols, or pols knew..
Murray McCully should resign for his ministerial #rapeculture enabling. If only more politicians and media would do the same.
You touch on a bigger issue at MFAT - what other cases if any have they been sweeping under the diplomatic carpet? @NZStuffPolitics
McCully suggesting this issue highlights governmental integrity on either side is patently disingenuous. He'd have avoided the whole affair.
Jeez, cost me hundreds of thousands to get into NZ. Some Malaysian Diplomat tries to rape someone and they all insist on him returning!
Patrick Gower @patrickgowernz
Malaysia continue to act properly. Little over 24 hours ago McCully was effectively bagging them.
Trading women's rights for trade? http://goo.gl/YKCIFN "McCully had signalled that the case could harm New Zealand-Malaysia relations"
Rizalman case now in Mfat manual? "Don't keep ministers in dark, embarrass NZ, undermine policy, cause problems with friendly nation ...
Megan Campbell @MeganCampbellNZ
Shearer is right. This is serious stuff. Careful what you wish for though. If McCully goes... What happens in East Coast Bays
Imperator Fish @ImperatorFish
Wonder if those MFAT officials discussed NZ's UN Security Council bid with their Malaysian counterparts.
Will de Cleene @ZippyGonzales
Very impressed with the goat track strategy used to drop McCully from East Coast Bays. Live by the sheaf, die by the sheaf. #nzpols
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
Am I right in saying that, before Murray's McClusterfuck, MFAT was considered one of the most capable and best functioning departments?
Martyn Bradbury @CitizenBomber
'MFAT - putting sexual abusers first' just doesn't have a pleasant ring to it does it folks?
If McCully is lying about not being briefed, we should expect a leak
Aaron Hawkins @CrAaronHawkins
Looks like this MFAT debacle just handed the Nats their East Coast Bays Exit Strategy.
Winston Peters @winstonpeters
That the CEO of MFaT doesn't know what is going on is a disaster and reflects the poor state the ministry is in.
"Hey guys, I bought cake!" The MFAT staffroom goes quiet. McCully walks backwards out door, down corridor, to car park. A lonely tear falls.
Jane Patterson @rnzgalleryjane
Another crack at MFAT from McCully - 'when I examined the files that were eventually, eventually provided to me..: (during
snap debate)
How come Winston Peters, for all his faults, had so few problems/scandals with MFAT when he was foreign minister?
Hamish Rutherford @oneforthedr
So the chief executive of MFAT doesn't get told when his ministry requests a nation waives diplomatic immunity. Speechless.
Will John Allen depart as Chief Executive of #MFAT before 1 September 2014? https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?do=contract_detail&contract=DEP.ALLEN.SEP14 … #nzpol
For Min Murray McCully says he wouldn't have known abt Diplomat leaving the country if he hadn't seen it in media.
Morgan Godfery @MorganGodfery
Remember how the pundits were squaking about Murray "The Prince" McCully a couple of months ago. Yeah, about that #McMachiavelli #not
Only of McCully's staffers are now explaining to him what a diplomat is, where Malaysia is, and where is left shoe got to.
Hamish Rutherford @oneforthedr
Perhaps the problem here is that Murray McCully has too much on his plate and should go list only at the election...
McCully hiding behind police and officials to hide his negligence #nzqt
"And that was the last I heard about it." Murray 'She'll Be Right, Hands off the Wheel' McCully.
Hamish Rutherford @oneforthedr
Interesting that MFAT didn't think to apologise to the alleged victim or the wider public.
McCully sent "mixed messages" to Malaysian govt, now "gone silent". Searchers are concentrating on Sth Indian Ocean http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1407/S00012/gordon-campbell-on-murray-mccullys-avoidance-strategy.htm
Paula Rebstock redux, another $350k? MFAT says independent reviewer to look into the case of the bungled diplomat.
MFAT starting 11 for Dip World Cup: Snafu, Kokup, Balzup, Kliesterfjuck, Braakedown, Oi, Watzup, Snarlupp, Shitfite, Dogbrekfest,McCully (c)
McCully rules out refusing to rule out ruling anything in or out.
Nice to see the McCully Giddy Serious party back in town. It's been a while.
One gets the impression that the tragedy of Murray McCully is that he's a better politician than he is a Minister.
Wow, the diplomatic immunity story is really shaping up as a McCully classic, isn’t it?
There it goes again - the much vaunted Murray McCully genius. Wish I could see it, wish I could hear all the things dogs can hear.
Seems like people are always letting poor old Murray McCully down
@MacFinlay @DavidSlack Give MFAT a break. It's not as if they're trained in resolving complex cultural and political disputes.
"Murray, change of plan. We're not angry at the Malaysians, but MFAT. It's like when we cut their funding and blamed them for leaks etc."
Matthew Beveridge @matthewjpb
Isn’t it the job of MFAT to NOT be ambiguous? #rpt
Diplomatic immunity case now officially Pythonesque."Host country" media talk openly, its minister gives interviews but NZ media gagged.
Wondering whether the Murray McCully calling in of the ambassador only resulted from public outcry on rape attempt or is that too cynical?
Laura McQuillan @mcquillanatorz
May 9: Alleged sexual assault by diplomat May/June: Man is in court; flees NZ June 29: Story breaks June 30: McCully orders "please explain"
