The Goff that keeps on goofing

The National Government has got to love Labour leader Phil Goff.
The hapless leader of the Opposition is like an eternal Christmas present to John Key and his team – he’s the gift that keeps on giving – or the Goff who keeps on goofing!
Poor old Phil has spent the last two years struggling to make any dent in the opinion polls and leading a Party that is so out of touch with the punters that it could not feel its own pulse in an ambulance let alone that of the electorate’s.
So far, during his less that illustrious tenure as leader of the Opposition, we have seen Goff lurch from one crisis to another
However, his latest gaffe has got to be the most embarrassing story of the year for the bumbling Goff. Yesterday, media reports revealed that Goff is still collecting rent from a Wellington apartment he owns, while pocketing a taxpayer allowance to live in another place. This is despite promising last year to sell the apartment.
Goff has owned the property for years and has been letting it since he was a minister in the previous government, when he was living in a ministerial house (care of the taxpaer). However, last year he pledged to sell the apartment when criticising Deputy Prime Minister Bill English for his perceived double-dipping. While within the parliamentary rules, English was receiving almost $1000 a week in accommodation allowances while living in his own home in Wellington, because he had declared his primary residence in Dipton in his electorate of Clutha-Southland.
After a huge public outcry – led by Goff and Labour - English repaid $32,000 and no longer claims any accommodation allowance.
At this time, other ministers - and Goff himself - also came under media fire for moving out of their Wellington apartments, then renting them out while claiming accommodation allowances.
"The flat is currently tenanted and I plan to sell it," Goff told media last year.
However, in the year to September 2010, Goff has claimed $20,214 in accommodation allowances.
As Cabinet Minister Gerry Brownlee said; it's not a good look for someone who had taken a hard-line on MP housing rorts last year to be taking advanatge of it himself.
So how has Goff reacted since been caught with his finger's in the taxpayers' till? Instead of owning up and admitting his mistake, he's whingeing that he's the subject of a politically-motivated sting.
"Four people have viewed the property in the past fortnight with a view to renting. One of those people was a friend of Jason Ede, a senior National staffer working in the Prime Minister's office.
Well boo-hoo Phil, isn’t that the nature of – you know – politics! And I suppose that you were not playing politics last year when you were putting the boot into English?
And here in lies Goff's problem and what makes this current situation such a bad look. It was he and his Labour colleagues who took the moral high ground and really went after English last year - accussing him of “double dipping” (as explained earlier it within rules – as Goff's now claiming about his current housing rort). They made political capital out of English’s predicament and still do to this day. But if you live by the sword, you risk ending up also dying by the sword - eh Phil!
In fact, Goff was so ‘holier than thou’ about the English issue, that he claimed that he would 'lead by example'
Yet, after getting busted yesterday, Goff kept on defending his own housing arrangement.
"My accommodation arrangements are within Parliamentary rules. There is no rort here," he said.
If there was ever an example of someone being hoisted by their own petard; this has got to be it.
Sorry Phil, but if this is ‘leading by example’ then your days are numbered!
However, this is something that John Key and National will not want. Goff is National’s equivalent the gift horse that keeps looking them in the mouth and – as stated earlier – dear old Phil keeps on delivering.
He has little chance of leading Labour to victory next year and Labour has no chance of winning with Goff (or with anyone else for that matter)at the helm! National will be praying that Labour keep Goff in charge – as he will be one of the Government’s best weapons in their bid to get re-elected in 2011.
Happy Christmas Phil!