Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, February 12th, 2012 - 14 comments
A great graphic from the Sunday Star Times as John Key starts dropping towards a hard landing in the personal popularity stakes. And in the great tradition of journalists everywhere, the rest of the article is about how he is still preferred by rubber fetishists.
Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 51 comments
An internal memo in the PM’s office after they received the Electoral Commission’s advice on the Radio Live’s PM Hour broadcast says: “So the Electoral Commission has replied, and basically said they can’t make a judgment on a radio show without seeing a transcript. But they have been pretty clear about putting the responsibility on the broadcaster, which is useful.” Key’s office knew they were skating close to the wind but were happy to cut Radio Live loose. Lesson here for media.
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, January 24th, 2012 - 23 comments
It was great to hear the familiar Morning Report tune this morning, signalling the end of the holiday season and, with it, an end to the popcorn journalism that Radio NZ has dished up since Christmas Eve. I don’t have any problem with National Radio’s summer line-up (in fact, Matinee Idle is radio gold), but …
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, December 1st, 2011 - 120 comments
Ubiquitous Tory blonde #5 (Jo Goodhew?) was on Backbenches last night. At the factory where Nat backbenchers are stamped out, they’re programmed to say ‘John Key’ whenever possible. It went wrong, though, when Goodhew said she was proud to be a reelected member of the John Key Party. It was a slip that told the truth: National, and the Right, is now completely dependent on one man.
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, November 23rd, 2011 - 81 comments
John Key is really showing the strain of campaigning, he’s not bearing up under the stress of it at all well. Clearly the National Show Pony was not built for endurance.
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 135 comments
Some say the tea tapes haven’t hurt Brand Key. In fact, National is down 2% last week and those polls were largely taken before the tea tapes hit overdrive. It also takes time for impressions and media narratives to bed in. The 26th will be the first poll to really tell us how much the tea tapes have hurt. But the internals could give us a clue.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, November 19th, 2011 - 44 comments
The teapot tape fiasco has forced the Nats to pretend that they are interested in policy. It’s screamingly hypocritical of them, since they couldn’t even be bothered returning answers to Radio NZ’s policy survey. But let’s not waste this new opportunity. Let’s start with asking them why they’re endorsing a party of loony climate change deniers.
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, November 19th, 2011 - 20 comments
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 pm, November 17th, 2011 - 57 comments
Interesting looking at the current law on getting and using search warrants on media organisations. There are some quite clear guidelines from a 1965 case.If the guidelines are adhered to it is hard to see how warrants could be obtained. Reading and publishing the search warrants and the supporting materials looks to be the only way that the public will be able to decide if John Key is walking down the path of close cooperation between the police and the current prime minister used by other ‘democratic’ countries.
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, November 17th, 2011 - 19 comments
Key would have had slightly better grounds for opposing the release of the teapot tape if he hadn’t led a government which trampled on civil rights in its determination to strengthen search and surveillance powers. I wonder if his “anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear” line is sounding quite so good to him now…
Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, November 16th, 2011 - 114 comments
There’s a theory going round that Key deliberately “staged” his walkout from questioning over the teapot tape fiasco. 3 News has a version, and Tracy Watkins really goes to town with it. I don’t buy it. It looks like what it is, a panicked reaction from a PM trapped by his own hubris.
Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, November 15th, 2011 - 70 comments
A lawyer representing victims of the News of the World phone hacking scandal says that Key’s comparing that event to the recorded conversation with Banks is a “cheap shot”, and the recording should be released. (Good work from 3 News.) How’s Key going to justify gagging the media now?
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 102 comments
The tea tape didn’t interest me at first. Nats’ reaction seemed over the top but would Key and Banks be so stupid to discuss anything sensitive in a public cafe metres from the press mob? But then Key went to the cops. This said the Nats were really worried. It can only be something that cuts to the heart of Brand Key’s greatest weakness: Key’s honesty.
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, November 14th, 2011 - 4 comments
Wave goodbye to higher taxes. Not your loved ones.
Choose a Brighter Future. Derp de derp.
This is what John Key was promising last election – before he came to power, raised GST, and record numbers of kiwis left New Zealand permanently for a brighter future in Australia.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 12th, 2011 - 137 comments
Brand Key is now tied to John Banks. Interesting decision, could backfire – most of us don’t want Banks, Brash, or ACT back. Here’s a sample of why…
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, November 9th, 2011 - 65 comments
There’s a line in, I believe, a Terry Pratchett book that goes ‘a leader has to get up very early in the morning and work hard all day long to make a society go backwards’. I was reminded of that when Key said “I work 19 hours a day, seven days a week to try and make New Zealand a better country”. Given the country’s going backwards, what does Key get up to in those 133 hour weeks? Let’s see.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 34 comments
John Key has been asked if he will be giving an explicit order to National voters in Epsom to vote for John Banks. He said ‘not today’. He said that a few weeks ago too. No photo-op of Key shaking Banks’ hand either. Why the hold-up? What could possibly be behind National wariness of linking Brand Key to Banks?
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, October 30th, 2011 - 18 comments
Key’s “small target” strategy was always going to come under pressure during the election campaign. But by rights it should now be blown completely out of the water. Labour’s willingness to take on the hard issues leaves Key facing plenty of questions. Time we got some answers.
Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, October 27th, 2011 - 135 comments
Labour’s cleverly wrong-footed Brand Key with a policy-based campaign launch. Key will look out of touch playing messiah at his campaign launch while the economy burns. Labour’s ads are great. The Tories are in panic mode: they don’t feature Goff enough moans Key; they feature Goff too much cries Clare Robinson; the lighting’s wrong whines Hoots. They’re afraid to take on the message.
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, October 20th, 2011 - 170 comments
Another Epsom poll has ACT’ stuffed. Goldsmith: 37%; Banks: 24%; Parker: 17%. However, it also says the blue-rinsers will obediently tick Banks if Key explicitly tells them to. But will he? Will the chance of saving 2% ACT be worth the nationwide loss of votes from linking Key’s brand to that mess of a party? His equivocating suggests the Nats haven’t decided.
Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, October 17th, 2011 - 12 comments
On Sunday the 10th of May 2008, John Key gave a speech at the Southern Regional Conference explaining National’s platform for the looming election. It’s an interesting read, and looking back to consider words from the past can uncover some revealing realities about the present
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, October 14th, 2011 - 51 comments
Caption contest.
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, October 13th, 2011 - 212 comments
One of the turning points of Bush’s presidency was the failed non-response to Hurricane Katrina. It’s starting to look now very much as if the wreck of the Rena is John Key’s Katrina moment.
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, October 11th, 2011 - 62 comments
Key’s staff spun to media that his Radio Live show was ok if he didn’t discuss politics, saying the station had received advice from the Electoral Commission that “political content’ could breach rules. That didn’t sound right to me, so I asked the Commission what they actually said.
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, October 10th, 2011 - 31 comments
Buried in Friday’s Herald’s media section was a big political story. After John “Moonbeam” Key had his hour of talking about his cat while the country was being downgraded, Radio Live responded to the complaints of this blatant and illegal political favouritism by offering to host a Leaders’ debate. It was canned, though, when Moonbeam was to afraid to front up.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 10th, 2011 - 50 comments
Looks like John Key has been caught in yet another lie.
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, October 3rd, 2011 - 37 comments
The Nats have released no substantial policy since the Budget and look unlikely to do so. Their election strategy was clearly to keep attention away from a comparison of their policy vs Labour’s, and keep it on Brand Key. The exploding economic crisis has caught the Nats’ flat-footed. Now, they need economic ideas urgently but have none to offer.
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, September 26th, 2011 - 28 comments
John Hartevelt – “Key is massively over-exposed on any number of fronts, but nowhere more so than at Pike River.” Key routinely promises big: close the wage gap, roaring out of recession, national cycleway, no equity loss for redzoners, Pike River bodies out, no GST hike, whaling solved, brighter future. He NEVER delivers. How does …
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, September 12th, 2011 - 30 comments
The Stuff interview of John Key in the weekend was better than your average puff piece. Interesting that Key doesn’t even try to defend his record on its merits.
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, August 24th, 2011 - 73 comments
A couple of polls have now confirmed that on key issues voters prefer Labour policy over National. When push comes to shove in November, will Kiwis vote for the style that they like, or the substance that they want?
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