Says it all

60 comments on “Says it all ”

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1. Lanthanide 1

   30 September 2011 at 3:25 pm

   iPredict Labour PM after election has jumped 2c so far, still only at a lowly 7.36% but it’s progress.
2. Roflcopter 2

   30 September 2011 at 3:36 pm

   Never mind that fact he wasn’t allowed to speak politics… cool story bro.
   • Lanthanide 2.1

     30 September 2011 at 3:57 pm

     You mean, he chose not to.
     • Graeme Edgeler 2.1.1

       30 September 2011 at 4:17 pm

       Nope. It wasn’t news or current affairs, so the Broadcasting Act prohibits it.
       • Lanthanide 2.1.1.1

         30 September 2011 at 4:22 pm

         It wasn’t news or current affairs that S&P downgraded our credit rating?

         I would say it was both news and current affairs, especially as it broke right before he went to air.
       • Pascal's bookie 2.1.1.2

         30 September 2011 at 4:37 pm

         What’s the def of ‘news current/affairs’?

         ‘What’s to be done about Coro street?’

         Pretty current affairs-y as far as I can tell from looking at the newspaper.

         So the PM opining about how he might be talking to someone important about changing its timeslot. Current affairs? News?

         Sounds like both to me.
       • mickysavage 2.1.1.3

         30 September 2011 at 5:38 pm

         So Key took time out of his job to talk about cats on a day when two agencies downgraded our credit rating?  Pffft ….
3. McFlock 3

   30 September 2011 at 3:36 pm

   I reckon there’s been a subtle media shift away from the unmitigated fellating Key would receive a few months ago. I’m not even too sure it’s to provide “plausible deniability” about pro-nact bias during the campaign – normally those are one-off token articles. Just the headlines and stories vibe seems to be slightly less than fawning on occasion.
     
   Bodes well.
4. higherstandard 4

   30 September 2011 at 3:49 pm

   What that our electoral laws need changing again ?
5. idlegus 5

   30 September 2011 at 3:59 pm

   ‘paul henry is my brother’, sums it up really. hes really thick too, a personality free zone, reading such inane questions. its so sad those sport guys get sucked into doing this, do they know that they are being manipulated?
6. BWS 6

   30 September 2011 at 4:00 pm

   Zet it would help if you actually reported the story, which points out that Key couldn’t talk politics, otherwise it would be deemed a party political election broadcast.
   • Blighty 6.1

     30 September 2011 at 4:04 pm

     an hour of the PM on the radio is political.

     and isn’t it telling that the best use of his time he can find is a *wink* non-political hour DJ-ing? Don’t we employ him to do things like, um, avoid credit downgrades?
   • Kaplan 6.2

     30 September 2011 at 4:06 pm

     60 days out from an election the PM hosting a radio show should be deemed party political whether he talks about tax or a pimple on his backside.
     • Pascal's bookie 6.2.1

       30 September 2011 at 4:10 pm

       How about if he says he’ll do what he can to sort out this Coro street tragi-farce? Would that be political?
       • higherstandard 6.2.1.1

         30 September 2011 at 4:11 pm

         Wouldn’t that be direct pandering to Winnies mob ?
         • Vicky32 6.2.1.1.1

           30 September 2011 at 5:41 pm

           Wouldn’t that be direct pandering to Winnies mob ?

           No, because contrary to what TV1 programmers seem to believe, not all Coro fans are elderly! (And thankfully, not all elderly people can even tolerate Winnie..)
         • Puddleglum 6.2.1.1.2

           30 September 2011 at 5:49 pm

           Yes, as you point out, clearly political.

           The Prime Minister hosting a radio show is politics and is news and current affairs. Would he have been ‘invited’ to do this if he wasn’t PM (or a politician)?

           Trying to hide behind some legalistic excuse about content doesn’t hide the fact that he’s doing this as part of his political strategy.

           If, as National have repeatedly argued, a credit downgrade would be extremely serious for New Zealand, wouldn’t it have been appropriate for the PM to cancel this slot, call an urgent meeting, at least with his Minister of Finance – who admits he was ‘taken by surprise’ by the first downgrade -, and acted to reassure the country or begin to develop a response to this unexpected, ‘extremely serious’ turn of events?

           Or is he adopting the George W. Bush approach of carrying on ‘reading out children’s stories’ in the face of what his own government claims is disastrous? 
   • Carol 6.3

     30 September 2011 at 4:13 pm

     Zet it would help if you actually reported the story, which points out that Key couldn’t talk politics, otherwise it would be deemed a party political election broadcast.

     Say what? So, the PM can’t answer any questions from the media about the state of the country or economy, or about a credit downgrade until after the election? Surely not?
     • higherstandard 6.3.1

       30 September 2011 at 4:16 pm

       Apparently so.

       http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5712154/DJ-Key-talks-cats-not-tax-on-radio-show

       “A spokeswoman for Key said Radio Live had required the show to be politics-free. The station had been advised by the Electoral Commission that it had to be or it could not go ahead.”
       • Draco T Bastard 6.3.1.1

         30 September 2011 at 5:15 pm

         As has been stated, the fact that the PM was on the show made it political.
         • Ari 6.3.1.1.1

           30 September 2011 at 10:35 pm

           Which is why the Electoral Commission is wrong. They’re probably following the rules, but they’re still wrong.
       • mik e 6.3.1.2

         30 September 2011 at 11:19 pm

         So HS your saying Key is a pussy who pussy foots around the hard Questions
       • mikesh 6.3.1.3

         1 October 2011 at 10:30 am

         It seems a sorry state of affairs when a politician can’t discuss the economy, or international affairs, or the RWC, or whatever, without politicising these issues.
       • millsy 6.3.1.4

         1 October 2011 at 10:39 am

         Where are the cries from the right about ‘free speech’ that were deafening when the EFA was passed?
   • mickysavage 6.4

     30 September 2011 at 5:40 pm

     Well if he took time out of politics he took time out of his job to talk about cats.  And while S&P was downgrading our credit rating.  I wonder if we can get some of his wages back?
   • mik e 6.5

     30 September 2011 at 10:04 pm

     SO he’s under delivered again.Just has to smile and wave just like brian tamaki
7. Political Bear 7

   30 September 2011 at 4:03 pm

   Its got to be a party political broadcast anyway. Its free unmitigated publicity for a candidate. Totally falls within “reasonably” persuading a voter to vote for National.
   • Lanthanide 7.1

     30 September 2011 at 4:16 pm

     He’s such good mates with Richie, remember how he was out on the field with them just the other day?

     We all know that when our ABs finally win that trotie, it’ll be thanks to John Key!
     • higherstandard 7.1.1

       30 September 2011 at 4:18 pm

       Watch it lest some dunce in Labour or dear Campbell Larsen declare a fatwah against Richie and the All Blacks
       • mickysavage 7.1.1.1

         30 September 2011 at 5:42 pm

         You are a burk, a comment free zone and a troll HS.  I await the day when you contribute meaningfully to a discussion, any discussion will do …
         • higherstandard 7.1.1.1.1

           30 September 2011 at 7:37 pm

           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwXPueu-RM
       • McFlock 7.1.1.2

         30 September 2011 at 5:49 pm

         Oh noes, you mentioned “fatwah”! Because as we all know the left has a history of religious conservatism and attacking youth camps with assault rifles – oh, wait.
         • Ari 7.1.1.2.1

           30 September 2011 at 10:37 pm

           Nono, he’s just implying we don’t hate Muslims enough. ><
8. Richard 8

   30 September 2011 at 4:35 pm

   Seems they closed comments on that story?
9. JS 9

   30 September 2011 at 4:41 pm

   What about the party political advertising on the cover of the Australian Woman’s Weekly? It doesn’t have an authorisation statement.
   • Ianupnorth 9.1

     30 September 2011 at 5:01 pm

     He’s not back in there courtesy of Bronagh (it’d pronounced Bro – Nah you know!)?

     At least on the radio you don’t have to see his smarmy smile and if in the car you can press the CD button. 
10. monkeyhill 10

    30 September 2011 at 4:53 pm

    John Key… worst All Black ever! Hasn’t even scored a try all bloody tournament.
11. thejackal 11

    30 September 2011 at 4:58 pm

    John Key becomes a television scheduler.

    Prime Minister John Key says he will try to stop Coronation St being moved to 5.30pm.
    TVNZ announced on Wednesday that MasterChef is moving to 7.30pm every weeknight for the final three weeks of its season, pushing the British soap to earlier in the day.

    tvnz.co.nz received dozens of messages from fans of the show angered by the move .

    Blatant engineering for the Coro street vote.
    • Ianupnorth 11.1

      30 September 2011 at 5:03 pm

      Glad to see that is more important than the economy. And when the Master Chef people start complaining will he appease them?

      If he really wanted to get in he’d get rid of Corrie! 
      • mikesh 11.1.1

        1 October 2011 at 10:35 am

        Masterchef is about to displace rugby as the country’s national sport, so it’s probably appropriate that it occupy a prime time spot like the one occupied at present by Coro.
    • Vicky32 11.2

      30 September 2011 at 5:44 pm

      Blatant engineering for the Coro street vote.

      Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Not all Coro fans could vote for Key/NACT without vomiting…
12. Pascal's bookie 12

    30 September 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Where’s my fucking panda?
    • McFlock 12.1

      30 September 2011 at 5:51 pm

      On a bicycle, riding the length of the country.
      • DS 12.1.1

        30 September 2011 at 11:54 pm

        Bloody Panda stole my $50.
13. Peter 13

    30 September 2011 at 5:12 pm

    Popularity not policy is what wins votes. The real issues are too numerous and to hard to deal with so leave it up to the chosen one, he knows what is best for us.
    • Ari 13.1

      30 September 2011 at 10:40 pm

      Sometimes policy generates popularity, when you do it right, and make a big enough deal of it.

      But yes, I agree they’re not necessarily the same. Which is why you’ll hear a lot of us railing about “populists” who are great at getting elected but who have a tendancy to waste money or not do very much good for the country.
14. Janice 14

    30 September 2011 at 5:16 pm

    What about the current Woman’s Weekly. Went to buy a stamp and here he and his missus are on the front cover “She’s the boss” and “How we keep our love alive”. I had to walk out without my stamp becasue my stomach was so turned.
15. gobsmacked 15

    30 September 2011 at 5:40 pm

    From the Herald:

    He told listeners the hour was an “election free zone”, but offered to “talk to someone important” about Coronation Street being moved to an earlier timeslot.

    It wasn’t until the latter half of the show, under prompting from Radio Live host Paul Henry, that Mr Key made reference to the Standard and Poors downgrade.

    He blamed it on high private sector debt and a “very jumpy” atmosphere at major rating companies.

    He was disappointed at S&P’s decision. “But hey, it’s private sector debt”.

    So, at least two examples of the Prime Minister commenting on politics:

    1) Key promising to intervene in his capacity as PM, and

    2) the downgrade.

    Therefore, either the Prime Minister has broken the law, or he could talk about political matters, when he chose.

    I suggest Key’s apologists might be better off with the latter option. Your call.
16. William Joyce 16

    30 September 2011 at 6:11 pm

    After the Feb earthquake, when other magazines were showing photos of the dead on the cover, one women’s magazine had Mr and Mrs Key on the cover.
    It seemed inappropriate and creepy. My first thought was that a leader would see that self-promoting was not what was needed. But then I realised he probably had no control over it. It would be the media-manipulating machine behind Key that wheels him out for the cameras so he can parrot the Crosby-Textor narrative of the poor boy made good.
    The man is a cardboard cut out.
     
    To quote the character played by Gore Vidal in Bob Roberts…
    “I don’t know who Bob Roberts (read John Key) is and I get the feeling that I’m not supposed to…but when he speaks I detect a whiff of sulphur”
     
     
17. newbie 17

    30 September 2011 at 7:26 pm

    Current screen print of top 5 stories on TVNZ:

    nothing on Downgrade and Key fights to save Coronation St!
18. NZ Groover 18

    30 September 2011 at 9:28 pm

    Lynn, keep up the good work. [deleted]

    [lprent: I think I commented about your traits already.
    http://thestandard.org.nz/bradford-and-the-greens/#comment-338137

    You keep getting caught in the moderation because akismet thinks you are spam (as I pointed out last time). To get that requires that a number of sites tag you as not worth having around. But looking at these 3 messages I can see why people keep marking you as spam.

    Perhaps you should examine your own behavior rather than blaming everyone else for your failures.

    I’ll file the other two in spam to continue the good work. ]
19. Hanswurst 19

    30 September 2011 at 10:28 pm

    What I find galling is that a discussion of current events and policy, which in itself is neutral and could work for or against the prime minister – or neither – is considered to be encouraging people to vote for a particular party, whereas the prime minister doing a bunch of feel-good stunts with celebrities is considered to be neutral for electoral purposes. That’s a flawed argument if ever there was one.
    • Ari 19.1

      30 September 2011 at 10:46 pm

      Indeed. In fact, I’d like it if candidates speaking about the issues in person or as part of scheduled programming were always protected speech under electoral law, but that non-issues programming counted as advertising.
      • Lanthanide 19.1.1

        30 September 2011 at 11:48 pm

        I agree, that would make a lot more sense.
      • Hanswurst 19.1.2

        1 October 2011 at 12:23 am

        That not being the case at present, surely this can still be contested. If not legally, then at least in the court of public opinion. Not talking politics is clearly playing to Key’s strengths (or, more accurately, dodging his weaknesses), and here he is, taking advantage of that based on a legal technicality. This, too, based on law that National has explicitly endorsed in its current form. Key and his cheerleaders have long made a virtue of his being a “non-politician”, a real man who swept in from the real world and cut through the crap in parliament and government to bring them closer to the people. If those episodes are constantly highlighted, in which he nakedly derives political capital through avoiding “politics”, people will start seeing his antics and thinking, “There goes that politician again, bullshitting us that he’s not a politician. Loser.”
20. Irascible 20

    30 September 2011 at 10:52 pm

    The Electoral Commission and Media Works are a joke waiting for a punchline if they jointly believe that an hour long talk back show fronted by the glove puppet who calls himself the Prime Minister of NZ, when not on holiday at his real residence in Hawaii, is not political.
    Each hour long show is a paid political broadcast donated by Media Works to the National – ACT party and should be regarded as such.

    Mind you, Key has, at least revealed to the public, that he has a politics free zone and that is within his own head.
21. mik e 21

    30 September 2011 at 11:27 pm

    Irascible Key doesn’t want CORO competing with Home and Away otherwise it might bring the spot light on the which home Key is away from the most!
22. millsy 22

    1 October 2011 at 12:29 am

    The concern about TVNZ moving Coro Street may sound trivial to those on here, but it is a legitamite concern, given the decline in quality of TVNZ’s programming since it was ‘relived’ of its public service mandate back in 1988 (the Charter was ineffective).

Links to post

1. Pollyanna « The Standard: posted on 4 October 2011 at 2:54 pm
2. Pollyanna | Ben for Shore: posted on 10 October 2011 at 9:25 pm

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