john key

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Great expectations

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:28 am, February 9th, 2010 - 19 comments

“This is his most important speech since he entered Parliament in 2002.” That’s Duncan Garner on Key’s speech today. Other political commentators have been emphasising its importance too: John Armstrong: “What has so far been a comparatively easy ride for Key now starts to get much bumpier. The time has come to do the difficult […]

Key: Look over here! Please, look over here

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 6:45 pm, February 8th, 2010 - 44 comments

Well, wages are stagnating, unemployment is just shy of its all-time high, crime is up, and there is no chance of the Government fulfilling its flagship promise – closing the gap with Australia by 2025. Tomorrow, a make or break speech will lay out Key’s programme of action for the year ahead, and expectations are […]

Quick thoughts

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:06 am, February 8th, 2010 - 36 comments

It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that a government that spends half its time on holiday and the rest on PR stunts is never going to get New Zealand to catch Australia by 2025 but having the Reserve Bank Governor say its impossible, that’s hugely embarrassing. Of course, Key is refusing to acknowledge the […]

When was the last time Key mentioned the ‘underclass’?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:00 am, February 8th, 2010 - 9 comments

I was thinking the other day about John Key’s underclass speech. It was always pure gimmickry, as was the whole exploitation of Aroha. But how long would he keep up the facade once the PR value had worn off?

The victims of Brand Key

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 8:12 am, February 7th, 2010 - 52 comments

Remember the struggling Auckland family that John Key used in 2007 to help build his brand? Well, according to the Herald: The mother of the 12-year-old girl John Key took to Waitangi three years ago says she has been let down by the Prime Minister, and her daughter now wants nothing to do with him. […]

Paula, John, seriously, put away the champagne

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:53 pm, February 6th, 2010 - 2 comments

Paula Bennett and John Key have been, once again, prematurely popping the bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of rising unemployment. In the face of the shocking 7.3% unemployment rate announced on Thursday, the pair responded by saying ‘ah, but that was December quarter things are better now.’ They pointed to the number […]

The 59,000 failures of John Phillip Key

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:31 am, February 5th, 2010 - 48 comments

Nearly a year ago, John Key, shaken by the first whispers of disquiet over his government’s month-long holiday at the height of an economic crisis (whispers that would later grow into cries of ‘Do Nothing’ Key), decided to hold the Prime Minister’s Jobs Summit. This would not be a talk-fest, it would be a ‘do-fest’ […]

Unemployment? Blame someone else – Key

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:35 am, February 5th, 2010 - 53 comments

A panicked, chaotic series of excuses poured forth from John Key’s mouth yesterday as he attempted to shift the blame for the shocking unemployment numbers on to someone, anyone, else: “He told reporters it was important to note the economy was not losing jobs, it was a case of not creating new ones fast enough.” […]

Translating Tories: “Creeping political correctness in our schools”

Written By: r0b - Date published: 1:25 pm, February 4th, 2010 - 16 comments

I wasn’t expecting to do another in this series so soon, but then I’m much too polite to decline a clear invitation like this. John Key says that parents should not have to put up with “creeping political correctness in our schools”. So what does “creeping political correctness in our schools” mean? Its tempting to […]

Do nothing and loving it

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:26 am, February 4th, 2010 - 11 comments

Saw this in the new culture/humour page in the Dom: Glad to see the “do-nothing PM” as Rodney Hide called John Key doing plenty of late. Take the past fortnight for example; there’s been the barbecue and beer with Prince William, photo ops with punters at the Wellington races, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony and practice […]

Wages dropping under Key, as promised

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:26 am, February 3rd, 2010 - 28 comments

Remember how John Key said he “would love to see wages drop“. You might remember the big corporate media refused to run it, and the head of APN held an emergency meeting with Key then pressured the journalist who had reported the comments to retract them, which he would not do, and then APN published […]

DPMC: The “Key” to increasing the PM’s power

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 9:28 am, February 3rd, 2010 - 14 comments

Last October I posted on National’s plan to fold the State Services Commission into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Yesterday, Labour’s Grant Robertson revived the rumour. And since then Government pollster David Farrar has spent much of his energy reserves vigorously defending any transfer of power that may occur. But we should watch closely to […]

Keys ‘Master Brand’ marketing.

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 2:45 pm, January 28th, 2010 - 38 comments

The John Key led National LtdÂ® government lands yet another axe blow on our 100% Pure brand by cancelling a scheme recognised internationally as a best practice model. This latest announcement caps off a busy year for National LtdÂ® on the environmental front. Its list of actions include spending millions on establishing the 100% Pure Brand as the â€œMaster Brandâ€ of Aotearoa while simultaneously it has:

Key admits mistake: Tolley and Groser shuffled out

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 6:51 pm, January 26th, 2010 - 44 comments

Today John Key admitted his mistake in two Ministerial portfolio appointments, as two long overdue changes were announced. 1) Chopper Tolley has rightfully been shuffled out of the Tertiary Education portfolio, which goes to Steven Joyce. Tolley’s record has been appalling, most infamously taking a chopper ride to get a “helicopter view” of the AUT […]

Campbell and Hooton on do nothing Key

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:19 am, January 26th, 2010 - 23 comments

I can’t work out how to embed audio alone, so here’s a YouTube of Andrew Campbell and Matthew Hooton on the Key Government. Both agree that this government has done little and doesn’t appear to have a plan. Campbell sums up Key’s record: “The NDU yesterday issued a challenge to the Government to do a […]

The SAS, the media, and Key

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:53 am, January 24th, 2010 - 50 comments

I don’t think the SAS should be in Afghanistan. That said, there are good reasons why the activities of the SAS on deployment are meant to be kept secret. Both the media and John Key have behaved incredibly irresponsibly. Do the publishing of pictures and the name of Willi Apiata after he apparently took part […]

Key committed to [insert your priority here]

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:57 pm, January 23rd, 2010 - 31 comments

Last week: “Prime Minister John Key said the Government’s major theme in 2010 would be improving New Zealand’s economy” Today: “He said his almost exclusive focus this year was to improve educational standards in the country” Next week: An unrelenting focus on whatever you want him to pretend to care about today I guess he can […]

Covering for ‘Vacation John’

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 3:00 pm, January 15th, 2010 - 69 comments

Both David Farrar and Cameron Slater have posts up attacking a comment by roger nome in one of our comment threads, and it shows they are worried about Key’s image as a do nothing ‘Minister for Overseas Holidays’. On the surface level, it’s kind of cute that Farrar and Slater are obviously reading through our […]

I don’t know, what do you think?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:43 am, January 14th, 2010 - 28 comments

Less than a week before the opening of the new $80 million Supreme Court building in Wellington, Prime Minister John Key is reserving judgment on the design. Asked what he thought of the building, which has a bronze facade designed to look like pohutukawa and rata trees wrapped around the top, he was less than […]

A humbug

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 4:50 pm, January 13th, 2010 - 27 comments

Back in July of 2009 I wrote a post about John Key’s promises of a plan to stop job losses. At the time I pointed out his trail of empty and unfulfilled promises and predicted that the big plan to stop job losses would be one of them. Unfortunately I was right. There was no […]

John Key, Minister for Overseas Holidays

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:41 am, January 11th, 2010 - 85 comments

Happy new year! If you’re lucky enough to be on a bit of a break overseas say ‘Hi’ to Prime Minister John Key for me, since it’s out of the country where he’s likely to be. It’s no surprise Rodney Hide thinks John Key doesn’t do anything. Key has been out of the country for almost […]

MSM: you supply the spin, we publish it

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 3:59 pm, December 22nd, 2009 - 80 comments

There’s a Youtube clip on Stuff of Key talking on The Edge. Presumably filmed by one of Key’s people. It’s run as headline news. Yup. You got that right. It’s now news when Key appears for a soft interview on other media. Not the first time. A month or so ago Stuff ran his video […]

Words and deeds

Written By: r0b - Date published: 3:02 pm, December 18th, 2009 - 18 comments

Words: Prime Minister John Key has urged the world’s major economies to listen to the voices of vulnerable nations facing climate change. .. The current system of limited participation under the Kyoto Protocol had to be moved to one of “comprehensive global coverage”, he said. “For this to be achieved we need international commitments from […]

Bullet dodged

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:30 am, December 17th, 2009 - 76 comments

Well, that could have been embarrassing. John Key on the world stage, along with leaders of other countries in what has been billed the ‘greatest debate on Earth’ had the potential to be very painful. It goes without saying that he would have treated the whole thing as a PR event. National was already preparing […]

US Style Cow Stalls – what aspiration!

Written By: rocky - Date published: 12:10 pm, December 14th, 2009 - 46 comments

In a year when New Zealand factory farming practices for pigs (and earlier for chickens) have been widely exposed and shocked the country, our dairy industry is looking at adopting similar practices for dairy cows. In a year when climate change has been on the world agenda as never before, our dairy industry is attempting […]

Key obstructs Copenhagen talks

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 11:46 am, December 11th, 2009 - 41 comments

Thanks to our dear Prime Minister John Key, New Zealand is being branded an international ‘fossil’ on climate change. Stuff.co.nz reports Prime Minister John Key’s comments on climate change have come to the world’s attention, earning New Zealand a “fossil of the day” award at the Copenhagen climate change negotiations. The awards are a hall […]

Above all that kind of thing

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:11 am, December 9th, 2009 - 23 comments

RNZ, Nov 6: Sean Plunket “Most commentators say you’re leadership style has been one that has sought to avoid personal attacks and name calling” John Key “Well, I don’t think that [personal attacks and name calling] get you anywhere” Parliament yesterday (just examples from one day) Key “I guess the difference between me and the […]

Excellent question

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 8:57 am, December 9th, 2009 - 9 comments

An excellent question from Labour yesterday, using some familiar numbers: Hon Annette King: When he was reusing ‘unreliable, highly volatile, and potentially misleading’ [Paula Bennett’s words] figures yesterday, was he aware that unemployment drops around this time every year and that this year we are experiencing a smaller than usual seasonal drop of just 2.6 percent, […]

Double standards or no standards?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:13 pm, December 8th, 2009 - 7 comments

Key wouldn’t say why he fired Worth, claiming he feared contaminating a police investigation. But he will trample all over a police investigation by saying they shouldn’t prosecute Harawira*. Credibility – fail. *They shouldn’t. OK for me to say that. I’m not PM.

Key is going. Now who pays?

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:10 am, December 4th, 2009 - 19 comments

So John Key has finally dropped his veils* and is going to Copenhagen. Well, Rob Emmerson correctly predicted how the ineffectual Emissions Trading Scheme amendments by NACT did wind up. Taxpayers pay almost all of the cost, our kids pay even more, and polluters have no incentive to reduce emissions. Now imagine what happens when […]

Key of the seven veils

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:48 am, December 3rd, 2009 - 59 comments

Here’s a wee gripe in the morning. John Key. Did you ever see such a prima donna? Headline on Newsroom this morning: “Key And Copenhagen – Prime Minister John Key is preparing to relent on his refusal to attend the world climate change conference in Copenhagen”. In The Herald: “Key books flight to Copenhagen – […]