john key
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This Government Doesn’t Trust You
Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, December 8th, 2010 - 34 comments
You not only can expect to be spied on more after an overhaul of the SIS, but you sure as hell shouldn’t be allowed to know how they are going to do it. It’s your freedom they’re protecting, so you should expect a reduction in liberty to achieve that. And we certainly can’t be allowed […]
I beg your pardon, Mr Key
Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, December 7th, 2010 - 17 comments
A reader responds, pretty curtly, to John Key’s wholly inadequate explanation for why the select committee hearings on extending the SIS’s already broad powers will be secret. “It won’t be in the public interest to have it open, for a whole bunch of reasons I don’t want to go into,” Just doesn’t cut it.
Your chance to ask the PM some real questions
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 am, December 1st, 2010 - 134 comments
To say that Key’s digital smile and wave was disappointing would be an under-statement. Key spent just 45 minutes (not the promised 2 hours) answering questions and most of them were moronic – “ford or holden”, “favourite colour” – honestly. We’re getting emails from people pissed off their serious questions weren’t sent through. I have a solution.
Leaked cables window into Superpower
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, November 30th, 2010 - 49 comments
Wikileaks latest coup is the release of a database of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables between American embassies, up to and including the highest security level “Top Secret”. The cables provide a full, detailed and explicit account of many of America’s diplomatic secrets and the attitudes behind them. It is a good long look through a window in to the mind of a Superpower.
Trans-Tasman: Key the smile & wave PM
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, November 30th, 2010 - 65 comments
The annual roll-call’ from the extremely pro-Nat Trans-Tasman says: “Key needs an agenda, not just the consensus he is building around personal trust.” In other words: ‘smile and wave is all very nice and good, John, but don’t you think you should do some actual work? Meanwhile, Key is spending two hours today digitally smiling and waving on Stuff.
Does John Key still want us to emulate Ireland?
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 24th, 2010 - 36 comments
Reading the news on the current plight of the Irish with a economy in a tailspin and a tottering government. I can but reflect that it was a bloody good thing that the National party wasn’t in power after 1999. For instance, John Key as recently as 2008 was praising the fragile economic model that […]
Amazing coincidences
Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, November 23rd, 2010 - 35 comments
You remember John Key’s ‘blind trust’ that turned out not to be so blind. Key denied all but anyone could easily see into the ‘blind trust’. Key certainly knew of his wine and dairy interests, giving him a conflict of interest he failed to declare. Now, after the furor, the ‘blind trust’ has sold the shares. Funny things, coincidences.
What really rankles about National’s Standards
Written By: - Date published: 5:17 pm, November 22nd, 2010 - 34 comments
Anne Tolley prefers instead to concentrate on the diversion that is National’s Standards. It must be easier implementing a political slogan than actually doing her job.
A miss as good as a mile
Written By: - Date published: 3:45 pm, November 22nd, 2010 - 26 comments
Key talking on Breaskfast about Mana: “we slashed the majority from 6,155 to 1,080. So by any measure, you’ve got to take that as a win.” Apart from the one measure that counts. Eh John?
Of course, this is also the dude who reckons that sitting “pretty much next to” Obama for a few minutes is a foreign policy achievement.
Armstrong on Do Nothing Key’s big adventure
Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, November 20th, 2010 - 28 comments
John Armstrong’s straight-faced piss-take of John Key’s holiday very important diplomatic mission to Japan last week is very very funny. Without a hint of irony, Armstrong reveals how Key achieved nothing, talked big only to be put in his place by the big boys, and filled in his diary that was devoid of important meetings with pissant PR.
Rent a crowd
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, November 19th, 2010 - 34 comments
John Key tried to dismiss the activists who confronted him in Mana yesterday as “rent a crowd”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Left wing political protests are grass roots movements. It is the right wing of politics that needs to pay to get its “crowds”…
Who’s disrespecting whom?
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, November 18th, 2010 - 38 comments
Mana locals rallied loudly against Key and Parata today. Key says “we treat them with respect even if they don’t treat us with respect”. Nah. McCarten talking to a guy who opposes him was respectful. Key could’ve shown respect by taking time to defend his record: wages down, no jobs, rising crime, service cuts. He didn’t. No respect.
NZ media asleep at the wheel
Written By: - Date published: 1:37 pm, November 18th, 2010 - 31 comments
Democracy is quietly dying in NZ but you’d never know it by the media’s response. The government is rushing through a slew* of legislation under urgency and it doesn’t even rate a mention in either the Herald or the DomPost (the DP devotes half a page to Harry and Kate’s engagement for god’s sake). National Radio […]
National standard in pronunciation
Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, November 17th, 2010 - 21 comments
Plumedekiwi has revived his disturbingly good John Key impression in a new vid.
This time, John is explaining the importance of national standards.
If Wong stays an MP will she be welcome in National?
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 17th, 2010 - 79 comments
The latest revelation in the Pansy Wong saga is a Chinese newspaper article where she, as Minister, endorses her husband’s company’s product. John Key says that it would be a sacking offence were she a minister but its up to her if she resigns from Parliament. Here’s a question then: is he going to let this corrupt MP remain in his party’s caucus?
Worse than I imagined
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 pm, November 15th, 2010 - 98 comments
We learn from rort-buster Pete Hodgson that Pansy Wong and her husband have been running private companies out of her taxpayer-funded electorate office. I don’t see how she can remain in Parliament now. Who set and enforced the standards that have seen so many ministers involved in rorts? There’s only one person to point the finger at: Key
Hard core drunk drivers
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, November 15th, 2010 - 32 comments
The Key government doesn’t want to act on advice that would reduce deaths due to drunk drivers. The latest tactic is an attempt to divert attention to the worst “hard core” offenders. This is “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” foolishness. Why wait until we have problem drunk drivers and then try and pick up the pieces? Wouldn’t it be better to try and prevent people from becoming problem drivers in the first place?
Where is everybody?
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, November 12th, 2010 - 13 comments
John Key got to Japan for his Apec meeting a couple of days ago, and he’s been telling the Japanese they need to drop their tariffs, and the US he’d like to have a chat with Obama on the sidelines of a meeting, any meeting, please… But nobody else is there. They’re all still at the G20, across the ditch in Korea. What’s John Key doing?
Wong done wrong, Key cringing
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, November 12th, 2010 - 29 comments
We’re getting to the meat of the Pansy Wong affair. Stating her occupation when witnessing a form for her husband’s business deal was no major problem. But Wong’s flights were paid with her MP’s travel perk. That is a serious problem. The rules “expressly forbid MPs from using their private travel perk to pursue their own or their spouse’s private business interests”.
Key – War on P?
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, November 9th, 2010 - 17 comments
Do you remember when John Key declared War on P a year ago? The action has been… underwhelming. The Police have been getting on with quietly doing a good job, to be sure, but when you grandiosely declare “War” on something, you expect a bit more attention to have been paid to it.
Media turning
Written By: - Date published: 6:38 am, November 9th, 2010 - 26 comments
The Herald just accused Key of “blood on his hands” for failing to act on alcohol abuse. That’s an extraordinary rebuke. It far exceeds anything I can call from that pulpit directed at Helen Clark. John Key just lost another big chunk off his Teflon coating.
Trivia: PM’s tiara rivals milk bottle
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, November 7th, 2010 - 8 comments
With all the crap this government’s spewing out at the moment, sometimes it pays to take a breath and look at something a bit lighter. Lynn posted a while ago about some of the oddities of the internet, noting how “milk bottle” was one of the most frequent search terms used by visitors to this […]
Friday photo op
Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, November 5th, 2010 - 43 comments
Labour Party leader and PM of Japan John Key talks to visiting US President Hillary Clinton.
Key hides from real questions
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, November 4th, 2010 - 56 comments
How come John Key called Paul Henry’s racist comments completely unacceptable and Henry was forced to resign but Maurice Williamson’s racism is defended as ‘humour’ by Key and no punishment results? A question you might like to put to the PM. Well, if you try to ask it on Newstalk ZB they’ll let the PM’s staff censor you.
Media Matters
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, November 3rd, 2010 - 9 comments
A pot-pourri of a few things that have come up in the media of late, and thoughts on other media matters…
Q&A on The Hobbit – Part 2
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 3rd, 2010 - 52 comments
In a highly-charged debate like the Hobbit fiasco, it’s easy to lose sight of the real issue amongst the claims and counter-claims over petty details. In a second post that strips things back to what matters, Blue asks the big question: ‘how exactly did NZ taxpayers end up handing over tens of millions of dollars to Warner Brothers?’
Nat’s Mana strategy: exploit Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, November 3rd, 2010 - 47 comments
National is finding new exploitative ways to try save their by-election campaign in Mana.
Labour and Greens lead on transparency
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, November 3rd, 2010 - 12 comments
Last week Speaker Lockwood Smith rolled back transparency on MPs expenses, by making travel spending secret again. John Key came out “against” the move. Yesterday Labour and the Greens called his bluff by releasing their details. Over to you John, once again you’re too late to lead, but you can still follow…
Campbell on Key’s sell out
Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 21 comments
Scoop’s Gordon Campbell has written a long piece on the Hobbit settlement and its implications. Key said that we couldn’t match the tax deals offered by other countries, but according to Campbell’s calculations that’s exactly what we have done. Campbell also has harsh words to say about Key’s “skill” as a negotiator, and advice about strengthening the film industry in NZ.
The price of our hysteria
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, October 27th, 2010 - 180 comments
The Government will give the Hobbit producers an extra $33 million to stay in New Zealand and it’s going to use this ‘crisis’ as an excuse to slam through more anti-worker laws. New Zealand has been played like naive hicks. The Hobbit was never leaving. We let Jackson and his Hollywood mates whip us into a frenzy of fear – now we’re paying the cost.
Key’s announcement
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, October 27th, 2010 - 179 comments
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