John Key’s Lies Since the 2014 Election (UPDATED)

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Its been a wee while since the abridged list of John Key’s lies was updated, so here it is.

There is one, probably contentious item on the list concerning whether or not John Key knew about the brewing trade squabble with China regarding the dumping of cheap steel on the New Zealand market. Its not been possible to ascertain whether John Key did or did not know what he was saying was untrue. However, there is sufficient circumstantial evidence which, as each thread is entwined to form a rope, makes it most likely that John Key did know.

First off, John Key has form. Significant form. So significant, in fact, that it is likely his enduring legacy will be that he is recognised as the most dishonest Prime Minister in the history of New Zealand. Second, John Key has been wandering globe trying to frame himself as the master negotiator of international trade, the go-to chap when a deal needs doing. Everywhere he goes, it all about trade. He is all over it and it defies commonsense that he did not know about China flexing its muscle.

Next, the Minister of Trade is Todd McClay and he is a super-charged John Key fanboi. Also, Todd McClay appears to have lied about what he knew when about the China steel dumping issue. Just yesterday, we learned that McClay knew as long ago as May that China was getting antsy about a possible public inquiry into its dodgy behaviour.

And, finally, Todd McClay has form when it comes to covering up lies told by National MPs. Here he is covering up for Shane Reti in a performance which resulted in even Cyclops, The Speaker, shaking his head.

So, with those strands making a rope sufficient to sustain the assumption that John Key was lying, that lie is included in this latest update.

• There will be no more asset sales
• David Seymour did not ask for a Ministerial position with the National Party
• The New Zealand military personnel are just attending a regular ordinary meeting in the United States (x 13 times)
• New Zealand is not involved in any coalition to fight in the Middle East
• It is not currently illegal for someone to fight overseas for a terrorist group
• When it comes to requests for official information, my ministers always act within the law.
• I have never called or texted Cameron Slater in my capacity as Prime Minister
• No, I did not mislead the House. (??)
• I did not admit to having abused the OIA process.
• I did not mislead the House(??)
• The Gwynn Report into the handling of OIA requests by the SIS completely exonerated me
• Its not true that the process I put in place for the SIS reporting to me was politicised
• The review into Judith Collins has got nothing to do with the release of information to Cameron Slater
• My office had nothing to do with the release of information to Cameron Slater
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• I can’t remember all the phone texts I exchanged except when I say I can
• I did not engage in an exchange of text messages with Cameron Slater, I just acknowledged one unsolicited message from him
• The DPMC head attended the Roger Sutton PR conference because his department is taking over Cera next year.
• New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that were settled peacefully.
• I was being asked a specific question about the Chisholm report when I said I had had not contact with Cameron Slater
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• When the particular question was asked there was quite a lot of noise in the house and so I only heard the first bit.
• I have not been in contact with Cameron Slater ahead of the release of Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn’s report into the SIS’s role in Slater’s 2011 political attack on former Labour Leader Phil Goff.
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• The number of children in those low decile schools which I have visited who actually require lunch is the odd one or two
• The Greens are responsible for the rise in income equality within New Zealand
• I don’t want to overly concern or frighten people about the threat of a terrorist action in New Zealand.
• Labour is promoting a separatist approach to dealing with the Treaty of Waitangi which could result in Northland becoming an independent republic
• The owner of Oravida, Stone Shi, won a round of golf with me after he placed the winning bid at a charity auction
• I didn’t know until late January 2015 that Mike Sabin was facing family issues which may lead to his resignation
• My meeting with Donghua Liu was not a Cabinet Club meeting, oh, hang on, yes it was, oh, maybe it wasn’t
• Labour did not seek a Parliamentary vote when sending SAS troops into Afghanistan on a combat mission and didn’t even tell New Zealand they were going
• When I said “the price of The Club” I meant “The Club” was all the 62 nations in the US-led coalition of troops to fight in Iraq
• New Zealanders gave National Ltd™ a two year mandate to send troops into Iraq as part of the US-led coalition
• News about repairing bridges in Northland is just the standard release of policy
• Nicky Hager and Kim Dotcom prevented National Ltd™ from announcing the decision to upgrade ten bridges in Northland.
• New Zealand gas emissions have not increased since I became Prime Minister
• If you think about iTunes, if you download a song and it’s $1.29, there’s no reason the GST shouldn’t apply to that. In reality, GST would be 2 cents
• The timing of the release of information about GCSB spying on Tim Grocer’s WTO rivals was deliberate and all part of a particular agenda by Nicky Hager and some others
• Major roading projects and the free trade deal with Korea will be at risk if Winston Peters wins the Northland election
• It was my office, not the police, which was the first to be told about the 1080 infant formula blackmail threat.
• There is no housing crisis in Auckland
• I promise that “metadata” will be defined in legislation
• You are allowed to use the resources of the officials during an election in terms of what would be Government policy
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• As long as Simon Bridges didn’t get any policy advice from his officials about developing the “10 bridges for your vote!” bribe, then there’s no possible problem under the Cabinet Manual.
• Labour did the same thing as Bridges when it used “officials actually in my opinion actually” to get policy advice as they did in the 2008 campaign with deposit guarantees, but they actually maybe they shouldn’t have done it”
• I assumed that all ten bridges up for double-laning in Northland were justified on a cost benefit analysis
• Claims the GCSB was planning to hack into a data link run by the Chinese embassy are unproven.
• When it comes to the GCSB you’ve got a bunch of people who’ve been out there propagating information that’s actually been proven to be incorrect.
• When I gave her the two bottles of wine, the cafe worker thanked me for that and said ‘that’s all fine, no drama'”.
• At the Hip Group’s coffee shop we have lots of fun and games, there’s always lots of practical jokes and things.
• I will talk to the King of Saudi Arabia about women’s rights including the right to vote
• House prices rose faster under Labour
• The $1,000 kick-start for new KiwiSaver members will remain as it is now
• There will be no new taxes
• Over the next two years we are going to create 150,000 new jobs
• The average wage will move from $55,000 to $62,000
• We spent $11.5 million for a Saudi Arabian to set up a farm in order to avoid potential legal claims
• Andrew Little has been set up by Annette King and Phil Goff
• The problem requiring the $11.5 million bribe was caused by Labour’s previous Minister of Trade, Phil Goff
• No, I did not mislead the House (???)
• I was not aware of any potential legal action by the Saudis involved in the live sheep trade.
• Labour was looking to make the same sort of deal with the Saudis and knew all about the possibility of legal action.
• Details in cabinet papers confirming what I’ve said about Labour have been redacted by officials.
• Signifcantly reducing New Zealand’s green-house gas emissions would be disastrous for the economy
• We don’t have to give iwi first right of refusal on the Auckland land the government intends for private housing development
• No decisions have yet been made about future housing developments on specific pieces of land
• Nick Smith Smith was helpfully providing journalists with a “conceptual” view of the amount of vacant land in Auckland, not necessarily places where houses might be built.
• Between 3000 and 4000 refugees were welcomed into New Zealand every year once the family reunification scheme was taken into account.
• New Zealand is sixth in the world when it comes to accepting in UNHCR refugees.
• Australia takes in 20,000 refugees a year and has been doing so for a long time.(2)
• Milk is more expensive in the UK than it is in New Zealand
• Milk powder prices won’t stay down for long
• Formal advice from the Inland Revenue Department states that the removal of the $1,000 kickstart contribution will not make a blind bit of difference to the number of people who join KiwiSaver
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• I never said that a whole month of Maori language would make people bored.
• I would never give an answer with “an intention to embarrass someone or make someone upset”
• Yes, my team of crack ministers are going to give Mr Al-Khalaf $11 million or whatever it is, but he’s putting in $80 million
• National Ltd™ has been way more transparent than any other Government that’s been around
• Treasury was consulted about the details of the Saudi sheep farm deal
• the Saudi sheep farm deal was for the purchase of services, intellectual property, and a network of contacts
• When asked by Radio New Zealand about what exact services, intellectual property, and contacts New Zealand gained from the deal I answered the questions absolutely but Susie Fergusson didn’t want to hear that the whole issue was Labour’s fault
• The problem which led up to the Saudi sheep farm deal was caused by Labour.
• The Saudi sheep farm deal was never about compensation even though I said earlier it was because Labour left the government liable for a claim for compensation
• Labour misled the Saudi investors about the live sheep trade
• No, I did not mislead the House. (??)
• There was no suggestion made to a Saudi businessman that he could sue the New Zealand Government
• Protesters against TPPA are misinformed and only about one-third of them are genuine
• There isn’t a single Canadian on this planet who would want to change their flag back to the old one
• Changing the flag will deliver billions of dollars to the New Zealand economy
• Maurice Williamson wasn’t acting in his capacity as a member of parliament when he made his series of disgusting jokes
• My government’s target of reducing 100% Pure Clean Green New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions to 11 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 is not inadequate.
• New Zealand cannot take any more refugees until we have sorted out the process and had a look at housing stock.
• National will set up two recreational fishing parks, one in the Haukraki and another in Marlborough sounds
• If the “Red Peak” design does not get on the ballot paper the sole person responsible for that is Andrew Little
• New Zealand doesn’t need a policy on dealing with climate change refugees because that’s not an issue we are going to need to deal with in the next year or two
• “To accept any other flag … we would have to change the law, and we’re not going back to Parliament to change the law.” John Key Sep 7.
• Assets bought out of the Future Investment Fund will be long-lived, here in New Zealand, and owned by the Crown on behalf of all taxpayers
• I promise to spend $1 billion on health, $1 billion on schools and $400 million on irrigation from the proceeds of asset sales.
• As the personal who signs off on sending troops to Iraq I feel very intimately involved with this operation. I take personal responsibility.
• I did not know about the report into the conditions at Taji prior to my arrival there even though the report was released on 30 September
• It was the Overseas Investment Office which refused permission for Shanghai Pengxin to buy Lochinver Station
• My office and I both obey the word and the spirit of the OIA law
• Labour prefers to protect the interests of rapists and child molesters rather than those of ordinary New Zealanders
• New Zealand citizens detained on Christmas Island are there voluntarily
• New Zealanders held on Christmas Island include murderers and rapists
• “The question <a href= http://campaign.labour.org.nz/key_s_top_6_lies_of_the_week_151113< I was asked was about broader detainees.”
• Australia and New Zealand share common values, including a strong commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
• Labour wants to fly the Christmas Island detainees back to NZ’
• I’ve never been asked to apologise for saying the opposition supports rapists and murderers
• I’m making sure New Zealanders are protected’
• With regard to emission from agriculture and our high level of renewable electricity generation, New Zealand faces unique domestic challenges in reducing its emissions,”
• Judith Collins was completely cleared by an independent enquiry
• A major contributor to the fact that there are so many children living in poverty is because their parents are using drugs
• The reason there is poverty in New Zealand is due to people not working
• The science around climate change predictions is doubtful
• The TPP has to go through our Parliament has to be ratified by our Parliament and has to bear scrutiny
• Not a single part of TPP cuts across the Treaty of Waitangi
• Jane Kelsey isn’t interested in the facts when it comes to the TPPA
• Labour is deliberately misleading New Zealanders over the content of the TPP
• Medicines will not cost more as a result of the TPPA
• Nothing in the TPPA will prevent to crown from meeting its obligations to Maori under the Treaty of Waitangi (again!)
• The TPPA will deliver more jobs to New Zealand
• Helen Clark never attended a Waitangi Day dawn service at Waitangi
• David Cunliffe privately supports the TPPA
• The ISDSprocesses in the TPPA are the same as those i n the China agreement
• I promise to always attend Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi and, because of that, history will judge me as courageous
• The reason “they” didn’t want me to go to Waitangi is because the TPPA benefits are significant
• I wasn’t allowed to speak at Waitangi
• The TPPA protesters are your typical few radicals and their rent-a-crowd misinformed followers
• The TPPA will have no impact on Maori other than positive benefits
• The union movement elected the Labour Party caucus
• The numbers provided by Labour are only worthy of rejection
• No, I did not mislead the House(??)
• Since the by-election, Winston Peters spends all his time in Northland fishing
• The National Government has always supported gay and lesbian rights
• I can’t wear the correct flag of New Zealand as a lapel pin because there are none available
• The cuts to spending on mental health are a myth
• I’m going to stay out of the flag debate during the voting process
• My personal poll numbers as of 7 March 2016 have never been stronger
• The rail line north of Whangarei is not closing
• The single-biggest gainers out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership are dairy farmers
• I wasn’t the one who asked the question about “jihadi brides”
• No, really, I did not raise the issue of jihadi brides
• There was no attempt to create or perpetuate a misleading impression that the 12 or so women referred to by Ms Kitteridge left from New Zealand, rather than from Australia.
• The whole process around the flag change was flawless, it was world class
• We always sought to go about the flag debate on a cross party basis
• The move to social housing is not about selling public housing stock to property developers
• I didn’t back the Kyle Lockwood black’n’blue silver fern flag alternative
• Its just a coincidence that I am going on holiday the very day the flag referendum results come out
• New Zealand is not a tax haven
• Trusts in New Zealand held by non-residents are subject to full disclosure
• In 2013 the OECD looked at the Trusts issue and gave New Zealand a clean bill of health
• No, I did not mislead the House (??)
• National Ltd™ will consider any recommendations to tighten the rules around the use of Trusts in New Zealand by non-residents
• Trust laws in New Zealand have remained unchanged since 1988
• “I don’t deal with people unless they’re highly ethical and they do things well
• Tax avoidance is not the same as tax evasion
• My personal lawyer is highly ethical
• I have not spoken to my lawyer since he misrepresented what I told him
• The only people who think New Zealand is a tax haven is the Labour Party
• Maori should embrace the TPP because the points we were making have been fully vindicated by the Waitangi Tribunal
  New Zealand is barely a footnote in the Panama papers
• There has been no international media which has criticised New Zealand as a tax haven
• I was once kicked out of Parliament immediately after Helen Clark was kicked out
• I have only been kicked out of Parliament once
• The entitlements for the Super Gold Card are not changing
• No, I did not mislead the House ??
• National currently has record levels of support according to the polls
• Under National twice as many houses are being built as there were under Labour
• If you go on Trade Me this afternoon and Google property $500,000 or less in Auckland, you will find there are quite a few.
• MSD and the Sallies went around and knocked on eight cars that they could find. All eight of those people refused to take support either from Sallies or MSD.
• Twice as many houses are being built under National as there were under Labour
• The level of security at the public meeting attended by Paula Bennett is standard
• We had no choice but to announce the longer stay in Iraq because we had to let Australia know
• I honestly believe that we’re going there [Iraq] to make a contribution, to make their forces stronger, but I think there should be a starting and ending point, and for me I feel comfortable at two years.
• Housing was not an issue during the first three years of this National government
• No, I did not mislead the house ??
• National Ltd™ will increase funding for social house subsidies from about 62,000 places currently to around 65,000 places by 2017-18
• I haven’t heard anything about the Chinese being unhappy with a possible investigation into their alleged dumping of steel in the New Zealand market