Key not taking us with him on the flag

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, October 23rd, 2015 - 31 comments
Categories: identity, john key, polls - Tags: , ,

John Key’s antics trying to drum up support for a flag change are getting increasingly desperate:

Yo Rich m8, its JK 😉 chk out my cool flg vid on the FB. Go ABs!

Yes, the Prime Minister really did text the All Black captain to ask him to check out his hugely popular flag video on his Facebook page.

There is no sign yet that Key is taking the country with him. Here’s a quick timeline of (most of?) the relevant polls:

September 6, ONE News Colmar Brunton: ” 66 per cent want to keep the current flag, up 2 per cent from 18 months ago”.

September 15, Aardwolf Research Consulting: 60.3 want to keep the current flag.

September 21, 3 News Reid Research: “almost” 70% want to keep the current flag.

October 23, Auckland University: 61% want to keep the current flag.

That last survey has some very interesting discussion of the breakdown of opinion in various political / regional / socioeconomic groups.

“There was not a single group bar one, which is male university-educated high-earners where it’s touch and go, that’s in favour of a flag change,” Dr Milne said.

Expect more antics from Key…

31 comments on “Key not taking us with him on the flag ”

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  1. savenz 1
    23 October 2015 at 11:42 am

    The PM is a desparate man.

    • dukeofurl 1.1
      23 October 2015 at 11:57 am

      And hes on the FB 2!

    • Rosie 1.2
      23 October 2015 at 1:42 pm

      He said “yo”. Who says that? Why is the PM saying “yo” in a text?

      He’s not a 16 year old rapper living in the 80’s.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.2.1
        23 October 2015 at 1:50 pm

        Key deleted the real text. David Fisher improvised.

        • Rosie 1.2.1.1
          23 October 2015 at 2:54 pm

          Oh! So he did. Woops!

          I still hope he doesn’t say yo though. It is possible. He does do some embarrassing things and seems to adapt his language to the social context. e.g, who can forget that little gem: Key to Slater “Thats the same f – ing feral bitch that screams at me in meetings” referring to Jo Hall, mother of dead Pike River miner and mother of Judd Hall, killed in a police chase in the West Coast.

          • Molly 1.2.1.1.1
            24 October 2015 at 7:37 am

            He strikes me as a hollow chameleon – changing his demeanour and mode of language to match those he is with. There is no public face for the person within.

  2. Grindlebottom 2
    23 October 2015 at 12:17 pm

    Yo JK m8 GB here chkd out ur vid on flag its BS dem flags r all sht.

  3. NZSage 3
    23 October 2015 at 12:55 pm

    Whats the odds on Ritchie McCaw running as a National candidate in the next election?

  4. Gabby 4
    23 October 2015 at 12:55 pm

    He can find some polls that show Nuzilliners are coming around to his way of thinking.

  5. McFlock 5
    23 October 2015 at 1:11 pm

    Some tory shill posted the old chestnut about a flag change being Labour’s policy.
    lol

    review the design of the New Zealand flag involving flag design experts and with full public consultation and involvement.

    The flag consideration panel had twelve members, of whom only one seemed to have a skillset vaguely involving flags. A couple of advertising wonks might count if you squint hard enough. So much for “flag design experts” (no surprise they picked banal shit and not the popular option).

    Full public consultation and involvement might incorporate one referendum if the population weren’t so completely blah over the entire thing, and the smart thing would be to leave it until the next general election, rather than shelling out millions of dollars on two special referenda.

    But then two referenda are two distractions from the latest tory rort or incompetence.

    • Matthew Whitehead 5.1
      23 October 2015 at 3:51 pm

      Before the current Government, the Left were the only ones supporting a flag change. There was a very similar Labour member’s bill from Charles Chauvel in the past.

      Labour should stop acting like this is a bad idea. Sure, John Key messed it up, especially with restricting the first referendum to four choices and the appointments to the FCP. But Labour has been trying to sabotage this process the whole way, and it’s unbecoming of a political party whose official position is that they want to consider changing the flag.

      We could do this in one referendum- IF Labour would stop proposing an FPP vote on flag options. All they need to do is ask people to rate all 6 flags from 1-9, and the winner with the highest average rating becomes (or stays) the national flag.

      Given how unpopular changing the flag has become since it was sucessfully associated with Key, I highly doubt that it is actually functioning as a distraction.

      edit: And in case it comes up from someone who doesn’t remember my earlier posts here, I am a Green voter, and have no love for JK. I just happen to think our current flag is pretty bad.

      • McFlock 5.1.1
        23 October 2015 at 4:14 pm

        It’s a bad idea because it’s been done badly and expensively.

        The issue is still getting news coverage over things like child poverty and workplace deaths, so it’s still a distraction that’s better than nothing.

        • capn insano 5.1.1.1
          23 October 2015 at 10:33 pm

          Agreed. For me, at least, the change of flag isn’t so much the issue here. The issue is that it is a LUXURY! The money wasted on this vanity project would be far better spent elsewhere but then [contrary to what Billock said this week in NZQT] this government is as diligent with handling taxpayer’s money as an 18 year-old crack-snorting hedge-fund manager.

      • Lanthanide 5.1.2
        23 October 2015 at 4:54 pm

        +1

      • Gabby 5.1.3
        23 October 2015 at 7:29 pm

        It was a bad idea then and it still is. The present flag is fine. Any political party pushing for change will be open to accusations of rebranding NZ in their own image. That’s just going to piss people off.

  6. Smilin 6
    23 October 2015 at 2:54 pm

    All it really is is Key catchin up on the history of NZ because his time in this country is next to ZILCH
    He is just full of it
    Can anyone really keep silent on the gross mismanagement that National corp are responsible for in their period of governance of this nation

  7. ilicit 7
    23 October 2015 at 3:40 pm

    I detest our current flag an for probably most of my 65 years have not seen it relevant, sure the first few years took a bit of enlightening, but once I got it, my hatred as more entrenched.

    You see, so few people take the time to research the background to this (our current) flag, it’s covered in blood and Australians.

    No I have no particular gripe against our Ozzie “mates”, but I do have one about the fact that one of theirs designed ours.

    If that effeminate bastard tries to foist a flag upon me which doesn’t come close to what a democratic society requires, then it no longer appears we have a democratic society.

    It’s already proven by a NATIONAL FLAG being treated as a vanity project.

    Sorry folks, I am full of cancer, but my fingers and brain (maybe) still work, but why have we passively at by whilst a DICTACTOR takes away our choices…………

    Go figure and do something about it whilst you still can !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I’m fuckin sick of bullshit posts that promise nothing, nothing even close to the NZ we believe in…..

    OK, that’s it, these few words have sapped my energy…………..fuck you !!!

    • Lanthanide 7.1
      23 October 2015 at 5:08 pm

      Kyle Lockwood is a NZer, but has lived in Australia for the last several years.

      If the flag is changed, it’ll be to one of his.

  8. Tony Veitch 8
    23 October 2015 at 8:15 pm

    Spoil and foil!

  9. Rodel 9
    23 October 2015 at 8:56 pm

    One of the arguments about our current flag is that it is indistinguishable from Australia’s flag.
    So what? we are close geographically, economically and culturally so why shouldn’t our flags be similar? What’s the problem? I like Australia and Australians and if people
    get us and our flags mixed up, I don’t give a toss. (Except in rugby of course).

    • Lloyd 9.1
      24 October 2015 at 12:20 am

      Culturally close? Tell that to the polynesian New Zealanders that have been raised in Australia and are now in concentration camps awaiting deportation at the Immigration Minister’s pleasure. That’s the sort of thing New Zealanders do isn’t it?

      • Rodel 9.1.1
        24 October 2015 at 10:29 am

        OK leave out the word ‘culturally’. Still don’t give a toss.(Hey I care nothing for flags/rags anyway)

  10. Grindlebottom 10
    24 October 2015 at 12:52 am

    Ben Uffindell of The Civilian has come up with an unusual suggestion for selecting a flag:
    http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/referendum-will-allow-new-zealanders-to-vote-on-new-flag-quadrant-by-quadrant/

  11. TTD 11
    24 October 2015 at 8:59 am

    If it is good enough for Hawaii
    I would have thought Mr key would have been happy with our little flag.

    Spend the money on properly funding women’s refuge.! That’s what I say!

  12. Tracey 12
    24 October 2015 at 9:33 am

    soon it will be revealed the PM always wanted the queens flag retained and he is just the cleverist of all PMs ever

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