Key refuses to answer your questions

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, July 11th, 2008 - 41 comments
Categories: interview, john key - Tags:

You’ll remember our ‘interview the leaders‘ series. John Key has been the only leader missing, we’ve given his office plenty of extensions on the deadline – enough, as they say, is enough.

So, if any journalists would like to ask Key these questions from our readers, that would be much appreciated:

General question: Of which of your achievements in politics are you most proud?

From Darryl: Under the last National government most people’s wages fell and the gap with Australia increased by 50%. Under Labour wage growth has been strong and the gap with Australia has remained static. How can National therefore claim any credibility to campaign on the wage gap?

From Nicholas O’Kane: Can you give one issue, where you hold a view that is unpopular with the New Zealand public, that you are not willing to compromise your position on, even if the refusal to compromise on that position may cost you many votes in the election?

In the meantime, in honour of John Key’s complaints that we didn’t join the US invasion of Iraq, here’s War Pigs by Black Sabbath

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor,

41 comments on “Key refuses to answer your questions ”

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  1. Blar 1
    11 July 2008 at 7:55 am

    “You’ll remember our ‘interview the leaders‘ series. John Key has been the only leader missing”

    Liar. Didn’t Winston Peters refuse?

  2. IrishBill 2
    11 July 2008 at 9:06 am

    Winston politely declined to answer. John and Kevin have refused to return calls or emails and have generally avoided any response. You’re also getting a warning for calling Steve a liar.

  3. higherstandard 3
    11 July 2008 at 9:09 am

    IB

    It was always somewhat of a long shot expecting Key to comment on The Standard.

  4. mike 4
    11 July 2008 at 9:12 am

    Are you kidding?

    Every second post is an attempt to smear him and you expect him to engage with you. Bizarre

  5. IrishBill 5
    11 July 2008 at 9:13 am

    I don’t disagree, HS. But it was not a long shot to expect an email declining our offer.

  6. leftrightout 6
    11 July 2008 at 9:19 am

    Straight out of the Crosby/Textor playbook.

  7. Monty 7
    11 July 2008 at 9:19 am

    Good on John Key. Since the inception of this blog, you have almost on a daily basis attacked John key. You have twisted what he has said to suit you own ends, and any anwser that he would have given would have been mis-interpreted by the authors of this blog.

    I think John Key has done the right thing by refusing to answer your questions.

  8. higherstandard 8
    11 July 2008 at 9:23 am

    IB

    I think the Nat’s have a bit of a thing about their email system, perhaps a phone call would have been a better option.

  9. BeShakey 9
    11 July 2008 at 9:25 am

    So Monty, you would fully support Helen Clark if she refused to answer questions from anyone that disagreed with her?

  10. IrishBill 10
    11 July 2008 at 9:27 am

    HS, we rang them repeatedly.

    Monty, he hasn’t refused.

  11. lukas 11
    11 July 2008 at 9:29 am

    BeShakey… the standard doesn’t just disagree with JK… they generally try to crucify him and often come pretty close to the line of truthfulness.

  12. higherstandard 12
    11 July 2008 at 9:39 am

    IB

    I am taking the piss. I imagine National/Key don’t give a flying about answering questions put to them by The Standard much as Labour/Clark wouldn’t bother answering questions by Kiwiblog.

    Pretty much akin to walking into the Lion enclosure at the zoo smeared in entrails with a sign around your head saying get it here !

  13. Blar 13
    11 July 2008 at 10:21 am

    Title of the Key post: Key refuses to answer your questions

    Title of the Peters post: Peters refuses to answer your questions

    Yeah IB, huge fucking difference. Sorry for confusing two completely different situations bro!

  14. Steve Pierson 14
    11 July 2008 at 10:40 am

    Blar. Key is the only one missing from the set – we had anwers from six and a refusal from one, and one missing.

  15. Steve Pierson 15
    11 July 2008 at 10:40 am

    War Pigs – so cool

  16. IrishBill 16
    11 July 2008 at 10:44 am

    Steve, yeah, reminds me of my misspent youth.

  17. Ari 17
    11 July 2008 at 10:51 am

    Good on John Key. Since the inception of this blog, you have almost on a daily basis attacked John key. You have twisted what he has said to suit you own ends, and any anwser that he would have given would have been mis-interpreted by the authors of this blog.

    If that were true, wouldn’t it be all the more reason for him to have his say here?

  18. T-rex 18
    11 July 2008 at 10:53 am

    Must be something about songs with “Pigs” in the title Steve 🙂

  19. Chopstick Fred 19
    11 July 2008 at 10:54 am

    This is not a surprise. John Key never agreed to answer the questions in the first place. The Standard deliberately tried to ambush him by coming up with a “leaders series” on an anonymous blog written by labour party and union stooges, that has as its main intention smearing of John Key, and you’re surprised he doesn’t answer questions? He has no reason to give you guys the time of day.

    [Tane: Yawn. People writing on this site do so in their own capacity and express their own personal opinions. See our About page. Call any of us stooges again and you’ll be banned – that’s explained on our Policy page.]

  20. Steve Pierson 20
    11 July 2008 at 11:06 am

    I believe T-Rex is referring to my well known love of ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)‘ off Pink Floyd’s Animals. It’s basically a song about Peter Dunne supporters – ‘haha, charade you are’.

  21. IrishBill 21
    11 July 2008 at 11:12 am

    SP, just as long as he wasn’t making ‘soddish accusations about you.

  22. Chopstick Fred 22
    11 July 2008 at 11:35 am

    [Tane: And that’s the end of Chopstick Fred.]

  23. darryl p 23
    11 July 2008 at 11:42 am

    I’m with Chopstick Fred. His post you just deleted was pretty spot on.

  24. NX 24
    11 July 2008 at 12:17 pm

    I asked John Key your questions. Here are his answers:

    General question

    Raising awareness of New Zealand’s under-class which motivated a private company to provide free breakfast for school children who were going without. Low income families are the very people Labour have let down the most with their policies which trap people into poverty.

    From Darryl

    I disagree with the premise of your questions, but I will stay that over 700 NZers are leaving a week for Australia in search of a better life and more money.

    From Nicholas O’Kane

    I refuse to raise income tax. All the evidence suggests that low tax economies provide a higher standard of living and more incentive to get ahead. Lower taxes also reflects National’s philosophy that government’s should be as unobtrusive as possible in the lives of New Zealanders.

    Thank you Standard for taking the time to ask me these questions and keep up the good work. It is your hard work & dedicated that will ensure a National government is elected in a few months time.

  25. Bill 25
    11 July 2008 at 12:23 pm

    Given that there is the occasional long bow on this blog, it’s still remarkably sad that to get any analysis on political unfoldings in this country that blogs have become the source of info because the mainstream media is nothing much more than infotainment.

    Granted, it has always been that way to some extent, but it’s gotten to ridiculous depths.

    Rhetorically. Where are the mainstream journalists who understand that politicians are servants of the public and treat them the corresponding due respect?

    Has anyone broken down the items on the main news of late with regards to items on violent crime…the number of items prior to the march/demo last week as opposed to the number of items now?

    Jeez I’m ranting a bit now, but hey, it should not be acceptable for a politician to duck and dive. Such behaviour should lead to said politician being hauled over the coals in no uncertain fashion.

    I’m for one am not holding my breath. The media in NZ sucks and has done for some years…at least as long as I have been here, about 15 years.

    This blog may well be partial (there is nothing wrong with that); the point is that in a functioning democracy that informs its citizens, this and other blogs would have no reason to exist.

    So, anyone remember anything about TV Aotearoa apart from Tuku Morgans underpants? Fantastic and in my mind, beautifully illustrative of the depth of NZ journalism.

    Next time JK or any of his cohorts are passing through an airport somebody…an I’m being serious here, ought to pin the bastards with a concealed tape recorder to hand. God knows, no journalist in this place is going to demand answers to the questions that need to be answered.

  26. Felix 26
    11 July 2008 at 12:31 pm

    I maintain that it is cheating to rhyme a word with it’s alternate meaning.

    Simply rhyming it with itself would, in a way, be slightly more honest.

  27. Quoth the Raven 27
    11 July 2008 at 2:01 pm

    I refuse to raise income tax. All the evidence suggests that low tax economies provide a higher standard of living and more incentive to get ahead.

    How about you make a quick comparison of living standards in the U.S with that of any of those scandinavian nations with high income tax levels.

  28. roger nome 28
    11 July 2008 at 2:02 pm

    At the risk of sounding like an over-enthusiastic 18 year old music geek ….. Fuck Tony Iommi is an inspired guitarist! That double-tracked solo in the middle is mental.

    Animals is easily Pink Floyd’s best album too. My GF and I were listening to it a couple of weeks ago, and she made the comment that it seemed to be thematically based Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm”. I felt dumb, ‘cos I’d been listening to for a good 8 years already, and hadn’t made that obvious connection.

  29. T-rex 29
    11 July 2008 at 2:09 pm

    Irish – not at all, it’s like Steve says. Hadn’t considered the possible alternate interpretations.

    Cheers for the link btw Steve, I tried to listen to it earlier and discovered I’d deleted the directory on my MP3 player that I’d saved it to! Now my soul is happy again…

    Damn it rules.

  30. Steve Pierson 30
    11 July 2008 at 2:09 pm

    QtR, no don’t you see NX says John Key says “I refuse to raise income tax. All the evidence suggests that low tax economies provide a higher standard of living and more incentive to get ahead.” therefore it’s true and pointing to examples where it’s not true does nothing to change that fact.

  31. gobsmacked 31
    11 July 2008 at 2:24 pm

    Question:

    “Can you give one issue, where you hold a view that is UNPOPULAR with the New Zealand public, that you are not willing to compromise your position on, even if the refusal to compromise on that position may cost you many votes in the election?”

    Answer:

    I refuse to raise income tax …

    Hahahahahaha! John Key in a nutshell – man of courage and principle!

    (Next heroic stance: Key refuses to compromise on “supporting the All Blacks” …)

  32. Benodic 32
    11 July 2008 at 2:27 pm

    Um, I don’t think John Key wrote those answers.

  33. Steve Pierson 33
    11 July 2008 at 2:41 pm

    In the movie Children of Men the world is falling apart but the main character knows a guy collecting art works from around the world and is living in luxury in the power station from the cover of Animals – you can see the gaint pig balloon in the background, a two-step reference to Orwell’s ‘some animals are more equal than others’.

    Good movie, Pink Floyd doesn’t feature in the soundtrack but it has In the Court of the Crimson King, which is also awesome.

  34. NX 34
    11 July 2008 at 3:02 pm

    ” therefore it’s true and pointing to examples where it’s not true does nothing to change that fact.”
    “Hahahahahaha! John Key in a nutshell – man of courage and principle!”

    Nice to see this blog advocating tax cuts ;). National has well and truly won the tax argument.

    Um, I don’t think John Key wrote those answers.

    Ask the authors of this blog… half of them work in the beehive and know better than anyone John Key’s where-abouts.

  35. Billy 35
    11 July 2008 at 3:04 pm

    I liked the house Michael Caine lived in.

  36. roger nome 36
    11 July 2008 at 3:07 pm

    heh steve: I remember laughing at that referance. Twas a very creepy movie, but enjoyable none the less.

    While we’re on left wing satirical music …The Dead Kennedys may not be so cerebral as pink floyd, but definately punchy and funny. My Favorite has always been kill the poor. It’s pretty much the anthem of the Thacture-Regan-Douglas years.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=UOzNSdGULwk&feature=related

    Efficiency and progress is ours once more
    Now that we have the Neutron bomb
    It’s nice and quick and clean and gets things done
    Away with excess enemy
    But no less value to property
    No sense in war but perfect sense at home:

    The sun beams down on a brand new day
    No more welfare tax to pay
    Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light
    Jobless millions whisked away
    At last we have more room to play
    All systems go to kill the poor tonight

    Gonna
    Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor:Tonight

    Behold the sparkle of champagne
    The crime rate’s gone
    Feel free again
    O’ life’s a dream with you, Miss Lily White
    Jane Fonda on the screen today
    Convinced the liberals it’s okay
    So let’s get dressed and dance away the night

  37. roger nome 37
    11 July 2008 at 3:18 pm

    Then there’s my GF’s band (I know, shamelessly self-indulgent) which kick arse in a more feminist punk kinda way – she’s on drums in these tracks.

    http://www.myspace.com/bettysweaty

  38. Leftie 38
    11 July 2008 at 5:06 pm

    I wondered what happened to John Key’s answers. I thought I had missed them.
    How arrogant, there are obviously JK supporters on this site as well and he has turned his back on them.
    He hasn’t won the election yet.

  39. Nick C 39
    14 July 2008 at 11:28 am

    Why on earth would John Key bother to answer your questions when you do posts like this:

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2450

    If him or his staff have ever read this website they would know that 2/3 posts are attempts to either blame all the worlds problems on John Key or just downright smear him.

    [Tane: Well done Nick C. You’ve learnt to read Farrar’s blog and come over here to repeat his lines. The good thing about that is it saves time having to think for yourself. There’s a good boy.]

  40. lprent 40
    14 July 2008 at 11:45 am

    Nick C:

    You linked to Dancer asking the question about what is the National Party policy on the Families Commission, bearing in mind that Key had raised questions about its future.

    What? We shouldn’t ask the leader of the opposition about policy questions that he raised? This is a smear?

    You are being foolish. It is a legitimate question especially after it was raised by him in the first place.

    The reason why there has been a focus on JK, is because that currently appears to be one of the few substantive things you can say about National Party policy. They don’t have much and it appears to relate to John Key’s (or C/T’s) policy on having policy.

    If you don’t think that is the case – then point me to the Nat’s policy on the families commission

  41. Nick C 41
    14 July 2008 at 11:51 am

    You are completely ignoring the fact that the first half of that post is about Tony Viech. It then tries to link his assult on his former partner directly to John Key by launching straight into his policy on the families commision.

    Had The Standard really wanted to talk about national policy they could have done the two in seperate posts. But no, what they wanted to do was to smear Key by associating him with the Tony Viech scandal.

    [lprent: You are talking about a program running on a machine. Programs don’t have opinions – people do. Talk about the human writing the post.]

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