Exactly!
A well rehearsed exit stage left! Couldn’t wait to get out of there!
And thereby avoiding any retraction or apology.. appalling behaviour.
And this is the man who “leads” the country. Scumbag!
Yep this (insert appropriate adjective)PM makes a mockery of Parliament -basically he gives the middle finger to the whole parliamentary process. Which, if you think about it, is the same as giving the middle finger to us -the voters.
I know what I will do when in the polling booth I have a chance to respond.
“The Prime Minister will leave the chamber.”
PM (thinks) ..’Oh saved..’Thank god for that. but wot took you so long Dave?
I was losing my mojo there, Little by Little.
You got it. Notice too that Key was standing with his back to the speaker so he could claim not to be aware of him standing up.
Also, what’s to say this wasn’t planned distraction between Carter and Key.
The smiling faces of the National MPs filing out of the chamber said it all. “That’s one way to avoid embarrassing questions. By next week everyone will have forgotten. Well excuted maneuver Key and Carter.”
Did Carter kick Little out a couple of minutes later?
I can remember one occasion when then Speaker Margaret Wilson had to order Helen Clark to leave. Wilson had made a threat that the next MP who interjected when the Speaker was on her feet would be ejected.
The next one to do so was Helen Clark with a very loud, long interjection. Wilson had to go through with her threat, try as she might to get out of it. If looks could have killed the glare she got from Helen would have turned poor Margaret into a little pile of ashes.
Obviously scared stiff of the telling off she was going to get later Wilson ordered a totally innocent, at least at that moment, National leader, Don Brash, out of the House a couple of minutes later. Perhaps she thought this might save her from the worst of H1 and H2’s tongues. A Speaker has never looked so worried about her actions.
It was quite funny at the time.
Good on Carter though. What happened to the later question from Ron Mark to the PM? I doubt that Bill English was properly prepared.
If you missed it you missed the context of how Key carter and English, all serious and heads down entered the chamber.
I knew something was up.. then he went on his usual build up to a childish tirade, and being as John is , so arrogant and probably either has carter in his back pocket or plainly just ignores him and keeps on finishing his attack too the childish amusement of his gay fan club cheering and laughing it’s disgusting.
Upston plain lying on figures, and the next question to Smith should have got her done for perjury if it was a court room.
Quite frankly it looks like governments run by a gang of bloody crooks, thumbing there nose and with an inside man at the top. Carter.
They deserve an IRD probe up each and every one of their greed lined bottom opening.
Actually, my memory was slightly astray. Helen interjected while a question was being asked, not while the Speaker was on her feet. At least according to TVNZ.
“The last time a prime minister was ejected from parliament was in 2005 when Helen Clark interjected as National’s Nick Smith was asking a question.
All questions must be heard by the House in silence, so Speaker Margaret Wilson was forced to ask Miss Clark to leave”.
As it isn’t something to be ashamed of and I sense no malice in alwyn’s statement I see it as nothing more than a related anecdote. The key message being that Margaret Wilson had to remove Brash after she removed Clark. In this case Key was probably aiming to be kicked out and Carter knew it.
Everything Alwyn Troll says is malice motivated. He unconditionally proselytises for the Fake Man. He’s doing it today with the device “Labour did it too !” Not really pointing up anything in particular, distracting mostly, looks benign, but just trolling. A nasty insides. Doing his 30 hours a week.
People nominate a recipient lets say red cross, that way they can also use the more powerful and less regulations of the “CHARATIBLE TRUST” type trust.
pure smoke and mirrors and a tax evasion scam.
The issue is Keys deny and obfuscating it, as that, when the issue damn well lays elsewhere and he refuses to do anything about it. Or mention the fact MF is the fourth largest of said tax evasion specialist companies, the issue he minimizes whilst it is in fact is far bigger then he desperately, doesn’t want us to know.
I don’t know why the media and key are playing this game, at election time he will win or lose on how he deals with it.
digging his heals in to keep the status quo until Sherwins report comes out. Good pressure by the opposition.
I think Double Dipper will be extremely annoyed to say the least that he was left to carry the can, the PM is becoming even more than ever a liability for the present gov. Yes, Carter seems to be a bit more on the ball today, this certainly would be a weasel’s way to get out of answering difficult questions – what a tosser.
I think that the concept of it being theatre and all on a script is far closer to the truth. WK above is still judging it by historic ideas of how politics works. But the age of the celebrity is in, where people enjoy the drama, with most feeling confident that they are secure in their satisfactory economic position which they expect to continue while others are still struggling. Change that, and it means adjustments, which the rich don’t welcome, they will get less for sure and stuff the plebs. Now for todays fun.
Key being thrown out of Parliament, well lawks a’ mussy!!!! – I wonder, could this be a jack-up with our ever so professional and neutral Speaker, so as to avoid having to answer later even more curly questions? It would be well worth it to Key to help him avoid more of those tough questions – after all there’s only so much shouting and sucking in of the breath that one can do, right? It seems from some of the preceding comments that many of us are using our “snofflers” to pick up a nasty rodent-like odour!
For a moment John Key made me think Greenpeace, Amnesty and Red Cross were hiding ill gotten money in shady tax haven trust accounts. But it was all a lie, as fabricated as the use of their names by the scum who used their names. Turns out in reality they weren’t doing anything of the sort, their names were used falsely by the very people Key wants to accomodate in our tax haven.
What must reputable decent organisations think of having their name trampled in the cesspool that someone as awful as Key inhabits?
Just another everyday lie from our thoroughly untrustworthy Prime Minister.
Surely this could affect them adversely, what Key has done, I saw Red Cross collecting today & I couldn’t help but think of Keys bullshit, but I know it’s bullshit, others are more gullible.
Fint trouble yourself outside the beltway people don’t care, they are to busy watching the Batchelor and the going ons at the Warriors and the Hurricanes
“were hiding ill gotten money in shady tax haven trust accounts”.
That is because you have been listening to Little and Shaw. They are deliberately trying to encourage you to think that everyone mentioned on that database is a crook. Why do you think they word their questions in the way they do?
Unfortunately John Key has pointed out the fact that these organisations are also on the database and the effect of the Green Party and the Labour Party allegations is to smear them too.
You really ought, as Key has pointed out, not believe everything that those parties are trying to tell you. You should also not follow along with Little’s knee-jerk reaction to claim that all Foreign Trusts are for tax evasion. That way Mathers gets caught up in Little’s smear campaign.
It isn’t Key who should be apologising to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, The Red Cross and Mathers. It is little and Shaw who should be doing so. They are the ones who have been smearing everyone whose name appears on the database.
” They are the ones who have been smearing everyone whose name appears on the database.” Can you give me an example please, I would like to see what they say.
Thats not what Little says you deceitful liar, he said this “If there is no convincing reason, then they will go.” I won’t engage with you again, you proved your words worth.
Key is conflating these august organisations with “Typical clients are an Ecuadorian banker, two Colombian car dealers (one New Zealand trust each), a Mexican film director, and wealthy Mexican society figures” (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/panama-papers/303356/nz-at-heart-of-panama-money-go-round“. This info has been out there for days, Alwyn. We are in bed with the devil.
“Colombian CAR DEALERS???” ffs.
Get it right Alwyn. They may be on the database but as beneficiaries… not clients/owners, therefore fraudulently.
JFK is spinning so wildly over this potentially fatal scandal it’s a wonder he doesn’t have whiplash.
You are getting a bit confused.
That piece you linked to isn’t anything John Key said.
It is some journalists, seemingly rather high who are basically saying that anyone who has had anything to do with that law firm is a crook.
Then they label the database as being the evidence.
As Key pointed out there are all sorts of people mentioned on that database who are in fact innocent but who Little and Shaw are smearing by innuendo.
It isn’t Key who is doing it. It is these hyperbolic raves from these “journalists” and Little and Shaw cheering them on.
Oh quit the false equivalence bullshit and show some mature, moral and adult behaviour.
Amnesty International, Red Cross, Greenpeace, and Ms Mathers are innocent victims in this corruption. They have been dragged into this without their knowledge and for totally dishonest purpose. They are victims in this filthy debacle.
Perhaps you’d like to apply the same line of thought to victims of rape or domestic violence.
No, that’s Key’s framing. The opposition have been saying that the trust regulations need to be altered so that, on the one hand. it is as easy as possible to prevent people from avoiding tax in ways that were not foreseen by the NZ electorate and would not be condoned by it. On the other, it is suggesting the legislation concerning trusts and look-through companies should be made transparent enough that we can have the highest confidence that no money is being laundered.
The opposition, along with some journalists, have also zeroed in on Mr. Whitney on account of the sequence: Whitney conversation with PM → email from Whitney to revenue minister claiming reassurances from PM → meeting of revenue minister with trust lobbyists in Whitney’s offices → Minister advocating lobbyists’ interests to IRD → confirmation from IRD that they would take these interests into account → IRD foregoing mooted review of trust regulations. That is evidence of ministerial (and possibly Prime Ministerial) interference, not a smear.
Mr. Key’s statements in the house about Greenpeace etc., on the other hand, were simply a smear, since they simply rely on a simple name-check that wouldn’t even undermine the opposition’s arguments if Mr. Key had some substance to lend weight to it.
He’s behaving like we don’t understand that is pathetic, he knows of the 2013 case, greens were asking reasonable questions , so are NZ first, key has spun that into what’s he’s pointing out, any name can be on there.
Does he think we really think amnesty international are scamming, or greenpeace? Well that would be spectacular show me the ird proof.
He uses weak excuses for his actions. the excuses of a child.
Parliament works better without Key – and absenting him got him off the hook of the questions – temporarily. He’s a crook, such a person has no business being in parliament.
I wonder when Crosby Textor came up with this stunt.
Everyone – esp. Opposition MPs – needs to focus on the fact he is *avoiding questions over the Panama Papers*. That is the real story here. No one really cares if he was ‘unruly’ in the house or disobeyed the Speaker. Does anyone really think he didn’t do this as a PR stunt…?
It is becoming increasingly obvious that parliament is not an appropriate forum for questioning the Prime Minister on these issues. The speaker would serve question time better if he repeatedly ruled that the Prime Minister had not addressed the question, rather than kicking him out. Seeing as we can more or less guarantee that he won’t do that, it must be up to journalists to ask him these questions, and deny his statements any oxygen until he fronts up and answers the questions adequately, filling the vacuum with their own investigation and the opinions of other politicians and experts who are prepared to engage in debate.
Unfortunately, we can more or less guarantee that journalists by and large won’t do that either.
Wouldn’t be surprised if that were true…but as mentioned the other day, C/T maybe losing their touch as evidenced by their Zac Goldsmith campaign for mayor of London, a disaster, even the Tories were complaining
They tried to pull out before and distance themselves, but yes it adds to the signs they have lost their midas touch, be good if NZ could wake up to their tactics too.
In his fantasy world he’ll be giggling in anticipation of hoots of delight from big mouthed self-employed cargo-cult tradies who loudly bray words like ‘munter’.
Yeah, I saw it on TV, got to my feet cheering the Speaker.
My take is that this was a predictable outcome looking back. 🙂 Key was on the attack from answer #1 to question #1. He pushed the boundaries.
He has a habit of ignoring the Speaker, instead talking to his own side down the Chamber. He was so busy into yelling at the Greens that he forgot the Speaker.
Who could not conscience such a disregard for his mana.
Carter was peeved, as he showed later when Brownlee, another abuser of House procedure, tried to shut down Ron Mark asking his question.
Carter was very clear. Government’s got into this mess. Someone on that side will have to stand in. Or the public will judge………..
I don’t think that Carter was in on the game. I don’t think there was a game. This is John Key under pressure, exceeding the boundaries- a narcissist under attack and unable to do as he wants.
I agree Mac1, I thought Carter looked furious at having to interject and shut him up. He won’t like being used in his position of Speaker. The PM will use anybody who stands in his way and the fact Carter has been lenient for so long I think he is starting to feel like a patsy and he isn’t impressed. Fun days ahead.
Agreed mac1. Have looked at the video. Carter came across as quite angry at Key’s blatant disregard of him. It’s possible Key did it in order to be thrown out (so as to avoid further questioning) but Carter wasn’t in on it.
Who cares who was “in on the game”? The end result is that Key didn’t have to answer further questions. Being ejected from parliament will always be more of a beltway issue than any answers the PM might have given. Does anybody even register when Peters or Mallard are ejected? They won’t care much more if it’s the PM.
It matters if Key was playing games with the Speaker. It matters whether he is a devious schemer or an out of control bully. It matters that people should know about who our PM is.
Whilst this issue lives, Key is vulnerable, so it does also matter that he has failed to answer fully in the House. The issue is still alive.
The chip chip chip at Key’s nice guy teflon coating continues. I would not be surprised that elements in the National Party use this opportunity and issue to undermine Key in the preparation for 2017 and their hopes for a fourth term.
As for the smiling Key photo after being shown the door below at 19.2? How to smile without smiling. I’ve seen that dead-eye bravado in countless boys who got tossed out of class and sent to student management. “Whatever..”
No, it doesn’t matter if Key was playing games with the Speaker. That’s a trivial issue and we have seen countless examples where we strongly suspect that to be the case, but can wind ourselves up until we’re blue in the face pointing the finger at them without proving a thing.
All that matters is that Key is avoiding answering questions. Once he gets a reputation as someone who runs away from questions, doesn’t give straight answers and whose answers either don’t make sense or don’t stack up when he does occasionally give them, then all of the suspicions that he has managed to keep at bay over the past few years will suddenly seem validated in the eyes of the electorate. At that point, he is doomed.
It doesn’t help to distract from that by highlighting parliamentary antics.
. Feb 14, 2016 – “Prime Minister John Key has been booed off stage at today’s Big Gay Out festival” Herald
. Feb 5, 2016 Key Booed at Football Nines
. May 11, 2016 Key bundled out of Parliament ranting and raving like a 13 yr old.
Having smeared falsely, Greens, Red Cross, Amnesty International, et al, he was hysterically weaving fabrications in total denial. Like a crazy screechy girl out of control.
Crazy screechy girl here.
Fully in control, and resentful about being compared to a crazy screechy right wing conspiracy theorist. Even if he is Prime Minister.
I reckon Johnny is gone in 2017, his continual bad behavior has become unacceptable for a PM, he’s become a liability and an international embarrassment.
I agree with all above, it certainly looks like a duck, it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, a premeditated plan maybe, there must have been dozens of occasions where Key should have been ousted but wasn’t, so maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.
So do you think it will be Crusher Collins 2017?
Her wig of the party might make its move and Cameron Slater now owes her a big solid for having got him off with diversion for trying to pay for a hack on this website.
So he will very likely help in the SlezeOil blog with any campaign for her to take over from Key!
I think Carter was genuiinely angry – the real giveaway would be Key’s reaction.
In my experience, entitled jerks who suddenly find that the rules apply to them get a sort of stunned look on their gobs, then get angry. And key never seems able to suppress smug when he’s feeling it even at the best of times.
Did commenter here see key’s reaction when Carter kicked him out?
No, after the firing the camera went to Carter and stayed there. The Speaker did not even look Key’s way.
Yesterday Parker got the heave and after a very short outraged response from Carter, audio-visual contact was broken.
Same with Key. His microphone got turned off during the long shot down the chamber as the Speaker was on his feet, raising his voice assertively. After that, no sign of Key. The camera, dare I say it, was off-Key.
Watch the deaf interpreter giving the sign language as the Speraker gives the marching orders.. Even I could read the sign for get out and the sign for start walking!
In addition I must compliment The Green questioner for his calm demeanour and aplomb.
I also noticed the other day when the panama papers data base was released, that Key was getting through several glasses of water, which is a sign that he was lying, one of the signs of lying is getting dry mouth & having to drink lots.
Heh, I think when Key left the House today Gerry quietly mumbled “I got a bad feeling about this” & English looked at him & said “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”. What a day!
“…Amnesty International condemns all forms of tax evasion and avoidance; and we would not accept any donation which we considered designed to evade or avoid tax.”
key is more than okay to smear these organizations (and he knows why they’re in the Panama papers), because it obfuscates, distracts, deflects, etc. Getting the boot is just another childish game…. He’s so cynical about the country he pretends to represent…… Bizarre that he hates NZ so much
If John Key is this evasive about protecting and defending rich privilege that is one step removed from himself (probably) – wait until someone finally puts him on the spot to reveal his own wealth and tax arrangements!!
. John Key has deliberately smeared a number of this Planets’ most respected and wonderful organisations. The Nationals are not known for doing humane voluntary deeds. There is no money in it.
But to smear and rubbish these great organisations FALSELY for two days in a row, makes you realise just how low the nationals and their supporters are. Rotten to the core.
The billboards should come out with slurred speech of Key rubbishing The worlds best Organisations.
Having done far too little for New Zealand, the NZ Nationals are going to demolish all that is noble in the World. For the love of Key the Crook.
he didn’t smear anyone. when you go around throwing mud, don’t expect it not to come back at you.
He was simply pointing out how stupid it is little saying foreign trusts are all dirty.
none of you seem to be able to actually grasp this.
[BLiP: Your next comment here will provide a link to a reputable source confirming your statement that Andrew Little has said “foreign trusts are all dirty” or your next comment here will not be until after 18/05/16]
Then in the next breathe he says he’s not going to do anything to increase the data the government gets about them.
So there is a problem, just not everyone in Brazils trust is crooked and set up to dodge tax, and I don’t want to know who they are, because if we don’t know when their IRD asks us we can say um dunno amigo. Hey presto tax evasion ho.
A couple who are dear friends of ours have always been of the opinion that smiling John can do no wrong. They are 100% pure National worshipers.
We rang them today and asked what they thought. The wife said, “Key is looking very silly.”
The Opposition may be finally making headway against Teflon John.
Or maybe Key is creating a situation where he can get dumped and exit parliament “for personal reasons.” Would anyone care if the former PM, who’s now living overseas, was discovered to be a likely tax evader? That would be my exit strategy.
Actually, the fact that Key can get away with bawling his illiterate shit in Parliament testifies to the absence of a Lange, a Norm Kirk, a Norman Douglas (guess whose daddy), a Mabel Howard, a Bob Semple. Dare I say a Bob Tizard ?
So sad that New Zealand is now so cheap, so E! Channel, so low class. The Parnell Ponce Fake Man and idolators mostly responsible for that.
Oooh…….IQ round 180 ? That’s Einstein-ish. No disrespect for Bob…….he did however have a capacity to identify and blitz shit. This ponce we have as PM wouldna’ stood a chance. He’s basically illiterate.
Yeah, way above the norm intellectually. Add to that a rambunctious heart. And a wonderful, retributive, lashing tongue deployed against entitled, selfish, crooked rightists. Petty self-employed, shopkeepers, real estate agents, petite bourgeoisie aspirants and cargo-cultists.
Mr. Key has, in fact, clearly misled the House. He claimed on 11 May that, if one looked at the Hasard (for May 10), one would see that he said that he referred to Greenpeace etc. as being “in the database”. So far, so good. We know (and he knows) that he was implying that they are implicated in the Panama Papers, but he is relying on his fastidiously having avoided that explicit statement in favour of “the database”, However, he later says, “I suggest the member leave the House and ring Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and Red Cross because they are implicated in the papers.“. Greenpeace is mentioned as being a beneficiary of the Exodus Trust, based on information from “offshore leaks”, current through 2010. That is the trouble when you know what you are trying to say but have to avoid saying it. Sometimes you slip up and say what you’re actually thinking. Mr. Key did on May 10, and now he should be forced to apologise or clarify.
Just get used to it folks. John Phillip Key is collateral scum more or less, pathologically expressing the no-daddy-no-role-model-thing. That’s why in middle age he’s into Richie McKey so embarrassingly.
. Men who scream and screech are not taken seriously by other men or by women. The exception being the members of the current National rabble.
Not one single member of National caucus, nor one single national voter has risen to show respect for Red Cross, Anmesty International, or Greenpeace.
The reason is that John Key has sucked out whatever decency existed within National, and replaced it with incompetence, non stop abuse, and too much corruption (Sky City eg). John Key is attempting to cover his failures with screaming and screeching.
He may well be on the way to becoming physically dangerous, so tortured is his ranting and raving and his disgusting abuse, along with his equally disgusting behaviours.. Hopefully his bodyguard will keep an eye on his mental state.
John Key was booed at the Eden Park football Nines ( Feb 5, 2016 TV 3)
John Key “Prime Minister John Key has been booed off stage at today’s Big Gay Out ” Herald Feb 14, 2016
John key was denied his strange, non historic, and appallingly shallow flag ..Mar 24, 2016 Herald and Audrey.
John Key was bundled ranting and raving out of Parliament, May 11, 2016
Be ready for more abuse from this very weird Prime Minister and his weird friends and devotees. He will increasingly clock up more and more failures.
And as for Bill English’s defense, . . . well utter bollocks. Two points:
1. Questions are supposed to be answered through the Chair (i.e. through the speaker). The fact that Key was facing the wrong way and didn’t see the Speaker rise to his feet is irrelevant as a defense.
2. The Speaker thundered out “The Prime Minister will resume his seat . . . ” before ordering Key to leave. Unless the PM wants to argue that he is hard of hearing, then Bill English’s defense simply doesn’t wash.
it didn’t show up in the live broadcast, but in the One News clip, the PM clearly made body contact with Brownlie before leaving the Chamber. It looked to me a lot like the “Nudge” part of a “Nudge-Nudge, wink-wink”).
For what its worth, the staged walkout was not done in cahouts with the Speaker, IMO. But it may well have been done in cahouts with Jerry Brownlie. Especially given the follow-up comments from Brownlie, soon after the ejection – comments which were subsequently rejected by the Speaker.
Incidentally, there was an odd mismatch between the video and the audio in yesterday’s live broadcast – a lag of about 4 or 5 seconds between the two, which made it very difficult to watch. (Something do do with a precaution in case there arose a need to censor out expletives or other non-broadcasting-standard problems that the broadcaster suspected might arise perhaps?)
For what its worth, the staged walkout was not done in cahouts with the Speaker, IMO. But it may well have been done in cahouts with Jerry Brownlie. Especially given the follow-up comments from Brownlie, soon after the ejection – comments which were subsequently rejected by the Speaker.
I agree. Carter was being used and I’m picking he’ll have been furious but he won’t say anything or take any action over it.
For goodness sake…….PM’s seat is no more than 7 metres away from the Speaker. It’s a child’s fib that he didn’t know the Speaker was on his feet. Or that he didn’t hear the Speaker yelling at him to sit down. The misconduct was deliberate. The Fake Man was always going to engage whatever it took to avoid answering parliamentary questions.
Alwyn Troll and others……..you love having an entitledly ill-behaved, bully/coward child for PM do you ?
For years I’ve posed this question – whom amongst the great bulk of decent caring parents when discussing values with youngsters cites this PM as a role model for decent, honourable behaviour ?
That’s an equally live question in regard to most of his cabinet and caucus colleagues. ‘The Character Question’
Let us not forget the very quick removal of the video of the throat slitting gesture of the PM just before 2 election s ago. This revealing clip has completely disappeared and if John Oliver could find it…
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The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
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Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
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Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
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It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...
Simeon Brown, the National Party’s poster child for hubris, consistently over-promises and under-delivers. His track record...marked by policy flip-flops and a dismissive attitude toward expert advice, reveals a politician driven by personal ambition rather than evidence. From transport to health, Brown’s focus seems fixed on protecting National's image, not addressing ...
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications:Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...
The ACT Party leader’s latest pet project is bleeding taxpayers dry, with $10 million funneled into seven charter schools for just 215 students. That’s a jaw-dropping $46,500 per student, compared to roughly $9,000 per head in state schools.You’d think Seymour would’ve learned from the last charter school fiasco, but apparently, ...
India navigated relations with the United States quite skilfully during the first Trump administration, better than many other US allies did. Doing so a second time will be more difficult, but India’s strategic awareness and ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is concerned for low-income workers given new data released by Stats NZ that shows inflation was 2.5% for the year to March 2025, rising from 2.2% in December last year. “The prices of things that people can’t avoid are rising – meaning inflation is rising ...
Last week, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that forestry be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Its an unfortunate but necessary move, required to prevent the ETS's total collapse in a decade or so. So naturally, National has told him to fuck off, and that they won't be ...
China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted a pressing need to defend Australia’s air and sea approaches more effectively. Potent as nuclear submarines are, the first Australian boats under AUKUS are at least seven ...
In yesterday’s post I tried to present the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement for 2025-30, as approved by the Minister of Finance and the Bank’s Board, in the context of the previous agreement, and the variation to that agreement signed up to by Grant Robertson a few weeks before the last ...
Australia’s bid to co-host the 31st international climate negotiations (COP31) with Pacific island countries in late 2026 is directly in our national interest. But success will require consultation with the Pacific. For that reason, no ...
Old and outdated buildings being demolished at Wellington Hospital in 2018. The new infrastructure being funded today will not be sufficient for future population size and some will not be built by 2035. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Thursday, April 17:Simeon Brown has unveiled ...
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The introduction of AI in workplaces can create significant health and safety risks for workers (such as intensification of work, and extreme surveillance) which can significantly impact workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. It is critical that unions and workers are involved in any decision to introduce AI so that ...
Donald Trump’s return to the White House and aggressive posturing is undermining global diplomacy, and New Zealand must stand firm in rejecting his reckless, fascist-driven policies that are dragging the world toward chaos.As a nation with a proud history of peacekeeping and principled foreign policy, we should limit our role ...
Sunday marks three months since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality. ...
There are any number of reasons why anyone thinking of heading to the United States for a holiday should think twice. They would be giving their money to a totalitarian state where political dissenters are being rounded up and imprisoned here and here, where universities are having their funds for ...
Taiwan has an inadvertent, rarely acknowledged role in global affairs: it’s a kind of sponge, soaking up much of China’s political, military and diplomatic efforts. Taiwan soaks up Chinese power of persuasion and coercion that ...
The Ukraine war has been called the bloodiest conflict since World War II. As of July 2024, 10,000 women were serving in frontline combat roles. Try telling them—from the safety of an Australian lounge room—they ...
Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From "founder" of Tesla and the OG rocket man with SpaceX, and rebranding twitter as X, Musk has ...
Back in February 2024, a rat infestation attracted a fair few headlines in the South Dunedin Countdown supermarket. Today, the rats struck again. They took out the Otago-Southland region’s internet connection. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360656230/internet-outage-hits-otago-and-southland Strictly, it was just a coincidence – rats decided to gnaw through one fibre cable, while some hapless ...
I came in this morning after doing some chores and looked quickly at Twitter before unpacking the groceries. Someone was retweeting a Radio NZ story with the headline “Reserve Bank’s budget to be slashed by 25%”. Wow, I thought, the Minister of Finance has really delivered this time. And then ...
So, having teased it last week, Andrew Little has announced he will run for mayor of Wellington. On RNZ, he's saying its all about services - "fixing the pipes, making public transport cheaper, investing in parks, swimming pools and libraries, and developing more housing". Meanwhile, to the readers of the ...
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1921ALL OVER THE WORLD, devout Christians will be reaching for their bibles, reading and re-reading Revelation 13:16-17. For the benefit of all you non-Christians out there, these are the verses describing ...
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In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
Yesterday, 5,500 senior doctors across Aotearoa New Zealand voted overwhelmingly to strike for a day.This is the first time in New Zealand ASMS members have taken strike action for 24 hours.They are asking the government tofund them and account for resource shortfalls.Vacancies are critical - 45-50% in some regions.The ...
For years and years and years, David Seymour and his posse of deluded neoliberals have been preaching their “tough on crime” gospel to voters. Harsher sentences! More police! Lock ‘em up! Throw away the key. But when it comes to their own, namely former Act Party president Tim Jago, a ...
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
The call has sent ripples through the veteran community — but behind the protest lies a deeper story of neglect, frustration and a system many say has failed those it was meant to serve.Every year on April 25, politicians and dignitaries stand before the nation, flanked by medals and ...
From real-terms minimum wage cuts to watering down health and safety, the government is subtly chipping away at pay, conditions and many of the other things that make work life-giving, writes Max Rashbrooke. Frogs, it turns out, do notice when they’re being boiled. For years the favourite metaphor for people’s ...
On a tattered Red Cross map, four nearly-straight pencil lines track north from Capua, near Naples, to Chavari then Ubine. From here, over the border to Breslau in what was then German-occupied Poland, then on to Lübeck, north-east of Hamburg. Above each line a single handwritten word – “Train”, “Train”, ...
After weeks of turmoil in the global markets, economists and commentators have used words like ‘bloodbath’ and ‘carnage’ to describe the world’s financial situation.And while New Zealand often feels relatively cushioned, what happens in the US is inextricably linked to the rest of the world.“It will impact us to some ...
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NZ tracks far below the OECD average when it comes to investing in research and science and attempts to catch up just haven’t worked The post NZ’s long-standing R&D target scrapped appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee says he believes Te Pāti Māori’s Treaty Principles Bill haka showed “huge disrespect for the Parliament itself”, and disrespect for “some aspects of the Treaty”.Brownlee cannot influence the committee considering potential disciplinary actions against the three Te Pāti Māori MPs who left their seats ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra This election has been lacklustre, without the touch of excitement of some past campaigns. Through the decades, campaigning has changed dramatically, adopting new techniques and technologies. This time, we’ve seen politicians try to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A re-elected Albanese government will take the unprecedented step of buying or obtaining options over key critical minerals to protect Australia’s national interest and boost its economic resilience. The move follows US President Donald Trump’s ...
RNZ Pacific Despite calls from women’s groups urging the government to implement policies to address the underrepresentation of women in politics, the introduction of temporary special measures (TSM) to increase women’s political representation in Fiji remains a distant goal. This week, leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa), Cabinet ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A re-elected Albanese government will take the unprecedented step of buying or obtaining options over key critical minerals to protect Australia’s national interest and boost its economic resilience. The move follows US President Donald Trump’s ...
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A recent survey, carried out by PPTA Te Wehengarua, of establishing and overseas trained secondary teachers found that 90% of respondents agreed that mentoring had helped their development. ...
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This is what happens when you remove the prospect of a cushy London sinecure.
My immediate thoughts, too.
heh
My immediate thought was that it was one way of getting out of answering questions…
@ McFlock (1.2) yes, I thought the same thing, particularly with Ron Mark’s tricky questions coming up later on in the session.
Yep my thoughts too!
Also my immediate reaction.
Yea, me 2
Exactly!
A well rehearsed exit stage left! Couldn’t wait to get out of there!
And thereby avoiding any retraction or apology.. appalling behaviour.
And this is the man who “leads” the country. Scumbag!
Yep this (insert appropriate adjective)PM makes a mockery of Parliament -basically he gives the middle finger to the whole parliamentary process. Which, if you think about it, is the same as giving the middle finger to us -the voters.
I know what I will do when in the polling booth I have a chance to respond.
“The Prime Minister will leave the chamber.”
PM (thinks) ..’Oh saved..’Thank god for that. but wot took you so long Dave?
I was losing my mojo there, Little by Little.
You got it. Notice too that Key was standing with his back to the speaker so he could claim not to be aware of him standing up.
Also, what’s to say this wasn’t planned distraction between Carter and Key.
The back turning thing was so obvious, hard to believe Key wasn’t completely aware of what he was doing.
Jack up!!
The smiling faces of the National MPs filing out of the chamber said it all. “That’s one way to avoid embarrassing questions. By next week everyone will have forgotten. Well excuted maneuver Key and Carter.”
Yup
Sounds and feels like a jack up
Key and Carter and Nat MP’S treat parliment like a joke and the smiles give it away.
Their arrogance is reprehensible.
LMAO! Gold :o)
Maybe he did it all on purpose- make everything about him rather than the actual issue
Just a thought.
double down on the bullshit, drop the mic and walk away?
He’s been learning from Trump.
Trump been learning from him you mean? I wonder which business is running Trumps campaign. There must be big money in it.
All part of his psychopathic personality.
http://m.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Psychopath
And still no apology to Mojo Mathers and no retraction of his statements from yesterday re Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
Again the speaker saves the PM
Did Carter kick Little out a couple of minutes later?
I can remember one occasion when then Speaker Margaret Wilson had to order Helen Clark to leave. Wilson had made a threat that the next MP who interjected when the Speaker was on her feet would be ejected.
The next one to do so was Helen Clark with a very loud, long interjection. Wilson had to go through with her threat, try as she might to get out of it. If looks could have killed the glare she got from Helen would have turned poor Margaret into a little pile of ashes.
Obviously scared stiff of the telling off she was going to get later Wilson ordered a totally innocent, at least at that moment, National leader, Don Brash, out of the House a couple of minutes later. Perhaps she thought this might save her from the worst of H1 and H2’s tongues. A Speaker has never looked so worried about her actions.
It was quite funny at the time.
Good on Carter though. What happened to the later question from Ron Mark to the PM? I doubt that Bill English was properly prepared.
no.
If you missed it you missed the context of how Key carter and English, all serious and heads down entered the chamber.
I knew something was up.. then he went on his usual build up to a childish tirade, and being as John is , so arrogant and probably either has carter in his back pocket or plainly just ignores him and keeps on finishing his attack too the childish amusement of his gay fan club cheering and laughing it’s disgusting.
Upston plain lying on figures, and the next question to Smith should have got her done for perjury if it was a court room.
Quite frankly it looks like governments run by a gang of bloody crooks, thumbing there nose and with an inside man at the top. Carter.
They deserve an IRD probe up each and every one of their greed lined bottom opening.
Actually, my memory was slightly astray. Helen interjected while a question was being asked, not while the Speaker was on her feet. At least according to TVNZ.
“The last time a prime minister was ejected from parliament was in 2005 when Helen Clark interjected as National’s Nick Smith was asking a question.
All questions must be heard by the House in silence, so Speaker Margaret Wilson was forced to ask Miss Clark to leave”.
The rest of what I said is accurate though.
You’d think Ponyboy would’ve known better.
You still on the – “Labour did it too!” – jag are you Alwyn ?
As it isn’t something to be ashamed of and I sense no malice in alwyn’s statement I see it as nothing more than a related anecdote. The key message being that Margaret Wilson had to remove Brash after she removed Clark. In this case Key was probably aiming to be kicked out and Carter knew it.
Thank you. It was quite funny at the time. As that TVNZ quote shows it is a very rare occurrence.
Everything Alwyn Troll says is malice motivated. He unconditionally proselytises for the Fake Man. He’s doing it today with the device “Labour did it too !” Not really pointing up anything in particular, distracting mostly, looks benign, but just trolling. A nasty insides. Doing his 30 hours a week.
He’s a dicktraitor
Prime Minister, I can’t keep up. Does being on the “database” make you a baddie or not? Arrgh! Confusing.
No and it’s misleading issue,
People nominate a recipient lets say red cross, that way they can also use the more powerful and less regulations of the “CHARATIBLE TRUST” type trust.
pure smoke and mirrors and a tax evasion scam.
The issue is Keys deny and obfuscating it, as that, when the issue damn well lays elsewhere and he refuses to do anything about it. Or mention the fact MF is the fourth largest of said tax evasion specialist companies, the issue he minimizes whilst it is in fact is far bigger then he desperately, doesn’t want us to know.
I don’t know why the media and key are playing this game, at election time he will win or lose on how he deals with it.
digging his heals in to keep the status quo until Sherwins report comes out. Good pressure by the opposition.
I know, his blatant obsfucation is rather amusing. This guy really can’t give a straight answer hey?
I think Double Dipper will be extremely annoyed to say the least that he was left to carry the can, the PM is becoming even more than ever a liability for the present gov. Yes, Carter seems to be a bit more on the ball today, this certainly would be a weasel’s way to get out of answering difficult questions – what a tosser.
Thats blinglush’s job, covering for shonky and fronting bad news. Cry me a river
I think that the concept of it being theatre and all on a script is far closer to the truth. WK above is still judging it by historic ideas of how politics works. But the age of the celebrity is in, where people enjoy the drama, with most feeling confident that they are secure in their satisfactory economic position which they expect to continue while others are still struggling. Change that, and it means adjustments, which the rich don’t welcome, they will get less for sure and stuff the plebs. Now for todays fun.
And his diction is going from bad to worse.
Key being thrown out of Parliament, well lawks a’ mussy!!!! – I wonder, could this be a jack-up with our ever so professional and neutral Speaker, so as to avoid having to answer later even more curly questions? It would be well worth it to Key to help him avoid more of those tough questions – after all there’s only so much shouting and sucking in of the breath that one can do, right? It seems from some of the preceding comments that many of us are using our “snofflers” to pick up a nasty rodent-like odour!
For a moment John Key made me think Greenpeace, Amnesty and Red Cross were hiding ill gotten money in shady tax haven trust accounts. But it was all a lie, as fabricated as the use of their names by the scum who used their names. Turns out in reality they weren’t doing anything of the sort, their names were used falsely by the very people Key wants to accomodate in our tax haven.
What must reputable decent organisations think of having their name trampled in the cesspool that someone as awful as Key inhabits?
Just another everyday lie from our thoroughly untrustworthy Prime Minister.
Surely this could affect them adversely, what Key has done, I saw Red Cross collecting today & I couldn’t help but think of Keys bullshit, but I know it’s bullshit, others are more gullible.
Fint trouble yourself outside the beltway people don’t care, they are to busy watching the Batchelor and the going ons at the Warriors and the Hurricanes
That is exactly what I was thinking Keith! And being kicked out today would have suited him perfectly if he didn’t actually plan it with Carter
“were hiding ill gotten money in shady tax haven trust accounts”.
That is because you have been listening to Little and Shaw. They are deliberately trying to encourage you to think that everyone mentioned on that database is a crook. Why do you think they word their questions in the way they do?
Unfortunately John Key has pointed out the fact that these organisations are also on the database and the effect of the Green Party and the Labour Party allegations is to smear them too.
You really ought, as Key has pointed out, not believe everything that those parties are trying to tell you. You should also not follow along with Little’s knee-jerk reaction to claim that all Foreign Trusts are for tax evasion. That way Mathers gets caught up in Little’s smear campaign.
It isn’t Key who should be apologising to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, The Red Cross and Mathers. It is little and Shaw who should be doing so. They are the ones who have been smearing everyone whose name appears on the database.
” They are the ones who have been smearing everyone whose name appears on the database.” Can you give me an example please, I would like to see what they say.
Then
(1) read their Parliamentary questions.
(2) Listen to what they say on Morning Report
(3) Read their press releases.
Try this one as an example. Then look at all the others they have come out with.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1604/S00176/foreign-trusts-review-a-charade.htm
He does push the idea that a foreign trust is for tax evasion, doesn’t he?
Then have a look at this from TVNZ
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1605/S00091/andrew-little-i-would-get-rid-of-foreign-trusts.htm
Foreign trusts evil. Anyone who has anything to do with them is a crook.
Try this one
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1605/S00156/government-helped-mossack-fonseccas-tax-avoidance-business.htm
That law firm is for tax avoidance. Nothing else. Anyone who is mentioned in the same breath is involved in Tax Evasion sums up that little gem from Shaw wouldn’t you say?
Thats not what Little says you deceitful liar, he said this “If there is no convincing reason, then they will go.” I won’t engage with you again, you proved your words worth.
To be specific, can you show me where they smear everyone whose name appears on the database (I assume you mean the Panama Papers database?).
Key is conflating these august organisations with “Typical clients are an Ecuadorian banker, two Colombian car dealers (one New Zealand trust each), a Mexican film director, and wealthy Mexican society figures” (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/panama-papers/303356/nz-at-heart-of-panama-money-go-round“. This info has been out there for days, Alwyn. We are in bed with the devil.
“Colombian CAR DEALERS???” ffs.
Get it right Alwyn. They may be on the database but as beneficiaries… not clients/owners, therefore fraudulently.
JFK is spinning so wildly over this potentially fatal scandal it’s a wonder he doesn’t have whiplash.
Time to DO SOMETHING JFK.
You are getting a bit confused.
That piece you linked to isn’t anything John Key said.
It is some journalists, seemingly rather high who are basically saying that anyone who has had anything to do with that law firm is a crook.
Then they label the database as being the evidence.
As Key pointed out there are all sorts of people mentioned on that database who are in fact innocent but who Little and Shaw are smearing by innuendo.
It isn’t Key who is doing it. It is these hyperbolic raves from these “journalists” and Little and Shaw cheering them on.
Oh quit the false equivalence bullshit and show some mature, moral and adult behaviour.
Amnesty International, Red Cross, Greenpeace, and Ms Mathers are innocent victims in this corruption. They have been dragged into this without their knowledge and for totally dishonest purpose. They are victims in this filthy debacle.
Perhaps you’d like to apply the same line of thought to victims of rape or domestic violence.
No, that’s Key’s framing. The opposition have been saying that the trust regulations need to be altered so that, on the one hand. it is as easy as possible to prevent people from avoiding tax in ways that were not foreseen by the NZ electorate and would not be condoned by it. On the other, it is suggesting the legislation concerning trusts and look-through companies should be made transparent enough that we can have the highest confidence that no money is being laundered.
The opposition, along with some journalists, have also zeroed in on Mr. Whitney on account of the sequence: Whitney conversation with PM → email from Whitney to revenue minister claiming reassurances from PM → meeting of revenue minister with trust lobbyists in Whitney’s offices → Minister advocating lobbyists’ interests to IRD → confirmation from IRD that they would take these interests into account → IRD foregoing mooted review of trust regulations. That is evidence of ministerial (and possibly Prime Ministerial) interference, not a smear.
Mr. Key’s statements in the house about Greenpeace etc., on the other hand, were simply a smear, since they simply rely on a simple name-check that wouldn’t even undermine the opposition’s arguments if Mr. Key had some substance to lend weight to it.
He’s behaving like we don’t understand that is pathetic, he knows of the 2013 case, greens were asking reasonable questions , so are NZ first, key has spun that into what’s he’s pointing out, any name can be on there.
Does he think we really think amnesty international are scamming, or greenpeace? Well that would be spectacular show me the ird proof.
He uses weak excuses for his actions. the excuses of a child.
I am beginning to lose count, is it lie #125;-)))???
Parliament works better without Key – and absenting him got him off the hook of the questions – temporarily. He’s a crook, such a person has no business being in parliament.
John Key’s name will almost certainly be revealed. He knows that. That is why he is trying to confuse the issue.
When his name does come out he will be like – “so what dude? So is Green Peace”.
He is laying the ground work for his defence once his moment of truth comes.
It is becoming clearer by the day that his involvement is neck deep and probably on a criminal level.
Reckon you could be onto something there, just heard Key framing it as such on RNZ, basically equating himself with Mojo Mathers.
Saw a funny comment on Twitter earlier, “Keys concern about tax havens are hackers”.
I wonder when Crosby Textor came up with this stunt.
Everyone – esp. Opposition MPs – needs to focus on the fact he is *avoiding questions over the Panama Papers*. That is the real story here. No one really cares if he was ‘unruly’ in the house or disobeyed the Speaker. Does anyone really think he didn’t do this as a PR stunt…?
It is becoming increasingly obvious that parliament is not an appropriate forum for questioning the Prime Minister on these issues. The speaker would serve question time better if he repeatedly ruled that the Prime Minister had not addressed the question, rather than kicking him out. Seeing as we can more or less guarantee that he won’t do that, it must be up to journalists to ask him these questions, and deny his statements any oxygen until he fronts up and answers the questions adequately, filling the vacuum with their own investigation and the opinions of other politicians and experts who are prepared to engage in debate.
Unfortunately, we can more or less guarantee that journalists by and large won’t do that either.
Wouldn’t be surprised if that were true…but as mentioned the other day, C/T maybe losing their touch as evidenced by their Zac Goldsmith campaign for mayor of London, a disaster, even the Tories were complaining
C/T lost it for Harper in Canada as well.
They tried to pull out before and distance themselves, but yes it adds to the signs they have lost their midas touch, be good if NZ could wake up to their tactics too.
Maybe some Clockwork Orange-like aversion in the people…? Seen and heard enough hate- and fear-based crap from CT, grown sick of it…
Perhaps more people are consciously realising “reality”, as espoused by CT politicians, bears little resemblance to their own day-to-day experiences.
Yes, becoming immune from the spin I hope
Mouth Almighty finally gets the boot, but it was a well planned stunt imho.
In his fantasy world he’ll be giggling in anticipation of hoots of delight from big mouthed self-employed cargo-cult tradies who loudly bray words like ‘munter’.
Yeah, I saw it on TV, got to my feet cheering the Speaker.
My take is that this was a predictable outcome looking back. 🙂 Key was on the attack from answer #1 to question #1. He pushed the boundaries.
He has a habit of ignoring the Speaker, instead talking to his own side down the Chamber. He was so busy into yelling at the Greens that he forgot the Speaker.
Who could not conscience such a disregard for his mana.
Carter was peeved, as he showed later when Brownlee, another abuser of House procedure, tried to shut down Ron Mark asking his question.
Carter was very clear. Government’s got into this mess. Someone on that side will have to stand in. Or the public will judge………..
I don’t think that Carter was in on the game. I don’t think there was a game. This is John Key under pressure, exceeding the boundaries- a narcissist under attack and unable to do as he wants.
We were cheering as well. My mate gave me a high 5 as Carter was sending him out.
It was awesome
I agree Mac1, I thought Carter looked furious at having to interject and shut him up. He won’t like being used in his position of Speaker. The PM will use anybody who stands in his way and the fact Carter has been lenient for so long I think he is starting to feel like a patsy and he isn’t impressed. Fun days ahead.
I don’t think that Carter was in on the game.
Agreed mac1. Have looked at the video. Carter came across as quite angry at Key’s blatant disregard of him. It’s possible Key did it in order to be thrown out (so as to avoid further questioning) but Carter wasn’t in on it.
Carter may have been kept in the dark to make his response more authentic.
Quiet possible. Key is basically a bully and when it comes to the crunch all bullies are cowards.
Carter will NOT like being played like this.
Who cares who was “in on the game”? The end result is that Key didn’t have to answer further questions. Being ejected from parliament will always be more of a beltway issue than any answers the PM might have given. Does anybody even register when Peters or Mallard are ejected? They won’t care much more if it’s the PM.
It matters if Key was playing games with the Speaker. It matters whether he is a devious schemer or an out of control bully. It matters that people should know about who our PM is.
Whilst this issue lives, Key is vulnerable, so it does also matter that he has failed to answer fully in the House. The issue is still alive.
The chip chip chip at Key’s nice guy teflon coating continues. I would not be surprised that elements in the National Party use this opportunity and issue to undermine Key in the preparation for 2017 and their hopes for a fourth term.
As for the smiling Key photo after being shown the door below at 19.2? How to smile without smiling. I’ve seen that dead-eye bravado in countless boys who got tossed out of class and sent to student management. “Whatever..”
No, it doesn’t matter if Key was playing games with the Speaker. That’s a trivial issue and we have seen countless examples where we strongly suspect that to be the case, but can wind ourselves up until we’re blue in the face pointing the finger at them without proving a thing.
All that matters is that Key is avoiding answering questions. Once he gets a reputation as someone who runs away from questions, doesn’t give straight answers and whose answers either don’t make sense or don’t stack up when he does occasionally give them, then all of the suspicions that he has managed to keep at bay over the past few years will suddenly seem validated in the eyes of the electorate. At that point, he is doomed.
It doesn’t help to distract from that by highlighting parliamentary antics.
Looked orchestrated to me. No usual hullabooloo from the Despicables.
Hello New Zealand
. Feb 14, 2016 – “Prime Minister John Key has been booed off stage at today’s Big Gay Out festival” Herald
. Feb 5, 2016 Key Booed at Football Nines
. May 11, 2016 Key bundled out of Parliament ranting and raving like a 13 yr old.
Having smeared falsely, Greens, Red Cross, Amnesty International, et al, he was hysterically weaving fabrications in total denial. Like a crazy screechy girl out of control.
The Nationals are a rabble. Hopeless
Crazy screechy girl here.
Fully in control, and resentful about being compared to a crazy screechy right wing conspiracy theorist. Even if he is Prime Minister.
😆
Plus – Key fails to front up for usual RNZ interview with Espinar. (not sure of the date).
I reckon Johnny is gone in 2017, his continual bad behavior has become unacceptable for a PM, he’s become a liability and an international embarrassment.
I agree with all above, it certainly looks like a duck, it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, a premeditated plan maybe, there must have been dozens of occasions where Key should have been ousted but wasn’t, so maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.
So do you think it will be Crusher Collins 2017?
Her wig of the party might make its move and Cameron Slater now owes her a big solid for having got him off with diversion for trying to pay for a hack on this website.
So he will very likely help in the SlezeOil blog with any campaign for her to take over from Key!
I think Carter was genuiinely angry – the real giveaway would be Key’s reaction.
In my experience, entitled jerks who suddenly find that the rules apply to them get a sort of stunned look on their gobs, then get angry. And key never seems able to suppress smug when he’s feeling it even at the best of times.
Did commenter here see key’s reaction when Carter kicked him out?
No, after the firing the camera went to Carter and stayed there. The Speaker did not even look Key’s way.
Yesterday Parker got the heave and after a very short outraged response from Carter, audio-visual contact was broken.
Same with Key. His microphone got turned off during the long shot down the chamber as the Speaker was on his feet, raising his voice assertively. After that, no sign of Key. The camera, dare I say it, was off-Key.
Watch the deaf interpreter giving the sign language as the Speraker gives the marching orders.. Even I could read the sign for get out and the sign for start walking!
In addition I must compliment The Green questioner for his calm demeanour and aplomb.
Given the shit-eating grin he’s wearing here, he seems to have got the result he wanted.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/79880503/why-john-key-went-on-the-attack-over-the-panama-papers
PM looked like a sheepish joker to me. One news did a good job on the trust situation tonight. Corin was nowhere to be seen, that probably helps.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/video-grinning-john-key-exits-parliament-after-getting-boot
On the TV1 News tonight the camera did follow Key, (very unusual when being sent out) and he seemed to be smirking ear to ear but his caucus seemed to just watch and not return his smirk much. He exited from the door near the Speaker.
Found it:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/video-grinning-john-key-exits-parliament-after-getting-boot?autoPlay=4887965906001
Oops. Should have read further.
Don’t know if anyone else noticed but at the beginning of Key’s rant, the piece of paper he was holding clearly showed he was shaking uncontrollably
Good point Neil. Any behaviour specialists lurking here who could give a read on him? Manic come to mind…
I also noticed the other day when the panama papers data base was released, that Key was getting through several glasses of water, which is a sign that he was lying, one of the signs of lying is getting dry mouth & having to drink lots.
Twice in as many days FJK has avoided tough questioning, through absenting himself … Monday with RNZ and now today in the House!
Demonstrating he’s not fit to lead in a spitting contest, let alone a country! The man is as spineless as a reptile, that he so closely represents!
Get him out!
He’s lost control, not good for a leader.
Silence of the trolls….
I think they have gone to the mattresses, they will be back, & in force.
You mean they startle easily, but will soon return and in greater number?
Tell me more about this “force” 🙂
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=going%20to%20the%20mattresses This is what I was thinking.
I watched the Sopranos when it was on.
But I also saw Star Wars recently and read the last half dozen words of that sentence in Alec Guinness’ voice 🙂
Heh, I think when Key left the House today Gerry quietly mumbled “I got a bad feeling about this” & English looked at him & said “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”. What a day!
Statement from Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org.nz/prime-minister-john-key-must-be-transparent-and-correct-record-his-misleading-statement
“…Amnesty International condemns all forms of tax evasion and avoidance; and we would not accept any donation which we considered designed to evade or avoid tax.”
key is more than okay to smear these organizations (and he knows why they’re in the Panama papers), because it obfuscates, distracts, deflects, etc. Getting the boot is just another childish game…. He’s so cynical about the country he pretends to represent…… Bizarre that he hates NZ so much
Nick
I just don’t think Key is particularly good at operating in a democracy, he’s very use to authoritarianism.
Wonderful! He’ll enjoy prison.
Yeah, only if he’s the Governor though, in NZ, wealthy people don’t tend to be convicted, justice is dependent on how much your willing to pay.
LOL!! Thread winna….
If John Key is this evasive about protecting and defending rich privilege that is one step removed from himself (probably) – wait until someone finally puts him on the spot to reveal his own wealth and tax arrangements!!
Yes Nick – and Fellow Commentators
. John Key has deliberately smeared a number of this Planets’ most respected and wonderful organisations. The Nationals are not known for doing humane voluntary deeds. There is no money in it.
But to smear and rubbish these great organisations FALSELY for two days in a row, makes you realise just how low the nationals and their supporters are. Rotten to the core.
The billboards should come out with slurred speech of Key rubbishing The worlds best Organisations.
Having done far too little for New Zealand, the NZ Nationals are going to demolish all that is noble in the World. For the love of Key the Crook.
A psychopathic prime minister in charge of a psychopathic government!
he didn’t smear anyone. when you go around throwing mud, don’t expect it not to come back at you.
He was simply pointing out how stupid it is little saying foreign trusts are all dirty.
none of you seem to be able to actually grasp this.
[BLiP: Your next comment here will provide a link to a reputable source confirming your statement that Andrew Little has said “foreign trusts are all dirty” or your next comment here will not be until after 18/05/16]
Then in the next breathe he says he’s not going to do anything to increase the data the government gets about them.
So there is a problem, just not everyone in Brazils trust is crooked and set up to dodge tax, and I don’t want to know who they are, because if we don’t know when their IRD asks us we can say um dunno amigo. Hey presto tax evasion ho.
http://www.labour.org.nz/key_shrugs_shoulders_at_tax_haven_status
Is that supposed to support Infused’s witless smear? It doesn’t.
A couple who are dear friends of ours have always been of the opinion that smiling John can do no wrong. They are 100% pure National worshipers.
We rang them today and asked what they thought. The wife said, “Key is looking very silly.”
The Opposition may be finally making headway against Teflon John.
Or maybe Key is creating a situation where he can get dumped and exit parliament “for personal reasons.” Would anyone care if the former PM, who’s now living overseas, was discovered to be a likely tax evader? That would be my exit strategy.
You’re onto it possibly and if so you can expect this to accelerate as he’ll want to be gone burgers ASAP.
Even my national voting neighbours text me to say what happened…….waking people up to Key’s arrogance I hope
Actually, the fact that Key can get away with bawling his illiterate shit in Parliament testifies to the absence of a Lange, a Norm Kirk, a Norman Douglas (guess whose daddy), a Mabel Howard, a Bob Semple. Dare I say a Bob Tizard ?
So sad that New Zealand is now so cheap, so E! Channel, so low class. The Parnell Ponce Fake Man and idolators mostly responsible for that.
Bob Tizard would have had his guts for garters. IQ level somewhere around 180.
Oooh…….IQ round 180 ? That’s Einstein-ish. No disrespect for Bob…….he did however have a capacity to identify and blitz shit. This ponce we have as PM wouldna’ stood a chance. He’s basically illiterate.
180 may have been a bit high, but his IQ was known to be near the top of scale.
Yeah, way above the norm intellectually. Add to that a rambunctious heart. And a wonderful, retributive, lashing tongue deployed against entitled, selfish, crooked rightists. Petty self-employed, shopkeepers, real estate agents, petite bourgeoisie aspirants and cargo-cultists.
Not to mention incomprehensible North.
Mr. Key has, in fact, clearly misled the House. He claimed on 11 May that, if one looked at the Hasard (for May 10), one would see that he said that he referred to Greenpeace etc. as being “in the database”. So far, so good. We know (and he knows) that he was implying that they are implicated in the Panama Papers, but he is relying on his fastidiously having avoided that explicit statement in favour of “the database”, However, he later says, “I suggest the member leave the House and ring Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and Red Cross because they are implicated in the papers.“. Greenpeace is mentioned as being a beneficiary of the Exodus Trust, based on information from “offshore leaks”, current through 2010. That is the trouble when you know what you are trying to say but have to avoid saying it. Sometimes you slip up and say what you’re actually thinking. Mr. Key did on May 10, and now he should be forced to apologise or clarify.
Precisely.. and that info was made public (ie leaked) a couple of years ago.
Misleading? YES!
Alwyn and other trolls please note.
Just get used to it folks. John Phillip Key is collateral scum more or less, pathologically expressing the no-daddy-no-role-model-thing. That’s why in middle age he’s into Richie McKey so embarrassingly.
“Back from the wilderness” 🙂
Good to see I haven’t missed much, usual faux outrage from the usual suspects here and life goes on for middle NZ
You wish…
You obviously don’t read or see much at all Tory. Try this thread for starters.
Time to get out more!
“Tax havens ‘serve no useful economic purpose’ and benefit rich at expense of poor, leading economists warn”
I guess that is why Key wants NZ to be one!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tax-havens-serve-no-useful-economic-purpose-and-benefit-rich-at-expense-of-poor-leading-economists-a7019816.html
Key very rarely gives direct answers to questions.
Since the release of the so called Panama Papers his evasiveness is being accentuated.
He is behaving like someone who has something to hide.
The parliamentary ejection was an orchestrated stunt, yet another “look over there..”
The Green Peace etc diversion was clearly a failure. Something else had to be done otherwise links back to the USA may become apparent.
the usual dog whistle about “left wing conspiracies” did not seem to gain much traction either.
I wonder if this ex state house boy will ever become “an honest John?”
Staged
Oh looks like the PM has made it off the NZ sub and onto the front page of hot reddit topics tonight…
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/4it0om/new_zealand_prime_minister_john_key_thrown_out_of/
. Men who scream and screech are not taken seriously by other men or by women. The exception being the members of the current National rabble.
Not one single member of National caucus, nor one single national voter has risen to show respect for Red Cross, Anmesty International, or Greenpeace.
The reason is that John Key has sucked out whatever decency existed within National, and replaced it with incompetence, non stop abuse, and too much corruption (Sky City eg). John Key is attempting to cover his failures with screaming and screeching.
He may well be on the way to becoming physically dangerous, so tortured is his ranting and raving and his disgusting abuse, along with his equally disgusting behaviours.. Hopefully his bodyguard will keep an eye on his mental state.
John Key was booed at the Eden Park football Nines ( Feb 5, 2016 TV 3)
John Key “Prime Minister John Key has been booed off stage at today’s Big Gay Out ” Herald Feb 14, 2016
John key was denied his strange, non historic, and appallingly shallow flag ..Mar 24, 2016 Herald and Audrey.
John Key was bundled ranting and raving out of Parliament, May 11, 2016
Be ready for more abuse from this very weird Prime Minister and his weird friends and devotees. He will increasingly clock up more and more failures.
Poor Aotearoa
Looks like JK is losing it ?
And as for Bill English’s defense, . . . well utter bollocks. Two points:
1. Questions are supposed to be answered through the Chair (i.e. through the speaker). The fact that Key was facing the wrong way and didn’t see the Speaker rise to his feet is irrelevant as a defense.
2. The Speaker thundered out “The Prime Minister will resume his seat . . . ” before ordering Key to leave. Unless the PM wants to argue that he is hard of hearing, then Bill English’s defense simply doesn’t wash.
it didn’t show up in the live broadcast, but in the One News clip, the PM clearly made body contact with Brownlie before leaving the Chamber. It looked to me a lot like the “Nudge” part of a “Nudge-Nudge, wink-wink”).
For what its worth, the staged walkout was not done in cahouts with the Speaker, IMO. But it may well have been done in cahouts with Jerry Brownlie. Especially given the follow-up comments from Brownlie, soon after the ejection – comments which were subsequently rejected by the Speaker.
Incidentally, there was an odd mismatch between the video and the audio in yesterday’s live broadcast – a lag of about 4 or 5 seconds between the two, which made it very difficult to watch. (Something do do with a precaution in case there arose a need to censor out expletives or other non-broadcasting-standard problems that the broadcaster suspected might arise perhaps?)
For goodness sake…….PM’s seat is no more than 7 metres away from the Speaker. It’s a child’s fib that he didn’t know the Speaker was on his feet. Or that he didn’t hear the Speaker yelling at him to sit down. The misconduct was deliberate. The Fake Man was always going to engage whatever it took to avoid answering parliamentary questions.
Alwyn Troll and others……..you love having an entitledly ill-behaved, bully/coward child for PM do you ?
For years I’ve posed this question – whom amongst the great bulk of decent caring parents when discussing values with youngsters cites this PM as a role model for decent, honourable behaviour ?
That’s an equally live question in regard to most of his cabinet and caucus colleagues. ‘The Character Question’
Let us not forget the very quick removal of the video of the throat slitting gesture of the PM just before 2 election s ago. This revealing clip has completely disappeared and if John Oliver could find it…