The Key to change?

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 pm, November 29th, 2009 - 9 comments
Categories: climate change, polls - Tags:

Will Key go to Copenhagen? Or rather, why wouldn’t he want to go?  According to TVNZ tonight:

At least 90 world leaders are now expected to attend next month’s global climate change talks in Copenhagen but New Zealand’s prime minister still says he will not be among them. That is despite coming under pressure at a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad…

Key admits he is being lobbied, saying “One or two mentioned they’d like to see me there.”

I just don’t understand why he appears to understand that this is a serious issue, and how NZ behaves, what we says and what we front up with will be noticed by other countries. We can expect to pay a price if we’re not seen to be doing our share. Perhaps he’s still feeling the confidence that high polling brings (latest TVNZ poll here). He may have proven himself an agile learner over the last year, but this topic (along with the ETS in general) appears to be something of a blind spot.

9 comments on “The Key to change? ”

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  1. TF 1
    29 November 2009 at 10:33 pm

    On TV3 they showed shots of “cute”Polar bears on rather small icebergs whilst quoting Key saying that Copenhagen was just a photo op
    I couldn’t believe it They will be getting a few choice words I should think

  2. Ianmac from Abu Dhabi 2
    30 November 2009 at 7:57 am

    Poor old John made such a meal of mocking the Greenpeace offer he is in a similar bind as when he promised Standards testing during the last election. Can’t lose face on either issue, unless it wins votes!

  3. Deus ex Machina 3
    30 November 2009 at 9:32 am

    Had CHOGM been somewhere dull and boring like Copenhagen while the climate change talks somewhere warm and exotic like Trinidad, guess which one Key would have gone to.

  4. gobsmacked 4
    30 November 2009 at 9:51 am

    To get a true picture of John Key’s place in these global gatherings, we need to read the media overseas. Here’s the Guardian (UK), which portrays Key as a figure on the sidelines, and evidently a pliable one:

    “Brown and Rudd, who are natural political allies on the centre left, joined forces on a series of fronts at this year’s meeting. They worked closely on climate change and persuaded the 53 Commonwealth members to accept a $22.5bn (£13.6bn) climate change finance package.

    British officials regarded the blocking of Sri Lanka and the climate change package as triumphs. They were particularly pleased that Stephen Harper, the centre-right Canadian prime minister, who is regarded in London as an “outlier” on climate change, signed up to the package.

    But Harper only accepted the package in a one-to-one meeting with Brown, shortly before a banquet on Friday hosted by the Queen. Brown told Harper he should drop his concerns about the cost of funding climate change initiatives in the developing world because it would end up costing more if the $22.5bn package, covering 2010-13, was rejected.

    Brown then asked Harper to persuade John Key, New Zealand’s centre-right prime minister, who also had doubts. Harper agreed and succeeded.”

  5. Mikayla 5
    30 November 2009 at 1:13 pm

    It is not just about attending a meeting because climate change is important. It is about maintaining the image that New Zealand is a country that is concerned in global issues. Something that brings a lot of money here (through tourism) is the idea that we are a “clean, green country”. What message are we sending when our Prime Minister just decides not to go to Copenhagen for an important meeting on climate change? We need to think of our reputation.

  6. gobsmacked 6
    2 December 2009 at 4:57 pm

    Update:

    It turns out, Copenhagen is not a pointless photo-op after all. It’s actually a defining moment in history that requires the presence of world leaders like Obama and most of all, John Key. Ignore all previous comments from our decisive Prime Minister, they were taken “out of context”.

    Radio Live/3 news reckon he’s ready to go. Watch this space.

  7. gobsmacked 7
    2 December 2009 at 7:14 pm

    Fascinating snippet at the end of 3 News tonight.

    For the first time since Key became PM, a journalist actually did her job.

    Which is not: to turn up at the appointed time, get the approved pictures, and pass on the prepared statement, complete with prepared jokes. That’s public relations.

    It is: to ask the questions the Prime Minister doesn’t want, when he doesn’t want to answer them.

    Suddenly the famous smile was gone, and he wasn’t talking.

    Let’s hope a few more reporters take a leaf out of her notebook.

  8. outofbed 8
    2 December 2009 at 7:56 pm

    If only he accepted the airfare from Greenpeace, would have saved the taxpayer a few grand