The opening exchanges

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, February 9th, 2011 - 50 comments
Categories: john key, Metiria Turei, Parliament, phil goff - Tags:

In this post, I’ve embedded the speeches from John Key, Phil Goff, and Metiria Turei during yesterday’s first day of Parliament. Key presents no new vision, just an agenda of cuts and false statistics couple with sheer delusion about his government’s record. Goff tears him apart. And Turei’s speech is simply breath-taking – incredibly moving.





I would include Tariana Turia’s speech but this line sums it up: “The Maori unemployment rate is now more than double the unemployment rate for all ethnicities and it is particularly marked for our young. And I stand here feeling almost ashamed, given that I have responsibility for Maori and Pasifika employment.”

Only ‘almost’, eh Tariana?

50 comments on “The opening exchanges ”

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  1. The Egonomist 1
    9 February 2011 at 12:27 pm

    You’ve gotta include Hide’s speech – it was the highlight for me!

    http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/7183

    Hide says one “can’t spend a dollar until you’ve earned a dollar” and that Key has experience in this from currency trading, then rips into National’s fiscal policy re borrowing, demands an explanation for it from Goff. Comedy from end to end.

    The icing on the cake was that Roger Douglas and Heather Roy refused to applaud him. See the end of the video.

    • orange whip? 1.1
      9 February 2011 at 12:40 pm

      A lot of laughter from the opposition benches at the stab in the back from Douglas and Roy at the end too.

      • The Egonomist 1.1.1
        9 February 2011 at 12:48 pm

        It was also pretty amazing watching John “was insolvent at the time he developed K-Mart Plaza in Hastings” “with help from his parents” Boscawen’s face during the “earn a dollar before you spend a dollar” horsewater that Hide was spouting.

        • orange whip? 1.1.1.1
          9 February 2011 at 1:25 pm

          Ah, Boscawen. The 50 year old man-child who lives in the flat under his parents house.

    • the sprout 1.2
      9 February 2011 at 2:58 pm

      i was beginning to wonder if Rodney Hide still existed – it’s the first I’ve heard of him in months

    • Rodel 1.3
      9 February 2011 at 9:42 pm

      Sorry! I tried to watch ’til the end but kept vomiting.

  2. higherstandard 2
    9 February 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough
    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough
    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough
    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough
    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough
    Blah blah blah blah…………….. trough trough trough trough

  3. mickysavage 3
    9 February 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Good speech Goff and Metiria. She would make a very good Deputy Prime Minister …

    • Lanthanide 3.1
      9 February 2011 at 1:23 pm

      Ooooooh. Goff and Metiria. I like the idea of that much more than Goff and King.

      Hopefully both Labour the Greens who require male/female representation in their top 2 slots could agree to that combination (see also Clark & Anderton, and Clark & Cullen).

      • Nick C 3.1.1
        9 February 2011 at 2:26 pm

        Labour treated the Greens like grass (they walked all over them) for nine years while in government; Helen made it quite clear that she prefered Winston by picking him in 2005. What makes you think that the Greens have a hope in hell of getting Deputy PMship?

        • Lanthanide 3.1.1.1
          9 February 2011 at 3:47 pm

          Helen chose Winston because the Greens by themselves weren’t enough to secure the government.

          Also, Goff is not Helen, and Metiria isn’t Jeanette.

    • Deadly_NZ 3.2
      9 February 2011 at 3:23 pm

      Yes she would, and Goff could do worse than to promise her the position if they win either. And after listening to all of yesterdays and still listening to today’s replies I must say Metiria made the most sense, and still does so far. However Annette is having fun at the moment. Go Annette.

    • Bored 3.3
      10 February 2011 at 4:59 pm

      If Labour had a few who could speak with the passion and with the background experience Turei brings they might get somewhere. This woman leaves Goff for dead and exposes Key for what he is, a vacuous parrot for privelege, a hollow vessel of no substance. She would get my vote for PM in coalition.

  4. toad 4
    9 February 2011 at 1:27 pm

    That line from Tariana Turia is ‘almost’ an admission that Hone Harawira is right.

    So why is she hounding him out of the Maori Party. The baubles of office, perhaps.

    • Pascal's bookie 4.1
      9 February 2011 at 1:33 pm

      So why is she hounding him out of the Maori Party.

      As far as I can tell, it’s because he’s a hater and a wrecker, and he just don’t understand.

      • Deadly_NZ 4.1.1
        9 February 2011 at 3:24 pm

        And she don’t want to lose her place at the Trough and the huge pay packet and benefits that accompany it.

  5. Herodotus 5
    9 February 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Perhaps those in govt should anly be allowed 2 terms. As much of Goffs issues with Key were the same 4 years ago. Disposable incomes moving at a smaller rate than inflation, high interest rates and relatively huge food inflation, and power prices skyrocketing.
    Only difference was that under Lab indirect taxes were increasing remember the $0.10 tax on petrol that was to be in place by now??? and that Nat wants to gift some SOE shares to the Mums & Dads !!!
    This is all price less we have a 2 headed monster, coloured red on one side and blue on the other, biting and snapping at one another. And neither has a clue. And we all suffer as they play there little games detached from the public and unaware of how crap life is becomming for many of us.
    Pity there is no sincerity in these outbursts

    • bobo 5.1
      9 February 2011 at 2:33 pm

      Great fiery speech from Goff which we will need much more of if Labour is to have any chance of winning, and I like how they are referring to “Mr Key” instead of “Prime minister” unlike last year. You could see how angry and passionate Goff was looking directly at a winsing nervous Key fiddling with his phone, Goff’s hands were shaking with rage when holding up a damning news paper article , great stuff 🙂

      One of the most heartfelt speeches ive seen in parliment ever by Tariana who was very brave to bring her personal story about her dads life cut short partly by rogernomics, I was thinking the bastard was just sitting a few seats away from her… looking like an unrepentant dictator while in the background disrespectful arrogant government ministers chatting away ignoring her was disgusting to watch on the first sitting day of the year.

      Hides speech was the complete opposite of Turiana’s spoken by a lounge lizard who had nothing to say except a bit of brown nosing Key and the usual Act sound bites and Hides almost pathetic begging for an easy run in Epsom.

      Jim Anderton made a very good speech which is worth putting a clip of his debunking the privatization argument with the failures of air New Zealand under private owners run into the ground.Labour will really miss having Jim Anderton around after next election he has contributed alot over the years to NZ.

      • higherstandard 5.1.1
        9 February 2011 at 2:46 pm

        ha ha partisan fail

        is this you bobo ?

        • bobo 5.1.1.1
          9 February 2011 at 8:23 pm

          Delivered with all the wit of the simpsons bully Ha ha had me worried thought it might have been a stalkers video

      • Deadly_NZ 5.1.2
        9 February 2011 at 3:32 pm

        And it’s Not just labour Calling Smiley wavey It’s nearly all the other parties as well, It would be interesting if any called him Prime Minister Key. I do Not think so, Helen Roy (AND she’s ACT) just called him MR Key, it’s all Mr Key. It’s as if they know he is a goner already… I would go check but I do not think my ears and eyes could handle that lot again. ACT, Peter Dunne all droning on about how good ol’ smiley is.

        Shudder…………………..

    • Lanthanide 5.2
      9 February 2011 at 3:56 pm

      “remember the $0.10 tax on petrol that was to be in place by now”

      It was to be a regional fuel tax that regional governments could impose and then collect the revenue for their own transportation purposes – something that Auckland desperately needs. Each area was able to set their own tax rate, so in other parts of the country it probably would’ve been less than 10 cents, or at least until they got a mandate from the community what to do with the money.

      Instead, National axed that and then brought it back in as a national tax levied on the whole country, coming in at dribs and drabs of 3 or 4 cents hike at a time, instead of a whole 10 cent whack all at once. I’m not sure if there is any earmark for this tax (transportation?), or if it just goes into the general fund. National also raised GST to 15%, which increased the cost of petrol also.

      I believe that between 2008 and now, there’s been about 12-15 cents total added in fuel taxes. This should be evident in the price at the pump – $2/litre now with oil at ~$95/barrel, whereas last time I believe petrol got up to about $2.05/lite with oil at $147/barrel.

      • Herodotus 5.2.1
        9 February 2011 at 4:45 pm

        No matter who was in govt this increase was always going to occur i.e. $0.03/l then the GST multiplier effect on top of this amount = 3.375 cents/l
        Also re cost per barrel there is the exchange rate to take into consideration.
        As NZ from memory has about 3 weeks stk we get an almost an immediate cost price change by flucuations in the kiwi/greenback. Like many this appears to take effect quicker when there is a drop in the NZ $… funny that or anm I lacking in perception and being one eyed and only noticing the price increases and not the drops !!!
        http://www.transport.govt.nz/ourwork/land/roadusercharges/

  6. Akldnut 6
    9 February 2011 at 2:51 pm

    Spot on Bobo – Eddie you should have embedded Jim Andertons speech, it was pretty good. Especially liked the part where he tells turia she “has a short memory where under Labour the reduction of unemployment for Maori in NZ under 9 years of the Labour led govt. went from 28% to 4%.

    • Akldnut 6.1
      9 February 2011 at 3:06 pm

      You can Jim right Here

      • ianmac 6.1.1
        9 February 2011 at 3:38 pm

        Jim still says it all. Specific and credible. Christchurch you missed a bargain! And so will we.

        • Rodel 6.1.1.1
          12 February 2011 at 9:45 pm

          Yes. Christchurch would have had some real action on rebuilding after the quakes instead of trite photo ops of Bob in his orange ‘rescue’ suit holding on to a non functional jack hammer with Gerry grinning on ( before Bob’s sponsored jaunt to Nepal to advise the natives about disasters) .
          Christchurch needed a practical get things done mayor like Jim Anderton but it wasn’t to be.

  7. Deadly_NZ 7
    9 February 2011 at 4:34 pm

    Hey what did Mallard have to say??? Anything?? Something?

  8. trademark 8
    9 February 2011 at 6:05 pm

    I lasted about a minute into Hide’s speech before muting it. After Metiria’s speech, it was an anticlimax to (briefly) behold. For shame.

    • Deadly_NZ 8.1
      9 February 2011 at 6:22 pm

      Hide’s speech was the usual Nat loving rubbish. The only thing of note was the lack of applause from his own party after he finished.

  9. hobbit 9
    9 February 2011 at 9:13 pm

    >>>”Goff tears him apart.”

    Do you visit planet earth very often, if at all, Eddie ?

  10. Radman 10
    9 February 2011 at 9:47 pm

    Turei’s speech lasted almost 20 minutes, and included only 24 seconds on the environment.

    Her faux tear-jerker about her dad was irrelevant and tedious.

  11. Nick C 11
    9 February 2011 at 10:05 pm

    It looks increasingly like Labour will stand a real chance in 2011 as more and more experts predict a come from behind, narrow Labour victory:

    http://astroblognz.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-who-will-win-nz-general-election.html

  12. NX 12
    9 February 2011 at 10:10 pm

    Good of you guys to link to John Key’s opening address – a rear moment of balance.

  13. Adele 13
    9 February 2011 at 11:00 pm

    If John Key was an arse he would indeed be balanced – one richly plump cheek either side of a big black hole that is government policy.

  14. fatty 14
    10 February 2011 at 12:27 am

    What do people think of Chris Hipkins MP for Rimutaka?

    I always find him one of the better speakers in the Labour party, is he still a little young…I thought he may have moved up in the reshuffle?

    http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/7199

  15. Salsy 15
    10 February 2011 at 8:08 am

    Fantastic Speech from Goff, who now seems to be entirely in his element now that National has redefined the political boundaries.
    The I believe in welfare reform, Mr Key, and the best type of welfare reform is to have jobs that people can go to quote is billboard material, almost Lange-esque in its stinging tail. Ive been a big critic of Goff, he’s clearly not gong anywhere, so its time to get behind him. I also loved Meteria’s speech – it takes the wind out of Key’s promise for a brighter future, its a sad message though, they need to be careful there.

  16. O2B 16
    10 February 2011 at 10:41 am

    Very good speeches from Goff, Turei and Anderton. I definitely felt proud that at least three high-ranking politicians are prepared to take NACT on and restore the fabric of our society that is slowly being torn from us.

    I did like Goff’s comment that he’s learnt from his mistakes, presumably during his time in the fourth Labour government. I felt he was somewhat arrogant too during the last part of the 2000s, hopefully he has realised that some of words and actions during that time turned a few Labour supporters away.

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