The Standard Week has been on hiatus due to a combination of elections, forgetfulness, and binge drinking but it’s back. This week saw our brand-spanking new PM out on his own for the first time, going to APEC and the UK. He blushed and gushed at meeting George Bush and bagged his money-trader mates, then went to met Gordon Brown. He faced his first real test there when the UK Government’s pre-budget tax package announcement included a large carbon-emissions offset departure tax that will hurt New Zealand tourism. Unfortunately, it seems rubbing shoulders with Hu Jintao and Bush had gone to Key’s head – he proceeded to attack the tax as if New Zealand is a major power, calling his host’s new policy a contagion, “not necessarily rational”, and “protectionism”. Yeah, because that’s going to encourage Brown to take our interests into account. Anyhoo, here are our favourite posts of the week:
A plea to National
‘Who does this guy think he is?’ British leaders will be asking themselves, ‘some puffed up newbie presuming to tell us how to run our country’….[more]
Small target governing
I’m hoping now we’re stuck with this lot they make a decent job of running my country. But until I see some detail and get some reassurances the Nat’s understand their five year election campaign is over and they now need to come up with the detail I’m not holding my breath…[more]
Labour’s Lessons
54,982 votes, 2.3% of the total. That was difference in the election…[more]
‘Cos I say so
Following Tony ‘cos I say so’ Ryall’s media success with his plan to cut down waiting lists using the King Canute model of governance, the word around the traps is that several of National’s front bench are planning similar moves…[more]
Do we want to be a world-leader or a global joke?
How embarrassing, then, that we have given up our leadership role on climate change and, instead, become a joke…[more]
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