The states of John Key – Avoidance

• Guest post
• 14 years ago
• Categories: john key

Fifth of a series by Guest poster Blue.

It struck some as strange that Key refused to go on Morning Report after the Budget. A Prime Minister refusing to front their government’s Budget is practically unheard of. The Budget is the cornerstone of a Government it’s their political and financial plan for the next year, it’s a critical confidence vote in Parliament, and it’s something the whole country is interested in and affected by. The pressure was on, because Labour had been getting a lot of traction with their framing of it as a Budget for the rich. This was a prime opportunity for Key to rebut this, and he turned it down. It’s highly unlikely he had something more important to do. He has turned down several requests this year to go on Morning Report, steering well clear of formidable interviewer Sean Plunket.

Key doesn’t like explaining himself. He refused to give a reason for sacking a minister, Richard Worth, back in 2009, an oddity noted by many media.  To sack a minister of the Crown without any explanation to the people that he and the minister in question were supposed to serve does not conform to the high standards of honesty and transparency Key promised his Government would hold themselves to.

His behaviour during Question Time in Parliament is typically arrogant, defensive and dismissive. Question Time is where the Government is meant to be held to account, but getting Key to take a question seriously is a rare event. He usually responds with a flippant remark directed at the person who asked the question, a practice he has been pulled up on more than once by Speaker Lockwood Smith.

Blue

Series posts

The states of John Key Quantum uncertainty

The states of John Key The drivers

The states of John Key The Salesman

The states of John Key – Flexible in telling the truth

The states of John Key – Avoidance