When was the last time Key mentioned the ‘underclass’?
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- Date published:
10:00 am, February 8th, 2010 - 9 comments
Categories: john key, poverty, spin -
Tags: brand key
The Emperor's new clothes had a tiki on them
I was thinking the other day about John Key’s underclass speech. It was always pure gimmickry, as was the whole exploitation of Aroha. As his first major speech as National Party leader it was designed to frame Key, the multi-millionaire currency speculator, as a good, ordinary bloke. I wondered how long they had bothered keeping up the charade that Key and his party give a damn about the poor.
I’ve searched google news, the Herald, Parliament, Stuff, and johnkey.co.nz archives for the last reference to “underclass” by Key.
It was in the first Speech from the Throne of his government, back in December 2008. It is just a passing reference (“it is in the interests of no New Zealanders, and to the detriment of us all, to allow an underclass to develop in New Zealand”) not a plan to do anything for these people. And, although the Speech from the Throne is the PM’s speech on their plans for the year ahead, it isn’t delivered by them. The Governor-General delivers it. The last time the words came from Key’s mouth was probably long before that.
Anyway, at the end of the day, words are cheap. Acts are what matters. Key’s Government has done nothing. It has awarded the most pitiful minimum wage rises in years, it has sat on its arse as unemployment has doubled, it has cancelled training courses to help people (like Aroha’s mum) off benefits, increased their ACC levies, and now it’s threatening to put up their GST so rich people can have tax cuts.
So, as we wait for another Speech from the Throne by Key, I reckon we probably will see a passing reference to the ‘underclass’ for appearance’s sake but I’m just as sure that his government will continue to fail the most vulnerable members of our society.
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Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
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The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
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The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...15 hours ago - Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
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The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...2 days ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
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Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...2 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...2 days ago
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- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
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- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
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Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...7 days ago
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- Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...1 hour ago - Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way
The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...2 hours ago - Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate
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The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 hours ago
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A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...3 hours ago
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 hours ago
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The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Anyway, at the end of the day, words are cheap. Acts are what matters.
You should have a talk to Phil Goff about that. Thats the very reason why Labour is in opposition.
yeah. record low unemployment, record wage increases, falling crime.
It was hell on earth
the underclass eh.
is that those people who wil end up paying more gst when the tax working group are through and the people who will have their council assets sold off from underneath them when the supercity goe s ahead?
wait a minute.
thats us!
Isn’t that sadly the truth Randle
And none of the poor sods in the Radio Spud talkback taliban seem to fully realise the hip pocket implications of what they support. Or maybe they do, and really just don’t care.
Your arrogance knows no bounds.
You actually think that Key is popular and Labour are in opposition because people do not “fully realise the hip pocket implications of what they support’
When you fringe lefties begin to understand and accept the 5-10% of voters that jumped ship at the last election are not stupid, you will begin to win back their support. Until that day John Key can remain relaxed because there is little chance of Labour winning back their support
Good points. I think he will mention it tomorrow. I’m sure someone working for him reads The Standard.