Worth asking

Written By: - Date published: 3:55 pm, July 5th, 2009 - 23 comments
Categories: corruption, john key - Tags:

What a world where a supposed journalist writes this:

The trouble is Key’s desire to be reasonable. Despite his intention to say no more about his reasons for losing confidence in Worth, he keeps responding to the media interrogation and seems unable to draw a line under the question.

The best approach would be, simply to state: “I have nothing more to say on the matter. Any other questions on any other issues?” Muldoon, Lange, Bolger and Clark all quickly learned how to kill a question line [though none of them ever refused to say why they sacked a minister]. Key needs to do that, too.

What a world where a PM keeping secret his reason for firing a minister is being “reasonable”. What a world where a “desire to be reasonable” is troublesome. What a world where Key needs to learn how to not answer questions. Glad I don’t live in that world. If Key were “reasonable” he would be upfront with us.

Ralston spends half his column going over the Worth smut: ‘Did woman A have it coming? Was woman B a skank?’ None of it matters. The only question is: ‘why did the PM fire a minister and force him to resign as an MP’. Key says it has nothing to do with the sexual stuff. So it’s all irrelevant. Which is why Ralston and Whale want to distract us with it.

This isn’t even really about Worth. It’s about Key. Did Key make the right call in firing Worth? Why won’t Key tell us what the reason was? What happened to Key’s promise of open government? The Herald editorial gets it:

The silence of the Prime Minister, John Key, is more problematic still. At first declining to comment because it was the subject of a police investigation, he later said he had “washed his hands” of Worth (who had resigned as a minister and, later, as an MP) and had moved on. But it is not satisfactory for the matter to be left hanging. Cabinet protocol may not require Key to disclose why he lost confidence in his minister and the caucus lost confidence in its colleague. But justice requires that we be told.

This is not simply a question of prurient gossip… In the interests of transparency of the executive, the matter must be brought to a tidy close – and not simply left to fade away.

23 comments on “Worth asking ”

  1. mike 1

    His actions did not befit a Minsiter is Keys Govt – enough for you or do you enjoy panty sniffing?

    At least Key has standards as opposed to the last carry-alls who held office

  2. Zetetic 2

    Which if his actions did not befit a minister in Key’s government?

    Your statement doesn’t supply any new information. It’s just new words restating the same thing.

    Why did Key fire Worth?
    – because he lost confidence in him
    Why did he lose confidence in him?
    – because his actions did not befit a minister
    What were those actions?
    -panty sniffer!

    I don’t give a damn about the sexual stuff. As long as no crime has been committed. I care why a minister has been fired.

    And what are these standards that you say Key has? Can’t know the standard when we don’t know why Worth was sacked.

  3. barry 3

    Suppose, that when Key asked Worth about the allegations it turned out that Worth had misled him earlier. Suppose that that had caused him to give Goff some incorrect answers to questions. Would admitting that be embarrassing enough that he would rather not disclose the reasons?

    • Anita 3.1

      It seems to me that if Worth was fired for having misled the PM about something that was not related to his actions as a Minister then Key could quite safely say that it was because Worth misled him.

      Presumably that means it’s something else.

  4. Zetetic 4

    barry. maybe.

    wouldn’t be grounds to use ‘public interest’ as a reason not to answer.

    If Key has been using public interest as an excuse and the real reason isn’t public interest, he’ll have to resign.

    • felix 4.1

      Which casts an interesting light on Lockwood, doesn’t it?

      • Anita 4.1.1

        How? I thought he’d just being saying “if that’s what the PM is saying then that’s what the PM is saying”, tho I must admit to having not read recent QOA transcripts.

        • felix 4.1.1.1

          But the PM wasn’t saying any such thing – not until a day later. It was Lockwood who effectively answered the question for Key without giving Key a chance to say a word about it.

          Very weird day in the house.

          • Anita 4.1.1.1.1

            Oh, weird! Lockwood can be a bit of a fanboy sometimes.

            I need a job which is evenly busy so I don’t end up with big gaps in my knowledge of what happened 🙂

            • felix 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Yeah I know, nothing happens until you miss one day…

              If you’re interested in reading the Hansard, it’s question 12, June 16.

            • Anita 4.1.1.1.1.2

              Now I have read it, thanks for the steer! 🙂

              I looks to me like Hodgson raised the “public interest” question when he raised a point of order about Key not answering the question. It looks to me like Smith was helping Key out, but not that he brought in public interest himself.

              And yes, interesting things only happen when I’m too busy to notice. I’m away from Wgtn for four days this week, and out of NZ for three of those I expect to come home to a full cabinet reshuffle, a resignation, or yet another privatisation-by-stealth announcement (tho I reckon we’d get the latter even if we all had the radio on all day).

            • felix 4.1.1.1.1.3

              Yep, Hodgson used the words first, but only because he was quoting the standing order which contains them. He was referring the speaker to the other part of the standing order though.

              What was weird was that Lockwood told the house this:

              From what I heard the Prime Minister give in his answer, his assessment of the public interest is that it is not his intention to say any more about the matter, and he gave the reasons why.

              If you look back to the PM’s answer to which the Speaker was referring, the question of public interest was never invoked.

              We seem to be seeing the Speaker, of his own volition, providing a defense for the PM.

              Trevor picked this up the next day (after a repeat of the same question and answers) when he said this:

              I think the problem we are getting to now is that you are providing an answer for the Prime Minister that he himself is not prepared to give. What you have done in your ruling is indicate that it is the Prime Minister’s view that it is not in the public interest to give further information. If that is his view, then it is incumbent on him to say so. It is not incumbent on you to interpret—in fact, you should not interpret—that the Prime Minister is saying that, because it could well come out later that that is not the fact, and, effectively, the Prime Minister will be hung by your ruling.

              And then a little later:

              I think the matter could be easily cleared up by the Prime Minister indicating that that was, in fact, what he meant.

              To which the Speaker replied:

              There was absolutely no necessity for that whatsoever.

              And that was that. So now we have the Speaker actually blocking the PM from answering clearly whether he was indeed intending to invoke the “public interest” excuse or not.

              Very strange.

            • Zetetic 4.1.1.1.1.4

              it’s a bit more complicated than that.lockwood had been raising public interest for weeks.

            • felix 4.1.1.1.1.5

              Yeah, in a very general sense though. Making sure all ministers know that they have the option.

              This is a bit different.

        • Zetetic 4.1.1.2

          pretty sure it was lockwood who first suggested public interest. in fact he had been mentioning it for weeks before worth.

          that aside. if key uses public interest as an excuse, speaker has to accept that at face value.

  5. Ianmac 5

    Fancy a lowly journalist like Ralston seeing a need to advise Key on how to be a Prime Minister!!!???
    Or come to that the need for someone like Mike feeling the need to defend or deflect from, Key’s actions or inactions???

  6. Trevor Mallard 6

    I’ve speculated on Red Alert that Worth might have threatened Key with legal action which gives Key a public interest excuse to shut up – long bow but the best I could do :- http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2009/07/03/maybe-key-was-telling-the-truth/

    • Anita 6.1

      Couldn’t Key still answer the question in the House and be protected from the legal action by parliamentary privilege?

      • Trevor Mallard 6.1.1

        Yes he could Anita – but very hard for a PM to do these days – the media would just not be satisfied.

        • Anita 6.1.1.1

          But the possibility should be enough to remove a public interest justification to refuse to answer shouldn’t it?

          • Zetetic 6.1.1.1.1

            you’re assuming that the public interest excuse is justified at all in this case. hard to think how it could be.

  7. QoT 7

    I think it’s a lot less “a desire to be reasonable” and a lot more “a desire to make everyone like him” – and the presence of a whole room of journos saying “Oh please, Mr Key, we’ll write such lovely things about you if you just give us a little more info!” is too much to resist.

    • Ari 7.1

      Because as we all know, the media is only getting tired of him because he stopped giving them awesome stories about how like Obama he was.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-08T07:07:13+00:00