Schrödinger’s Prime Minister
No Right Turn on John Key’s confusion over Pike River. The flip flopping PM at his finest.
politicans
john key
That’s it?
Amazing what political pressure can do. Christchurch package was clearly put together in the space of a couple of days. Buy-out at GV the obvious basic solution but will see many out of pocket. Option 2 is an admission of that but only open to some. None of the fish-hooks have been worked out. What’s Gerry been doing all this time?
Whenever you’re ready, John
Gerry Brownlee says an announcement on Christchurch’s land will be made “very, very soon” but testily refuses to give a date, or even a real timeframe. I have a sinking feeling this is all a PR exercise. Just as Brownlee has got everyone really agitated, that Nice Man Mr Key will unveil the information. When it fits into his diary, of course.
Key’s Midas touch
John Armstrong reckons Key has the “Midas touch”. Ahh, no. Or at least, not in the sense that John meant…
Blame Goff?
There are far more similarities than differences in the Hughes / Goff and Worth / Key affairs, but that doesn’t stop the Right trying to rewrite history and blame Goff!
NZ deserves better than budget lies
The Budget is unravelling at a startling rate of knots. Bill English is floundering to explain his dodgy asset sales numbers that count the benefits but not the costs. Now, a senior minister has admitted that John Key’s claim that “there are 170,000 new jobs being created as a result of this Budget” is a lie. We actually really do deserve better than this.
Nats testing the waters on eugenics
John Key “thinks” that parents on the DPB are “breeding for a business”. Now his government is testing the waters for a eugenics program, to single out these undesirables and forcibly control their fertility.
Celebrity PM withdraws endorsement
Following the news that “Celebrities who make false statements while endorsing finance companies could now face jail or fines up to $1 million”, we at The Standard have received the following important document, leaked by an internal National Party source…
Leader repays chopper flights
After intense criticism for using government-owned helicopters for personal trips, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has reimbursed the state for the cost of the flights. I look forward to John Key following Christie’s lead and repaying us for his flights to watch the V8s in Hamilton.
Tell Key to keep Pharmac
Like the ACC, Pharmac is a Kiwi institution that delivers benefits to everyone at a lower cost than other countries. National has got ACC on the butcher’s block. We must make sure that Pharmac doesn’t follow.
John Key: Evidence please!
John Key prefers his gut to real evidence, and it means that the policies he is implementing aren’t the ones that are best for our country.
Also: Steven Joyce & the Rail Loop.
Rearranging the deck chairs
Renaming, merging and splitting agencies is what a government does when it wants to look busy but has no ideas.
Hard to believe it has only taken two and a half years for National to get to this point.
Key: making shit up
John Key just rumbles on from one lame excuse to the next on the ETS. First bringing farmers in was going to raise dairy prices, now he’s making other claims that don’t stack up.
Caption contest
Hansen calls for Key to lead on climate change
Visionary climate change scientist James Hansen has written an open letter to John Key.
Disgraceful
“The worst display from a Prime Minister since the schnapps election” – that’s what a journo said about Key the other day. No, it wasn’t about him being a multi-millionaire who gave himself tens of thousands of tax cuts opposing a fair wage increase for the lowest paid workers. It was this disgraceful behaviour on Budget Day. Watch.
The lazy unemployed
John Key reckons the unemployed need “a kick in the pants”. Paula Bennett reckons the Nats’ harsh reforms mean that “the dream is over” for beneficiaries. Meanwhile, back in the real world…
Caption contest
Armstrong on the budget
John Armstrong is highly critical of the sub-zero budget: “The Budget has displayed a degree of cynicism one would expect from a Government in its third term, not its first”…
Froth on the rich man’s hem
John Key thinks National will lose some support because of the budget saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we ease back a bit. I mean that’s logical. Some of that sort of froth in there will come away”. Hear that, tens of thousands of swing voters who believed in the ‘brighter future that Key promised you and didn’t deliver? You’re just ‘froth’ to him.
I know it is picky – but it is Friday..
I was listening to John Key on Parliament TV last night on the budget and he is bloody lazy when speaking. I had to watch his lips before I could figure out what he was saying. This morning there is a video of his remedial vocal work that illustrates this problem..
Chart o’ the day: steps to success
Postcard from the future
An anonymous Sunday Star Times editorial last weekend (not on line) reads like a postcard from the future…
Keeping the buggers honest
This rolling post is intended to be a record of the lies, misrepresentations, and misdirections the National government and its allies try to foist on us. It’s a ‘facts only’ post.
Today’s topic: borrowing for tax cuts
Some facts on Wages, Inflation and GDP
John Key at a press conference yesterday made some claims about wages, inflation and Treasury predictions that really need looking at a bit more closely.
Beemer watch
What is going to happen to the “old” BMW limos when the government gets rid of them? The franchise that just donated $50,000 to the Nats has said it wants its share of the “honey pot”. I wonder if the Nats will oblige?
The Dear John Letter
This letter is getting more media attention than it deserves, because its basically Brash regurgitating his 2025 task force stuff. Key and the Nats have, quite rightly, ignored it once, and they’ll ignore it this time too.
100% Clueless
When confronted with the scientific evidence on the hollowness of our “100% Pure” slogan John Key, as usual, tried to attack the credibility of the source. Key said “He’s one academic and, like lawyers, I could provide you others who would give a counter view”. Now the source (Dr Mike Joy) has called the PM on his clueless claim.
Key’s panda plan falls through
The second plank of John Key’s economic plan for New Zealand has fallen through. First, the ‘national cycleway’ became a scattered assortment of cycle paths that were already under construction. Now, the pandas Key was going to rent so we could get rich buying tickets to see them won’t be coming and we have revealing emails to share.
Jon Stephenson replies to critics
PM John Key attacked journalist Jon Stephenson, calling him not credible over his claims on SAS links to the torture of prisoners in Afghanistan. Now Stephenson has replied to his critics, in detail.
Cash for cars?
A $50,000 donation from a BMW franchise to National?
This latest twist to the BMW saga has a real stench about it.
Cunliffe addresses Key lies
Key’s pre-budget speech was hugely uninspiring and mis-leading.
Cunliffe rips his claims apart.
Our dirty water
John Key didn’t much like being confronted with the facts on our dirty water. He tried to pretend that everything is just fine, when it isn’t. No surprise to find this attitude mimicked in National’s policy on water. They are trying to pretend that they’re doing something when they aren’t.
Caption Competition
Gower on Chopper Key
Patrick Gower has more on the helicopter flight that John Key took in 2009 after opening a walkway that Key says was necessary because of mystery meetings that were supposedly arranged that afternoon. The flight cost us $2,000 when Key learned the helicopter was owned by the Velas.
Beyond the welfare stereotypes
An Australian report sets out some common myths about beneficiaries, and the facts that disprove them. I have no doubt that a similar pattern of unjustified myths would be found here. Starting with our PM.