John Key’s announcement that he will quit politics at the end of the year when he is no longer PM is no surprise. He has always given the impression of being a CV builder and someone who lives for the moment rather than the grind necessary to get real change. The same interview shows he has given up on catching Aussie wages.
His comments will be causing interesting debate around the English bbq. Talk about mixed incentives for a deputy.
There is however a serious issue raised. Should Key be running for Helensville ?
Geoff Palmer and the Royal Commission were always of the view that list positions should be used by senior MPs rather than (mainly) being an entry point.
In some countries there is a nominated list member as a deputy for electorate members, so there is an ability to shift to a list and not cause a by-election. And voters know about it at election time. That way say PM Deputy Finance Foreign Affairs and Trade at least would not have day to day constituency responsibilities. And it can be a two way door – ie former Ministers resume electorates if they choose to. Might be something for a longer term debate.
But in the interim I wonder if we are up for a discussion on whether we should, in the medium term, develop a convention of leaders and deputies of major parties being list but not electorate candidates.
And no I never made the suggestion to Helen. And please don’t show this to Phil and Annette while they are having a break.
Enough motive to incentivise even the most ardent stay at home on election day Labour voter.
Good work, John, you donkey
What the hell is he thinking…he already has an exit plan all worked out? What are NZ’ers going to think of that???
“develop a convention of leaders and deputies of major parties being list but not electorate candidates.”
And what about Education & Labour spokesmen? That’s a huge workload. Maybe someone with those responsibilities should also be list only?
interesting ideas Trevor. It’s often a problem that voters represented by senior ministers don’t get a proper “local MP” service, no matter how diligent their office staff.
Is it now time to get an assurance from Key that he is determined to stay the whole 3 years as PM on the off chance that National gets to form the Government in 2011?
@Jarred – I think the list in the post is where most attention is taken off local MP work by the nature of the position. But if the longer term idea took off then it could be that the whole front bench goes onto a list for the term.
One danger of the suggestion is that quite often feedback as a local MP on the business, social service or education circuit alerts you to an issue, a problem or a good idea much earlier that you find out through the system. It would be important to have a good feedback loop from whoever is deputising.
SO you truely think that Labour is going to win? May i ask how? are you saying you want Winston Peters back in Parliament?
A system with a “deputy MP” for party leaders and deputies could potentially be used now in an informal way. Perhaps a list member could act as a buddy MP in the appropriate electorate.
I would include the Speaker as a person for whom a “deputy MP” would be appropriate.
And what have I heard in the News or Print from labour NOTHING yet again. C’mon Trevor show us Labour is alive and say something about mr shallow.. He JUST said he DOSN’T CARE!!!!!!! Say something…. If someone says that they dont care that they have broken promises. And is happy that his legacy will be a cycle track for gods sake. well that and a double dip recession..
SPEAK UP MAN or will Phil (where is he anyway) tell you off?
Um, Trev, you shouldn’t be writing stuff on a blog if you don’t want your leaders to know about it!
I disagree, I think Phil and Annette do a fine job for their electorates. Plus, neither of them knew that they would become leaders.
It’s great news that John Key would move on!
Besides I think being an electorate MP keeps the leaders in touch with their constituents. I haven’t heard anyone complain about the job Helen did. Phil isn’t on holiday today, he is at New Chums beach trying to save the bleepin thing!
Deadly , what chance the Media would print what Labour says ?
Or even in this case hold an important item for after New Years day – 10 days embargo ?
Its no coincidence, Panic Pants has engineered it this way and Audrey has to follow orders
John Key’s announcement that he will quit politics at the end of the year when he is no longer PM is no surprise.
True, but it also came as no surprise that Dr Brash went back on a similar statement made about the 2005 election. Which Brash went back on in 2006. Dr Brash only left parliament because of the up coming release of the ‘Hollow men’.
But it is a good point you raise Trevor. A MP who is doing their job right is working between 60 and 80 hours a week. A minister who is doing their job right is doing 80hours and every waking hour a week. Removing electoral work from a senior crown minister would provide better electoral representation.
The key point of difference in MMP is an electoral MP has a security that a list MP doesn’t. What is your judgement on this Trevor; should a senior caucus figure in a political party New Zealand feel secure enough to go to the list?
What silly comments from the Prime Minister leading into a election year . Does he know something I dont know , according to the December polls -and the Herald being the last one had a 15 % gap between the two parties .
That being said I wont vote National never have never will !! Interestingly the comments about being in opposition . Actually being in opposition allows you to develop real policy without the pressures of being in government . Looking at Helen Clark’s leadership – it was the 2 terms in opposition which gave her the background she needed – my view anyway
Ummm.. it doesn’t take a political genius to work out that’s what was likely to happen. Most PMs leave when they go to opposition, Helen Clark did the same thing. So what? John was just being honest about the future.
You can call him a “CV” builder if you want, but that cynicism only illustrates that he actually has got a diverse range of skills and backgrounds before moving into politics. – And no one can say he was
balance deleted off thread. Trevor
The occasional peak 70-80 hour work week is no problem but averaging 70-80 hour work weeks is something else! Damage to relationships and to health a likely result IMO, as well as increasingly impaired performance/heart attack over time.
@Viper Helen did it and she did it well I might add. All this while doing freakishly long hikes for a woman of her age. !
Man, Helen is cool! 
! The way I see it, if someone wants to keep it at 60-80 hours then good for them, and if they want to do more then good for them.
Trev doesn’t see me as caucus material, if crimville were invented I’d show him!
Who would the list be accountable to? The electorate or the party leadership? Have you considered open primaries?
John Key is simply ensuring his fan club vote National by threatening to leave if National does not win the nextelection.His “smile and wave’policy makes him popular with some peopleso he is playing on this to ensure reelection .He is far from being a goneburger !
just a small thought… would this system force rodney hyde to become a list mp? as the likelyhood of him getting a cabinet seat was always a probability if the nats won. none the less, an idea with merit.
@deadly&ironguts…. you guys should do standup comedy. you’d be a riot.
Why do you misquote him Trevor? It doesn’t say he will quit at the end of the year. It says he will quit if he loses the election. Which isn’t going to happen when Labour are twenty percent behind.
Unless you are seriously suggesting that Labour is going to win the election at this rate Trevor. Hahaha funniest thing all year I’ve heard.
SO John Key is not a career politician? Good, we need less of them.
Perhaps this is a challenge and sounds like a call for Labour to go all out and deliver an early retirement present to Key in the Botany by-election.
@BBfloyd Comedy act???? DO you think it’s funny that in the last 3 weeks All thats been in the papers is the screwups that the NACt party did, This mornings especially with smiley wavey spitting the dummy about the next election. And from this party there has not been a SQUEAK from any Labour Politician at all ?? If your idea of comedy is to try to ridicule someone for pointing out the obvious… That Labour WILL LOSE the next election and it will have started here with the DEAFENING silence!!! They have lost my vote!
And you questioned comedy act
Hey that was pretty fast, you decided to turncoat again and decide to not consider yourself part of “us” on the Left?
What sort of a person after being in charge and thrown out would want to continue that career path ? Only someone without the wit to do anything else, parliament is chock full of ex ministers who seem quite happy to be demoted to opposition back benches and irrelevency but hang on.
Trouble with that is some of them make it back to cabinet after festering in oppostion for 9 years. Good on key for stating the obvious that NO PM has hung around after being turfed out.
Term limits should be introduced forethwith.
What’s John up to? It’s not like National’s going to lose the election. Perhaps a bit of reverse psychology?
Where did my comment go????
Spud you are in moderation. Please stay on thread. Clare
I shall write my onthread comment again, sigh,
@Ruth – good point!
@bbfloyed – it would be good to see hide out!
MPs who got into politics in order to serve the people in their electorate.
Too right, Viper!
@deadly..i know a good agent if you’re keen to polish your act.
seriously though, what makes you think anything’s changed in head office at the news bureau? do you honestly think that they are going to suddenly start giving phil goff a fair go?
every blunder that has been reported has been written in respectful terms at the least, and has had excuses, and/or irrelevant and misleading prattle tacked on in order to soften the impact.. it’s an old trick.
and i don’t think i would be far off if i surmised that our tv poodles have hitched their economic wagons too the nats to a large degree. how many of our senior tv journalists work for the nats already?
This seems to be a good move made by Key, he recognizes that if the NZ people truly do not want him in power, then he will step down. He is in politics because he is at liberty to serve the people, not because he needs to serve the people for a paycheck.
That said, all indications show that Key will return to parliament for another term, and my personal guess is he will return for around 3 more terms, around about the time that people will start to forget the last Labour government.
I’m glad the PM feels free to state things so bluntly, cuts a lot of the game playing out.
seems to me he has a dollar each way on it – perhaps he knows (one can hope) that there is another hollow men scandal about to rock the torries boat!
OR as suggested above – hes acting like a 7 year old threatening to leave if hes not the PM again – if so its a bit childish. And if he was in my electorate and I voted for him and he left, that would really brass me off – so his comments in relation to his voters was, in my thinking, a foolish thing. People don’t like being played.
So whether he stays in politics is dependent on the fates of Rodney, Tariana and Winston – or is this a call to the centrist voter to deliver him a one party majority government to save him from that …
It’s not something that Ms Clark considered in 2002 …
Good point paul, I hope others see this!
One month ban for gross offensiveness. Trevor
Key’s well past his 90 day trial anyway!
More like Key recognises that he has better job prospects from all the networking he has done in the last 2 years, and has already thought through his exit plan.
He has one foot out the door, New Zealand.
Trevor and Clare can I make a suggestion? Could you put criteria that is offensive on the home page of Red Alert so that dissenters know what not to say?
bydonz – with luck it will be a 9 year trial and we will all have nothing to worry about.
After the next election he will `bite the bullet’ and prove his potential as being the best PM since Holyoake. He is failing dismally at the moment but where there is life there is hope.
“John Key’s announcement that he will quit politics at the end of the year when he is no longer PM is no surprise”
He’s either being ultra-smart – making sure his Nat voters all get out to the voting booth OR he’s really showing himself up as the lightweight that he is ! In other words, if you don’t play it my way, I won’t play at all !! How very childish. And in saying this, Key is also showing that he doesn’t really care about what happens to the people of this country : he’s not using his so-called banker skills to help develop the economy ; he and his Party are not coming up with any realistic ideas on how to get this country and its people working productively again ; he hasn’t any idea on how to go about doing that : he’s a lightweight, and the sooner we’re rid of him, the better.
Ruth, interesting observation.
Trevor, I can see merit in it for sure.
Vlad, what is Key’s “diverse backgrounds” – he stayed int he same industry for his entire career didnt he? It’s pretty rarified air int he currency dealing industry.
Trevor, it’s nice having the PM speak frankly and honestly, without the spin and drivel that comes from many politicians.
You and your colleagues here could learn a thing or two.
Yeah like not increasing GST and closing the wage gap with Oz – that’ll also be a promise given up on before the second term starts.
It’s 2/5 so far – leaving WFF, leaving interest free loans and not changing Super to go.
The PM may be the honest straight talking non spinning person many here say he is. I still cant get the evidence in Hollow Men which points to the contrary out of my mind. Nicky Hager did NOT invent the evidence he puts in his book, as much as some wish he had.
Seems like a great idea
He must have other skills that he can use as well as being the nice face of National
It seems like they don’t have skills to lift our economy which one may naively think is their role?
As I wrote earlier, the Hollow Men is a real page turner!
!
Went on a business trip, bought the book, started reading, skipped the evening dinner function cos I couldnt put it down. Before anyone suggests I ripped off my boss, *I* was my boss at that time.