He is too scared to answer a question relating to a decision of a Cabinet committee he chaired – the appointment of his own electorate chair.
He knows there is a lot more to come out about this guys grubby work and he is trying to keep his distance.
Making his very junior Minister take the heat. Hardly fair really.
Paid the PM salary – should do the job.
Trevor – the question is directed to the Minister of Broadcasting, not to the Prime Minister (assuming we are talking about the same question). I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. Why would John Key answer it?
It was set down to Key – he chickened out.
So – just because I’m curious – a question was initially asked of the Prime Minister, but someone (the Government?) changed it to be asked of Foss because they could argue that the question is more relevant to Foss’ area? Who makes that call?
Trevor, do you think childish blunderbuss attacks are the best use of your time as a representative in our parliament?
Do you think that’s what the people want to see from their MPs? Or do you think it might turn many of them off politics so they won’t bother voting?
Pete – if they are reading Trevor’s post I would suggest they are sufficiently interested in politics to vote.
Do you realise how transparent your attempt to divert this thread from the point Trevor is opening to discussion is?
Well we all know John Key doesnt get involved in the day to day business of government, since when hes asked – and doesnt run away- he never has any recollection of the meeting/paper/briefing/email.
The only time he has piped up about been aware of a decision- treaty clause for SOEs on the block- is because he told Bill English about -how convenient.
Tim G – from what I hear incessant negative nitpicking politics of an often trivial nature is one of the biggest turnoffs to voters and non-voters. This post is an example of it, and it does nothing to progress our demoocratic process.
Are you trying to divet from that?
Isn’t it the clerk of the house who decides who questions get asked of? What is the process of reallocation of questions- is it done under the advice of the govt or independently by the clerk?
insider: Government of the day decision. Speaker and reps go through the questions before hand to check the suitability. Govt has the right to change who should answer. Just a coincidence that the tricky questions are steered away from the PM??
Agreed with ghostww.
You mean like the way Bill Engish gets to front the hard stuff… No sign of the elegant solution Mr key when the amended documents were released last week on Clause 9, he made Bill English front.
No dirty jobs for Mr Key.
“incessant negative nitpicking politics of an often trivial nature is one of the biggest turnoffs to voters and non-voters”
And yet it was National’s MO from 2002 to 2008.
Tracey – it’s been the MO of National and Labour (in particular) from much further back than 2002 (I’ve seen it as far back as Muldoon’s National). And the voter turnout has been sliding since further back than 2002 too.
An opposition party has to get a good balance between contributing positively to parliament and for the country, and examining the performance of the government and taking the government to task when it’s justified.
I think that balance has been skewed far too far towards opposing too much and too often, which many people seem not to care for. And it seriously dilutes the effect of taking government to task when it’s really justified.
“from what I hear incessant negative nitpicking politics of an often trivial nature is one of the biggest turnoffs to voters and non-voters.”
Says the tory media, but not according to the 50% that didn’t vote for Key, infact, from what I heard and from personal experience, alot of us quite like it, especially when he squirms.
There you go, learn something new everyday.
Worth coming on the Labour party blogsite afterall.
We agree Pete except you proffer that Labour has been more negative than National. Perhaps that is because National has tended to “contract out” the negativity so it comes from their helpers rather than them directly. Could be a financial reason.
I agree negative politics abounds.
I’m particularly interested in the growing trend of Mr English to be delegated the hard explanations in areas Mr Key has spoken only days earlier. Leadership is also about fronting the hard stuff… You can accuse Mr English of many things but he is amazingly loyal given he keeps getting the hospital passes from Mr Key – he is truly a loyal Nat.
We agree Pete except you proffer that Labour has been more negative than National.
False assumption, I haven’t proffered that.
Can you clarify this statement for me, especially the part in brackets because I have misunderstood what you meant. Did you mean particularly National and Labour?
“it’s been the MO of National and Labour (in particular) from much further back than 2002 (I’ve seen it as far back as Muldoon’s National)”
Ok, I see the confusion, unintentional.
“it’s been the MO of both National and Labour (in particular compared to minor parties)…”
But he has the MSM to cover up for him, so he is ‘relaxed’. One News even made it look like the ‘Monday-ise’ bill was from the government, knowing that 80 percent want it. I’m sure that if 80 percent were opposed, it would have been pointed out loud and clear it was a Labour bill. Over and over. Biased, unbalanced, unfair, and the honeymoon goes on …
jennifer, those on the right make the asme accusations that the media are biased against them. The fact is that media do what they like and that annoys politicians across the spectrum.
The media are biased – against normal good work, common sense, working together, and for sensation, blowing small things up, generating juicy stories and often not caring about collateral damage. Not all media, but some of the most noticable media. It sucks, but there’s not much politicians of any party can do about it (except Winston Peters and SBW who play them for fools) except say it’s biased against them so it must favour the other lot.
Thanks for the clarification Pete George
and can I say Amen to this
“The media are biased – against normal good work, common sense, working together, and for sensation, blowing small things up, generating juicy stories and often not caring about collateral damage. Not all media, but some of the most noticable media. It sucks,”
The deterioration of quality journalism is in direct relation to the corporate swallowing of media. When the bottom line is your sole motivation, titillation is more fancied than journalism.
@ Pete, interesting you neglected to use the examples of Key ’storming out’ of his presser, or ‘fleeing’ Waitangi. Neither were stunts for effect, of course. Right?
so key shows the world, once more, what a spineless nothing he really is…. so far, i havn’t seen a single apologist put up any more than formulaic, irrelevant drivel designed to muddy the issue…..
probably because there isn’t any credible way to argue in his defence without the use of editorial control over the debate….the only people with access to that are already spinning as fast as it is possible without the centrifugal force throwing them in all directions……
and to clarify the situation regarding negative, carping political tactics. the national party has always been, and always will be, the ground breaker, and leader in the use of negative, attack politics….. innuendo and smear have been their stock in trade for as long as they have existed….indeed, they inherited the use of these methods from their political forebears…..
the almost total control over what the fourth column reports, and who gets quoted, and how accurately, has always been the necessity if these kind of tactics are to be employed successfully. ….
fortunately, that was a gift from earlier generations of exploiters….
jennifer, interesting to see you have mentioned two things apparently unrelated to this thread. There’s a lot more possibly questionable actions of many politicians.
I didn’t watch any coverage of Waitangi Day -1 so can’t comment on the many descriptions of Key’s exit, one of which was ‘fleeing’ which sounds a bit pathetic. Who wrote that? Did they say he fled back the next day? Still with fear in his eyes?
Don’t read too much from media reports.