Public Address | Cafe | Island Life: The Evasive Mr Key Has 2 Million Friends

Craig Ranapia

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:06:41 +1200

They've said quite clearly they're not going to announce policy until the election build up, so why keep going on about it?

Well, to be fair, if I had some alone time with Michael Cullen I'd be doing my level best to badger some election year Budget scoop out of…

InternationalObserver

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:40:45 +1200

Key's mispeak at the conference was a bit of a shocker ( "...as Labour's leader I will lead the next govt ..." ) but I do hope the political journos are going to lay off the "when are the Nats going to release any actual policy details?" type stories since…

simon g

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 20:35:31 +1200

Keywatch update: if you saw the news tonight, you might have noticed that when the Next Prime Minister made his grand entrance to the National party conference, he did so to the young-but-safe sound of Coldplay. Which seemed a bit odd, given Chris Martin's well-known lefty political leanings.

But perhaps…

John Farrell

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:40:35 +1200

Oh, and put more money into trade training, to encourage people into areas with skill shortages.

John Farrell

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:36:22 +1200

I'll put my head on the block, Nat....

Reduce the cash rate, in steps.

Cap the losses residential investors can claim against tax on other income, and then gradually reduce the cap.

Tighten enforcement of GST and tax rules over the buying and selling of residential property.

Require every fulltime…

Nat Torkington

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:59:59 +1200

Thanks for the pointer to that No Right Turn article on John Key. As laudable as 0% unemployment is in principle, it certainly seems to make things difficult in practice.

Full employment seems, in practice, to drive prices up. If you need someone for a job, you have to hire…

Michael Fitzgerald

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:58:29 +1200

All the easier to vote Helen out for Johny boy to walk into the PMs role.
She has a history & with it tread on a few toes. There is no vision, just the boney clenched white knuckles holding onto power.
He has nothing to offer & therefore nothing to offend.
When…

simon g

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:42:04 +1200

To clarify: the current Listener, not the ones mentioned up-thread.

simon g

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:36:12 +1200

I agree, Merc. But then, that is John Key. We have nothing to go on, so we can all invent our own version, conquering hero or bogeyman.

In that Listener article, in 7 pages (minus the space for glossy pin-ups) John Key says the following about policies/beliefs/substance:

1. We will…

merc

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:13:20 +1200

I think that says more about IS's state of mind of late, than John Key's.

John Farrell

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:02:20 +1200

Interesting post on No RightTurn, discussing John Key's economic ideas:

http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2007/07/spare-capacity.html

simon g

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:25:38 +1200

Can we get back to John Qui?

From today's Marlborough Express:

"I went on the campaign trail from the day I became leader," he said, adding that he has not read a book since Nicky Hager's The Hollow Men last year.

Books, eh? So 20th century. No, John relates to…

James

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:33:03 +1200

re the Listener ... isn't the point really that it is no longer a 'left-leaning' magazine?

What rankles *me* is that the Listener has never run an editorial announcing its new position on the political spectrum. The articles are much easier to read when you realise where they're now coming…

Sue

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:34:45 +1200

Mr Judd
you is my hero

Jeremy Andrew

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:55:25 +1200

Its not all his fault – he's spent too much time soaking in the adversarial political system...

Tom Semmens

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:49:09 +1200

Craig Ranapia come across on these forums as an unpleasant bully. Sorry to make it a personal observation, but there it is.

Stephen Judd

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:17:15 +1200

Well, if we could discuss this without reference to any particular case – in most corporate or government jobs it would still be proper to let the employer know of your relationship. The employer can then extend their trust to you about how you deal with any conflicts. But journalists…

Sue

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:56:08 +1200

I'm with you robyn
next thing kittens will be banned

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:40:12 +1200

And for the record, I couldn't really get too upset many moons ago upon discovering the husband...

Crikey. Bring out the big stick Russell. Craig seems to have some sort of autorespond feature where every time you tell him to stop, he posts another one.

Stop. S-T-O-P. No really.

Robyn Gallagher

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:58:50 +1200

I can't believe people would prefer discussing politics over Facebook. What has the interwebs come to?

Stephen Judd

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:54:14 +1200

I think it's not only absurd, but somewhat sinister, if we're going to expect every journalist and civil servant to list what their spouse/partner/CUPcake/'friend with benefits'/casual fuck buddy does for a living.

That is absurd Craig, but as so often happens there is a middle ground which is worth discussing.

Sue

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:49:32 +1200

ok seriously people
who cares, can't people have freaking private lives.

so let's move on
how about That facebook thingy/ Those all Blacks/The weather

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:09:52 +1200

And for the record, I couldn't really get too upset many moons ago upon discovering the husband of the Honourable Member for Rongotai held a senior management role in the Wellington City Council. Whatever I thought of Annette King (not much), I assume that she had the wit to establish…

Russell Brown

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:03:10 +1200

All right. This same pillow talk stuff comes up periodically and I don't believe anything new is being said. I'm not comfortable with people's personal lives being repeatedly discussed this way. Stop it. And Craig, you'd better be bloody sure of what you're saying.

Paul Litterick

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:51:36 +1200

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Listener's circulation declined by 5.9% between the end of 2005 and the end of last year. Make of that what you will.

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:43:56 +1200

Grant:

Well, if I've got my facts wrong perhaps ypu can correct me. Am I wrong about Kathryn being in a relationship with Maryan Street – in which case the DomPost profile following her promotion to the PM's cheif press secretary I read that rather gratuitous tidbit in was inaccurate…

Russell Brown

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:37:14 +1200

Change the subject. This is getting tacky.

Grant Robertson

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:05:38 +1200

Craig, I think that the Street case too is another where disclosure would have been an ethically righteous thing. It is as bad and objectionable in a leftwing connection as in a right one, and I'm afraid the only reason I've never been concerned about it is that until you…

Stephen Judd

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:42:49 +1200

Craig, I think that the Street case too is another where disclosure would have been an ethically righteous thing. It is as bad and objectionable in a leftwing connection as in a right one, and I'm afraid the only reason I've never been concerned about it is that until you…

Michael Fitzgerald

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:56:11 +1200

"despite the vast left-wing lesbian cabal supposedly running Helengrad"

Since when was Labour Left-Wing?

Craig Ranapia

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:47:04 +1200

sorry Craig, but the fact that the Listener has never bothered to tell its readers that Joanne Black's husband is Key's chief advisor rankles with me.

And Kathryn Street (who is now the PM's chief press secretary) didn't end every industrial relations or political story she filed as RNZ's chief…

Robyn Gallagher

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:45:34 +1200

you realise the truth about all the invitations you've received to sign up to Facebook, MySpace, Gnomeworld et al.

Three years ago some lady mistakenly emailed me thinking I could help her get one of the NZ Idol contestants to sing at her friends wedding.

Since then, I keep getting…

Tom Semmens

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:55:32 +1200

I wonder how the Listener's circulation is going just at the moment. Using my sure-fire circulation monitor (the number of copies left on the shelf on a Friday in my local Whitcoulls) the Listener seems in serious decline.

Pamela Stirling's apparent desire to take the Listener from the teacher's staff…

andrew llewellyn

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:50:21 +1200

Hang on, you added me as a Facebook friend automatically because of past correspondence? I'm gutted. I thought you liked me, you really liked me.

Yeah, when it says it's off to interrogate & invite all your contacts, including people you don't know but once emailed, or who once emailed you,…

Tom Beard

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:12:30 +1200

sorry Craig, but the fact that the Listener has never bothered to tell its readers that Joanne Black's husband is Key's chief advisor rankles with me.

And is Jane Clifton still with Murry McCully? It looks like what used to be magazine for leftish intellectuals is now being run by…

David Slack

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:58:33 +1200

I think National learnt from the last election that if they come out with a policy/election promise too soon then Labour will gazzump it.

It's their right to play it tactically, but it's my right to feel treated with disregard. The tactic they've chosen is probably safer, but you…

InternationalObserver

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:41:23 +1200

I don't really like an opposition who attacks the government for their policies and actions, but never puts anything concrete out as an alternative, always trotting out the line that their policy will be out by the election.

Well, duh. I think National learnt from the last election that if…

Max Call

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:01:54 +1200

Could you translate please – surely a ball is the same whichever way up it is?

Is this a serious question? Just in case it is.... turning the ball over refers to possession being given/awarded to the opposition. For example, if you knock the ball forward then possession would be…

Grant Robertson

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:56:58 +1200

sorry Craig, but the fact that the Listener has never bothered to tell its readers that Joanne Black's husband is Key's chief advisor rankles with me. It is a totally different matter from the employment of Kevin Taylor's partner at MFE. Black has written a specific piece about Key, which…

Joanna

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:56:20 +1200

Hang on, you added me as a Facebook friend automatically because of past correspondence? I'm gutted. I thought you liked me, you really liked me.

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:54:54 +1200

This isn't leadership, it's playing defense and waiting for the other team to turn the ball over so you can score.

Could you translate please – surely a ball is the same whichever way up it is?

David Ritchie

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:59:13 +1200

Argh: heckles = hackles.

Kyle Matthews

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:57:44 +1200

It's entirely negative, and offers nothing positive.

And where he does give…

David Ritchie

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:55:40 +1200

Craig — sorry for raise one's heckles so early in the day but to be honest I wasn't really aiming for anything particularly nasty (although I can see how it reads). I appreciate how small Wellington is. The question was actually an honest one. So, you know, chill.

Russell Brown

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:29:46 +1200

A wolf in Little Brother clothing?

That's genius.

Craig Ranapia

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:26:27 +1200

Oh, for fuck's sake, David – are you angling for a human resources position at the Environment Ministry? With all these male Mata Haris John Key is hiring nowadays, I have to wonder if he wants to be Prime Minister or run a male brothel.

David Ritchie

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:05:42 +1200

There are at least two articles about John Key on the Listener's website, both by Joanne Black: Mister Aspiration and (ho ho) Key Player. Isn't Black's partner one of Key's senior advisors?

andrew llewellyn

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:03:02 +1200

All this was on Facebook? Have you poked* Key yet? Bitten* him?

* Facebook jargon that I do not understand.

David Slack

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:52:25 +1200

On another note, this post is almost custom designed for TL;DR posts

That's why you don't get the lesbians and the gym offer until tomorrow :)

I'll lay you a lazy ten bucks that Idiot Savant, Peter Cresswell and Alistair Thompson have already read it through to the end, though.

Anorak

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:51:42 +1200

Hats off to Mathew Littlewood!
Critic, the last bastion of intelligent print journalism! (ok, I'm somewhat biased, but still, well done!).

Ben Austin

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:46:55 +1200

Very interesting article, it is good to see the Critic is making an effort still. I am impressed that he has toed the line re US involvement though, I would have thought it incrediably easy and rewarding to mutter a few "Bush out of Iraq, lol!" comments for any NZ…

Ian MacKay

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:13:28 +1200

Wow! A very large bite to digest. This is the best collection of information that I have read and genuine food for thought. The Listener feature was very vague and maybe that is because John is a bit vague yet. The question of privatisation will be the most telling. Thanks…

Public Address

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:13:27 +1200

Discussion from blog post.