Headline: A Matter of Whether John Key is Credible
Analysis by Selwyn Manning.
What National now fears the most is the expectation that all correspondence between the Prime Minister John Key’s advisor Jason Ede and Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater will be released.
That raw data (emails between Cam Slater and Jason Ede – a close advisor to the Prime Minister, a member of John Key’s inner circle of Beehive staff, and more latterly for the National Party) has its campaign strategists fearing the worst.
But the party’s biggest fear is, that once released, that data will once and for all destroy the credibility of John Key, his leadership style, and cause the public to question whether the Prime Minister can be taken at his word.
If the public forms that opinion, National’s ability to provide stable government, and honourable governance practice, is exhausted.
National Party sources say: to get National back on track, National’s campaign manager Steven Joyce, late on Wednesday, ordered that all MPs, candidates, and those door-knocking for National, not to discuss the Dirty Politics book with anyone.
By Friday, the message had become, talk up the economy, focus on the economy, talk up the expectation of tax cuts.
Why? Because National’s private polling data, according to sources, had revealed that National is seen by the majority of those polled to be the best at handling the economy.
That polling data suggested, among those polled, that National outstrips Labour two-to-one on that issue alone.
Even when news of economic failure is considered, on fiscal incompetency, on the mountain of Government debt which has been ratcheted up under National’s reign, those polled still express a belief that National is the best party to dig New Zealand out of the deep-debt-ditch that National itself has created.
Meanwhile, throughout this week, National’s campaign team has been busy preparing to unleash policy discussions on the economy, the handling of the economy, on taxation, tax cuts.
National has been chomping at the bit to get the discussion ‘off the Prime Minister’s credibility’ and back onto message.
Every day John Key is left standing alone, talking to journalists:
- about whether he lied;
- trying to convince the nation what he says he really said;
- attempting to explain whether he was or was not briefed personally by the Director of Security Dr Warren Tucker about a release of intelligence information to hit-blogger Cameron Slater;
- trying to explain that when he said in 2011 that he was briefed… the words “me” and “I” and “he” etc etc etc didn’t mean that ‘he’ personally was told but that his office was told.
And when the inevitable question follows: ‘Well who was briefed by the Director of Security? John Key replies that ‘no’ his chief of staff wasn’t told, and no he cannot say who was told, if anyone – all of that exhausts an opportunity for the National Party to get back on message and talk up the economy.
National sees discussion on the economy as its savior, while realising it is weak when explaining issues of John Key’s credibility.
It has discovered that when the public is polled on child poverty, education, health, foreign affairs, the environment, even security and law and order, the public is favorable to consider what the lead opposition bloc parties, Labour and the Greens, have to say.
National’s plan now is to focus on housing, to attempt to erode Labour’s solution to the Auckland housing crisis.
On Monday morning, National will visit the Weymouth housing development in South Auckland. On Monday afternoon, National will visit the Hobsonville housing development north of Auckland. Its message will be to connect housing policy to the economy and squeeze out the opposition parties.
Intelligence is vital. This week, the regularity of National’s polling has climbed to fever-pitch proportions. It is polling extensively every day.
That polling has revealed, according to sources, a shift in public mood.
Last weekend, the public seemed to have reserved its opinion on whether John Key, members of his staff, and members of his National Party, were really directing a network of shadowy characters – providing them with information designed to destroy their opponents.
By Friday, that polling was showing people had begun to change their minds, they had begun to believe John Key was covering stuff up, that his assurances were sounding hollow, and more people even considered it likely that he was lying to them.
Door knockers reporting back to their campaign handlers, who in train were feeding that information back to their campaign data crunchers, had identified a pattern where people all over the country were beginning to change their minds. It is still too early for National to accurately discover the true extent of its damage, but it fears it may end up driving its popular support down below 45 percent. Some say anything below 47 percent means it will no longer be able to govern.
More concerning for National is this fact: the Prime Minister’s credibility and leadership has become the focus pursued by sensible journalists at this stage of the election campaign.
And even more concerning for it, is the matter of John Key’s credibility that has also become the key issue consuming the minds of voters as they prepare consider how to express their ticks on Polling Day.
Credibility is perhaps the most unexpected element so far in this campaign. That John Key’s credibility has been questioned is most surprising. For National, it was the most prized jewel in the Team Key treasure chest. But now it has become perhaps its weakest link.
After all, John Key is responsible for the conduct of all those working within his office. Is he serving the public interest in not discussing what should be done with key advisors like Jason Ede? Should John Key explain and detail his own discussions with Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater, and state on record what those conversations were about?
John Key now stands alone as the leader of his Government, the leader of the National Party, the person responsible as the Minister in charge of Ministerial Services – the employer of all those men occupying Beehive offices under the names of an array of ministers. Some of them, it has come to be known, have been practicing the dark art of deceitful politics in John Key’s name.
Should they be hung out to dry or spared? It is John Key alone who can save them, or condemn them all.
But, in reality, John Key is the last man standing, he speaks directly to the reasonably minded New Zealand voter. From this platform they will be asked to judge for themselves whether their Prime Minister is credible… or not.
Game on, or game over, they will be the judge.
—
This MIL analysis was first published on LiveNews.co.nz.
—
FJK!
He has told too many lies – not just this one!
Opinion.
Excellent post.
I have noticed this week for example that National tactics are avoiding media, like the plague if they can, who question them on the Hagar book.
Since Guyon Espiner mauled Key early this week, Key has refused to come on the programme. The same applies to Campbell Live it appears, for all National Party spokesmen. It seems absurd that a politician, at election time, would shy away from free coverage, but it’s happening. Collins has all but disappeared off the face of the earth and her absence was mocked by Morning Report this week where voters were sought out in her electorate and asked if they had seen her recently.
I’ve also noticed that the Heralds John Armstrong and more so John Roughan are now trying to paint a picture that this little side-show has blown itself out and there’s nothing to see here. But it ignores the cold reality of Hager’s book that National have gone way beyond the pale to win this election and to shut down any decent and have been extremely Jekyll and Hyde in the way they treat the voting public.
Anyone reasonable person reading Dirty Politics should lose all trust in National and be demanding no repeat of this in any form from any future government.
Yes. And lets make sure we never let a ‘banker’ be in charge of our country again!
“Democracy is when the indigent and not the men of property are rulers” Aristotle
Yes it is a worry when it is ” the cost of every thing and the value of nothing” that governs .
John Key has undermined the faith and respect given him by the NZ voter with his lack of truthful actions now obvious planned & carried out as “black op’s” by him & his office with others..
We must remember that during every election John Key has said his policies are tested at the poll first before implementing.
He has not added any resolutions to resolve future occurrences of dirty politics.
The Press, and Opposition members must bring this issue into the debate during the final 4 weeks of this election.
To do any less would be to abandon the democracy our forefathers fought and died to keep for us all.
“The Price of Democracy & Freedoms is constant vigilance.”
This vital important point has to be challenged by our only voice and some brave Journalists and the opposition parties.
I absolutely agree – we must hear, over the next four weeks; what the various parties intend to do, to prevent ‘dirty politics’ in the future.
This MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN. This means new legislation at the very fundamental core of our democracy – to protect it and the citizens of New Zealand in the future.
It means saying “No!” to the Federal Reserve banking system.
Possibly print so much money that it becomes useless as a tool for the Federal Reserve, and our own tiny banks to use against us.
And then repent and wait for Jesus to come and get us.
if we go to a gold standard, nationalize Newmont gold in waihi ( who pay virtually no royalties ) dig up our own wealth. End of problem.
Here’s another link that raises more issues about Key’s credibility and his association with the business dealings of Cactus Cate. http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-prime-minister-john-key-the-whale-oil-blog-and-international-organized-crime.html
The agenda – culture if you will – is always set at the top.
I’ve seen this truth manifest in my lifetime time and time again. Whether in sport, religion, the workforce, and especially in politics. And at the top of politics is the person who sets the agenda, the culture, the example for the country in so many ways.
That’s the P.M.
And the Key agenda – culture – is increasingly insidious and dishonest.
That is desperately sad. New Zealand deserves much better than that from our leader.
Let’s hope it gets that person in a few weeks time because it certainly hasn’t got him right now.
David Fisher in the herald says they have another source of leaks from the same dos incident on Slater’s drives.
Confirms ip addresses with names in ministers offices. They may be about to spoil the Nats election launch.
I’m just annoyed that it’s taken so long to reveal John Key for the car-salesman he is. I’ve been astounded at the poll results that kept telling the country that key is the bomb.
I used to work for two leading polls, the Heylen Research Bureau, (which was found, later to be associated with the CIA, and also Hanna Barbera, which was responisble for Muldoon’s cossack cartoons.) And the National Research Bureau.
I can’t go in to detail here, but the polls are not what they seem, and the people who are interviewed are not random, they are targeted.
We’re living in exciting times, everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what’s going to happen next. All I want is justice for a well-deceived country.
You need to expand on your comment that polls are not what they seem, otherwise I am not able to judge whether what you say is correct or not.
I’ve read “Dirty Politics”. These people are repulsive. I say to everyone, vote the shites out. And put all other parties on notice that we won’t tolerate that sort of behavior from any of them.
When I received this book I thought to myself, easy peasy 160 pgs more or less, being an avid reader I will conquer this in no time. 6 days later I am only half way through. The contents are very disturbing, to say the least, and I find after a while I have to put the book down, go away to calm down as I digest what I have just read. Calming down and an abatement of anger is just not happening. The contents, and the actions of the participants, have just blown my mind and removed me from any safe little paradigm I was previously living in.
What I also find distressing is that while reading through the screeds of emails, in particular between Slater, Lusk and Bhatnagar, these guys come across as if they truly believe they themselves are running the country from behind the scenes, the arrogant talk of policies that they want in place, the people they want to put in place to implement their “policies”. Frighteningly they have managed to have influence where they shouldn’t have. Their egos are terribly frightening and narcissistic in nature and the only conclusion I can draw is that they are all barking mad…it’s all a bit too scary for me, however I will continue to read the book in its entirety, no matter how much duress/stress it puts me under. I am just saddened that there are so many people who are willing to either ignore this book and what it uncovers by refusing to read it or worse, having read the contents, are still willing to ignore it. I can only sit here and simply shake my head at their lack of caring and wonder where their own moral compasses are set.
One last point, even though only halfway through I have to wonder why even from what I have read, surely there are grounds for some forms of investigation as in my mind there are so many things that are just wrong, wrong, wrong on a legal standing.
Hey Selwyn, they are “screwed”!
Just look up this:
https://twitter.com/johnkeypm/status/503031488909037568/photo/1
NOTHING positive tweeted to and about Key now, which is on his twitter account, published via their website. It seems to have been “turned off” 5 hours ago!
The polls are LYING!
All Key and National have to do is ‘come clean’, beg forgiveness and fire a few scapegoats. Do it shortly before election day so there is not time to reveal it as BS. The ones who want to believe will and they will vote.
This is why it is so important to work for better parties now and make sure to get out the vote.
It’s not in the Nat’s genes, they want to control us not give in, we have seen this time and time again.
Not convinced?
Take this, We sent 54 emails over four years to five ministers at the same time, one being the Prime Minister.
Result = three short replies and none came from Key, so our Community Group have now lodged under the official information act a request for receipt of all emails and there has been no response yet.
Countless times ask for resolutions to our public issues and were ignored so what would you think?
They wont work with communities, and you saw this in ChCh right.
They don’t care about us all, we don’t count.
Tonight Judith Collins “led” the TV news, not in a positive way, and many will have asked, how the hell can she go about as if nothing happened, and attend some function on the Pakistan independence day in Wellington?
The arrogance, the audacity, the short shift to media, who the hell does she think she is? And Key does not dare to move, same as not in the case of Ede, that highly questionable, yes despicable character the National Party still employ in their party’s top ranks.
This will spell the death of the Nats this election, Key is held ransom by the ones that abused power, and he looks like a whimp and a liar now.
I think national s new spin is she will pay after the election ,I’ve seen it said twice today. Key s in on all of it of that I have no doubt
Interesting. Spoke to a person today who has been a National supporter (a local tradesman, who I sometimes ask for his perception on political matters).
His views on Key were unflattering and there was a real vehemance in his voice. Though he couched his disgust by saying,
“Well they’re all lying bastards.”
– – it was obvious he was focused on Key’s performance. There was little doubt in his mind that he thought Key was outright lying.
What that translates to when he enters the ballot cublicle is anyone’s guess.
But on top of that are two women who I spoke with last week. Both were apolitical. “Th” had never voted in her life, “An” voted thye way her hubby did (National).
“Th” surprised us by asking how she went about voting! I ask her what suddenly motivated her. Her response; she has seen the video on TV3 where Key had been denying everying (http://www.3news.co.nz/Video-John-Key-talks-Nicky-Hagers-Dirty-Politics/tabid/1607/articleID/356848/Default.aspx) and she was angry. She could pick him lying even though she was as apolitical as they come.
One more vote for Labour/Greens/Mana.
“Ant” was the same – she’s seen Key on that TV3 segment, and though she wasn’t familiar with the Hager book, she said she could pick Key lying – especially at the end of the video segment.
She is thinking of voting for Labour this time. (Just won’t tell her hubby.)
Question is: will people believe him even if he does?
And the questions remain;
1. What will he do about Judith Collins?
2. Why did Cameron Slater get OIAs so quickly?
3. If he’s not responsible for SIS briefings – who is? And how does this sit with National’s ideology of taking responsibility?
As they say, once he starts explaining, he’s lost the argument.
I’m now wondering what Whaledump has in store for the same day as National’s campaign launch? If Whaledump is as clever as I hope they are, they will have saved the best for last…
Regardless, it’s game over for Key.
National will drop to low/mid 40s, and they will lose the election.
In fact, I think they already lost. If Key has some spare time between now and September 20, he’ll be drafting his concession speech.
Pretty confident there tiger. Will Joe 6 Pack really care that much? When will They tire of the faux outrage and wonder where the content is. Not seeing this as a “game over” as you say, moment. There are a lot of sandwiches left to eat.
Is this ede? really? ‘joe six pack’?
Ah, give him some credit. He managed to make it through two sentences without a single sports analogy except for the one he quoted by someone else.
Hi Frank,
Key will be setting up another raid on our dollar as he leaves?
Or talking to his foreign currency raider mate in New York Alex Krieger who in 1987 raided in partnership to undermine the NZ economy, via the sinking of our currency and he will attack as he is shoved out you can bet.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2008/11/10/financial-markets/keys-house
John Key is living proof that not all heads of derivatives operations for large US investment banks end up in the dog house. Some get to run their own country.
Key was elected prime minister of New Zealand last weekend after his National Party achieved a crushing victory over the incumbent Labour government of Helen Clark.
The timing of his elevation, in the midst of a financial crisis, may be quite prophetic. After all, Key’s rise to prominence in foreign exchange circles came after he struck a rewarding relationship at Bankers Trust with Andy Krieger, a daring New York-based trader who launched a legendary raid against the NZ dollar in 1987.
Krieger reportedly bet more than the country’s entire money supply against the currency, forcing it down sharply and taking massive profits in what is still described as one of the finest forex plays ever completed.
This is deeply concerning, considering the real state of debt in this country now.
ShonKey stated New Zealander’s aren’t interested and don’t care about ‘Dirty Politics’. Another lie to be added to the many deceptions of our two-faced CEO! The dark arts employed by him et al. are an affront and direct threat to our Democracy. . .
Thanks to Nicky Hager for making us see ShonKey’s public image is just as false and fake as that world famous ‘100% Pure NZ’ slogan. Desperate times indeed as ShonKey & his team tries frantically to save face as his Teflon persona starts to flake and crack.
ShonKey is an abject failure in his role as Prime Minister. He has been derelict in duty on many occasions; particularly in failing to take responsibility for keeping his administration in order – turning a blind eye and employing plausible deniability to distance himself from the stench of immoral and illegal acts committed within his administration.
The TRUTH will set us free – Fuck John Key!
Great article, thanks.
It sounds like Labour, Greens and IMP now need to hammer home the TRUTH about National’s appalling mismanagement of the economy compared to the previous Labour Greens govt and how National have ENABLED house prices to become unaffordable for a record number of New Zealanders ?
Let the daily email releases crucify Key and his inner circle for the next 30 days, while the left parties educate voters on the economy using lots of nice graphs and statistics…
Failed National economic policies while no benefits from selling our country’s assets and farmland.
National has sold all our assets and now allowing our productive land to be sold now.
The facts show that National has in six years allowed the sale of a million hectares of farmland.
Of the 8 million hectares we have of farmland another million was sold during the previous 24 years so we have lost one quarter of our land to foreigners in 30yrs.
Key has sold half of that 2 billion now sold in just the last 6 yrs.’ of the last thirty years.
by 2018 Key will have sold over half of our farmland to foreigners then making us tenants in our own land, another lie he said he would never allow.
Please get rid of the carpetbagger Government by voting positive and voting for all opposition Parties of your choice to boot these merchants that want to sell our country out from under all our feet while lying.
The Key government have borrowed 69 Billion in just six years also and only got 5 billion for the sale of our assets against our will, this is failed economics.
Cleangreen, you will of course follow these figures up with hard and fast data…there is also that nagging question of whether you were involved in the sale of any of that land. Lochinver was on the market for over 14 months, we all had a chance to buy it fair and square.
Mike@NZ – your willingness to sell valuable farmland, and the loss of income streams, at a time when the planet’s human population is fast approaching nine billion – is noted.
I question though, the sanity of your ideology, which enriches others; drives up our Balance of Payments deficit; and pushes farmland out of reach of New Zealanders.
Aside from dogma, I see very little benefit in what your are proposing. In fact, I call it economic lunacy.
Mr Macskasy,
The world population approaching 9 billion has nothing to do with who owns the land, but the fact that the land is valuable does. Cleangreen states that the land was “virtually worthless” and “a dessert” (sic) until the Stevenson family took ownership. It was through their foresight and determination that the land was transformed into the relatively productive and balanced farm that it is today.
I am surprised that in this day and age there are still statist control freaks in our midst that would deny the Stevenson family the compensation they deserve for a job well done. If it was a run down house in city limits or a large company employing 100 people that was transformed by way of major improvements, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid unless jobs were at stake.
I am well aware of the price of farmland in New Zealand, in fact one could say I have first hand experience of its price to value ratio. I am also aware that it has a reputation as a secure and profitable investment. The best gains in owning farmland have traditionally been made, as in housing, by steady and predictable capital gain. That will not happen on anywhere near the scale it has in the past due to 2 generic and one specific reason, namely…
1) cheap money. Interest rates on borrowed money have recently been the lowest ever. The cheaper it is to borrow money, the more we can afford to pay for the same servicing costs. And 2) volume of money. We are moving out of a market where secure capital gain and a plentiful supply of money to lend have allowed consumers to borrow up to 100% (and in some cases more) of the value of the asset. That will cease to happen (note the deposit needed to borrow for a home now). And the specific reason concerning Lochinver? The huge amount of development already done. There is a lot less of a chance of good capital gain on buying land already developed and costing top dollar to buy……..unless a portion of it is converted to dairy, which the new owners have declared to the OIO as their intention.
So wow, another dairy farm on the Napier/Taupo road. Unforgiving land and a short growing season, but at least it is not in the Taupo catchment.
But another conversion would mean jobs, export income, and increased local rates takes.
And what of the $70 million paid to the Stevensons? They plan to use it to further invest in the roading and civil construction side of their business which will inevitably …shock-horror….create jobs and increase productivity.
So the farm is now owned by the Chines, and you confirm it is to be used to grow milk.
So now that Oravida has been set up as the milk exporter/importer for NZ-China milk, then Fonterra won’t get a cent of revenue from this dairy farm.
And the point is – from the Chinese point of view – to use their own Chinese staff to learn farming, and fill all the job vacancies. However we may find a few kiwis being paid minimal wage to work in their own milk factory her in NZ!
The Chinese are currently on the big mission to grow all their own products – no matter what that product may be – in other countries, thereby cutting out the middleman – in this case NZ.
Why didn’t you bother to tell the whole story Mike@NZ?
Now this takes us back to the FJC and FJK lies!
Sounds to me like you are a Nat supporter – just because of your deceptions.
Opinion.
Mistery, Oh so negative!
Can you please tell me where I can confirm that all milk exported and imported through China is handled solely by Oravida, I was not aware of that.
Sometimes I wonder why most of the regulars to this blog bother to even get up in the morning. Everyone is so down, so negative and so cynical. It must take a lot of willpower and energy to hate so much and to be so enraged at the success of positive and energetic people.
The whole story? I’ll tell you the bit that is exciting to me.
New Zealand has built a reputation as the most efficient producer of dairy products in the world. Dairy exports are worth in excess of $20 billion. For every export dollar, there is a value-add component all the way through our local economy, providing local and provincial jobs, income and infrastructure that positively effects everyone, either directly or indirectly.
China is a huge market. Demand for dairy products is exceeding supply and that supply/demand gap is expected to grow. China presently imports 25% of its total needs but that would have to increase to 30% by 2020, when they would have a supply/demand gap of 20 million tonnes, the equivalent of New Zealand’s total annual production.
NZ will face competition, especially from countries looking to offload product after Russia’s ban on imported goods from Western countries, but we were the first to sign a free trade agreement with China (courtesy of the last Labour govt) so are a preferred supplier.
Domestic milk production growth in China has almost stalled after the melamine scare and as they address other quality issues. One in 5 cows in China are part of a 1000 cow-plus herd as large scale corporate farms become accepted as the way forward, but the other 4 out of 5 cows are mostly sole cows belonging to peasant farmers. The big Chinese farms are paid about twice as much for raw milk as NZ farmers and considerably more than the EU and the US farmers, due to government subsidies and production incentives, meaning their domestic industry is becoming less competitive and dairy expansion in China is becoming cost prohibitive.
The whole story is that of a country at the top of its game producing milk products for another country with the wherewithal to pay for a world class top quality product produced via a mainly all grass system.
Get on board…These are exciting times!
Mike@nz
No need already been posted elsewhere two weeks ago using Government sourced statistics no less.
But remember that when Lochinvar was developed we were actually physically watching this “groundbreaking” Government assisted pilot project very carefully as Mega taxpayers funding and Government agencies were used to get the farmland into a productive state.
To understand the history of this part of the central North Island terrain the soil was virtually worthless at the time as nothing would grow in that volcanic pumice ground called a dessert by all during the 1950’s.
And what now has become such a controversy is that so much public money went into the development of the first productive farm along the Rangitikei plateau and went to a NZ Family but now a Chinese Government agency?
This is again unacceptable result of our NZ taxpayers funding to benefit foreign ownership?
Cleangreen, I remember those development subsidy schemes. Dark days. The days of big government thinking they know how to spend our money better than we did, using taxpayers money to pick winners. All in the name of increasing export earnings (read tax revenue). Not dissimilar to Jim Andertons scheme in the 2000’s.
The problem with sourcing your land owner information from government statistics or the OIO is that there isn’t a government agency that holds seller information, only buyer information. In other words, they only know who’s bought land, but not who has subsequently sold it. So a farm may have been sold to a foreigner a few years ago and the transaction recorded with the OIO. But if that land is later sold to New Zealand interests, the OIO has no interest in what is now a ‘local’ sale, so that land is still on their register as overseas owned. A case in point, Lillybank Station and 5 star resort on the shores of Lake Tekapo. Once owned by the Soharto family, now reverted back to New Zealand ownership.
So I can confirm from local government NZ records that just over 1% of NZ farmland is foreign owned. But who knows….they might not conclusively know either!
I just wonder how many NZ houses, hotels, businesses, or even brand names (eg. Fisher & Paykel) are foreign owned and whether that is a problem to you. Or is it a case of ‘oh yeah but that’s different.’
This issue has next to nothing to do with National Party policy.
For the record, there was more farmland sold in to foreign ownership under the 1999 to 2008 Labour government than at any other time. Not a dig, just a statistical fact. When leader David Cunliffe was challenged on this he acknowledged it as being correct and asked that we forget about that because that was in the past, and the party have now moved on and decided on a different approach.
I had a laugh when I saw this take on the National Party ad. It really demonstrates the direction Whale Oil is taking the National Party. (http://youtu.be/NocRyahDGVo)
Well…I agree with virtually all of the above . However ,…the struggle could be more actually against those in the country who value ‘ stability ‘ .
Stability .
Which is a false concept under FJK and his party.
I have a feeling that because there are many rank and file Joe Publics who have a mortgage out there…this includes all the baby boomers who own rentals ….the perception is ….that if there is a change in govt – to an ‘unstable ‘ govt….then interest rates will rise and our international credit may drop…..
If there is truth in this…it would bear out the willingness not to make waves…..to tolerate a corrupt govt in exchange for this …..financial ‘stability’.
A willingness to deliberately believe the lie about a ‘rockstar’ economy and deliberately ignore the 250,000 kids in poverty….the low wage economy….the fact that the ‘rockstar’ economy lie is simply propaganda and bullshit.
Its happened before….in Germany during the 1930’s…people tolerated the rising levels of racial abuse , of ever increasing ‘strangeness in high places’ that was going on…ie: burning of the Riechstag etc… strange new govt laws passed to curtail certain ‘enemies of the state’…..and still the people just accepted this….becuase they wanted above all else, …a sense of ‘stability ‘.
There were some who were dissenters….but they were silenced in camps as subversives, media that opposed it were threatened, some editors were assasinated…etc etc..
But the people tolerated all this because……of…… ‘stability ‘….economic and political ‘stability ‘….there is ‘nothing to see here, move along ‘ .
On a lesser scale we see the same dynamics happening here…the militarism is far more subtle….instead of gestapo or brownshirts….we have the GSCB, the Five Eye Spy Network , TPPA , TSA,………far less obvious but equally as insidious…complete with the admonishions of ‘ if youve done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide ‘….that is their selling point to us.
Are we that different from the common folk of Germany – or any other people? ….is that not what politicians know the populations want to be hear and be reassured with? ….that everything is under control. We dont have to worry . Our great and glorious leaders are beyond human and in them we can trust.
I think so. I think that is at the core of the govt deflections of corruption aimed at them this election. Many of the same conditions apply …but on a smaller scale…the compliant media…the reticence for any real inquiry with teeth and any real serious consequences…the ease of fobbing off those dissenting voices…those voices that patently are right in their surmising that wrongdoing has been an on going and serious thing in the highest offices in the land.
I think that in the decision to trade for a percieved ‘stability’ , the people are quite prepared to believe a lie.
And yet ….the very fact that there is such a narrow margin for many peoples financial circumstances ..a lack of discretionary marginal incomes for many…the fact that there are so many negative paradoxes about this ‘rockstar economy’ ….such grinding poverty in a ‘low wage economy’ whereby even our own Minister of Finance says ‘ We should be glad we have a low wage economy becuase it encourages overseas investment’…
Such an insult to the working poor , those in casualised jobs , students , suppressed regional communities , the unemployed…
One would think….that people could see the through all the spin and propaganda…wieghing up all the good alternatives and policies of other parties , particually of the Left , and with that , demand explanations from this immoral and corrupt govt….
I believe alot of it we can pin on ourselves – that WE have let this situation develop…WE have enabled this corruption – and CHOSEN to believe it…in return for ‘stability’….
I think its a mirage…unfortunately – if left unchecked…and left to develop exponentially over the next 20 years…we may……slowly , and surely , …start to ressemble more and more the German nation of the 1930’s.
And we will only have ourselves to blame.
A superbly insightful piece, thank you.
Correction
In the year’s before this Key Government one Billion not one (million) as I said, was sold to foreigners before Key Government in the 24 yrs.’ previously.
This clearly shows Key has sold our farmland four times as fast as any previous Government, in the time frame of just six years.
So If they want to stay in Government till 2018 we will have lost over half our farmland to foreigners, and this is the real danger our future generations will suffer from which will be alienation in their own land by Key.
This is looking like this Government is causing deliberate wholesale of our entire future. … Genocide?
[…] – National are so terrified by a free fall in internal polling that Steven Joyce has told all candidates to not talk about Dirty Politics when it gets brought up in doo…. Polling tells National that the sleepy hobbits of NZ are pretty thick and believe that despite […]
More lies from National are in his statements that they are in surplus!
This is a bald lie, as we are only in surplus by 200 million but Key has increased our debt from 20 billion to over 80 Billion under his watch.
They are just lying and playing with figure and concealing others.
So he is not saying anything about our deficit growing from 20 billion to 9 billion uder his administration is he?
More lies, and if I have made errors between millions and billions in the farmland debate, my head is spinning around this increased amount of crown debt.
What used to be millions virtually before Key to many billions now while Key is still borrowing 300 million every week since 2008.
[…] – National are so terrified by a free fall in internal polling that Steven Joyce has told all candidates to not talk about Dirty Politics when it gets brought up in doo…. Polling tells National that the sleepy hobbits of NZ are pretty thick and believe that despite […]
The National political broadcast was APPALLING, and focuses on the now tawdry prime minister spouting money, economy and more money.
Who will trust him now? Not anyone who’s following the Hager book.
I especially don’t like their education policies.
The unasked question through all of this is—“What are you going to sell next, john, that you aren’t telling us about?”
The TPPA.
The TPPA which will inevitably force us to eat…. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726545/Don-t-let-Americans-hormones-pesticides-dinner-warns-Jamie-Oliver-launches-latest-food-offensive.html
poisons.
Hahahahaha, so he’s coming to look at the housing development in Weymouth is he? The forecast 1200 houses? The reality?, 5 houses built before the contractors up tools and walked, what a joke.
I’m not too sure who this Tom Bradford is but he sure talks a lot of sense.
Tom Bradford
August 22, 2014 at 5:34 pm
The commentor who asks ““why Key would authorise his operatives to conduct a dirty tricks campaign when its both unnecessary and could blow up in his face. Its high risk low reward behavious”, is assuming Key is a politician and thinks like one. He isn’t. He began a career in the foreign exchange market in New Zealand before moving overseas to work for Merrill Lynch, in which he became head of global foreign exchange in 1995, a position he would hold for six years. In 1999 he was appointed a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until leaving in 2001. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Key). He entered Parliament as a National MP in 2002 and became its leader in 2006 – that is from nothing to leader of a major political party in four years, which is what having a personal fortune of $50 million or so can do for you on the Right Wing of a small, isolated, somewhat parochial nation.
IMHO Key as Prime Minister has never had anything to do with serving the public and country, and everything to do with serving John Key’s ego. I consider him a classic narcissist who will risk a very great deal in responding to slights and attacks that dent his ego and both believes (or at least believed) that he would never be caught out, which is the answer to the question set above.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-prime-minister-john-key-the-whale-oil-blog-and-international-organized-crime.html#comments
Also might have an astonishingly large amount to do with being a stooge of the Mont Pelerin society……
Oscar Wilde pointed out that “Irony is wasted on the stupid”. Which pretty much well sums up anyone who still believes the arguments put forward by John Key in defence of the facts laid out for all to see in the Dirty Politics book.
John Key’s relationship with the truth and his cynical manipulation of fact’s has always been a constant source of Irritation for me personally speaking, and I helped vote him in.
Any right minded National Party supporter should take a serious look at his behavior over the years and listen to their instincts. It’s better to be governed by an experienced person with honesty and integrity than a Dishonest and untrustworthy rogue with morals or principals. Such as the person that John Key has proven to be. He is in my opinion an incurable and ” Pathological Liar” with fewer redeeming qualities than the clear and present danger he represents to Our Democracy.
All I can ask another person to do, Is to pay closer attention to his constant attempts to dodge the truth. Think about past incidents such as the cynical way in which they thew Fonterra under the bus during the passage of the GCSB bill to distract negative attention. Then ask yourself Can this man really be trusted to Lead this country, and what happens to us as a Nation once his luck runs out and his lies come back to bite us on the butt?
He’s got us so deep in debt already that it will take a generation to clear it. The TPPA & TISA could destroy us
The New Zealand public rate National’s economic management twice as much as Labour. That’s a belief that needs dispelling. Hager’s next book?
Key’s economic creed is G.R.E.E.D. get rich eviscerating democracy. The nats.are economic illiterates as are most economic commentators.The govt.debt is not the problem but private debt is always the killer.Whoever wins the election is going to inherent a mortgage time bomb.It will go of under the false believe that a govt. surplus is good and a govt. deficit is bad One thing the neo liberals have be really clever at is inverting the meaning of the language.Govt. deficits support our desires to save,profits etc.Like taxation dosen’t raise revenue per se.
Comments are closed.