One of his PR reps was invited to a pacific ccruise upon which he asked if he could invite family and extended family

No worries came the reply. A few more on board and no ones the wiser.

The media is simply not going to report on the king and he basically has a free reign most politicians can only envy.

..some things never ‘change’..

..tho’..he must be hurting..

..wot with the emasculation of his beloved right..

..the dreams have all turned to dust..

(and english was on agenda this morn..

..whoar..!..had everyone forgotten how feckin’ boring he is..?

..i really really tried..(these are important times/issues..after all..)

..but i kept slipping away..eyes glazing over..mind numbing./freezing..

..as the soporific words of the english washed over me..

..and sent me into a light coma..

(..and three more years of this..!…eh..?

whoar..!..

..english will bore us all into a brain-recession..)

phil(whoar.co.nz)

“Of course I am in no way criticising the process of democracy or New Zealanders’ right to throw out the best government we’ve had in years because we happen to be a bit bored, but you might as well know I’ve never voted National.”

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-election-2008/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501799&objectid=10543281

What an arrogant little man. He sounds just like Chris Trotter. (No, Don, that’s not a compliment.) And the comment from his daughter is just priceless.

Project Protector??? If so, who’s to blame – Burton and/or Goff?

Or something else?

He and National strategists must be aware that at the very farthest extent of the anti-labour swing, they only have a majority of a few seats under MMP.

So taking the opportunity of throwing a few crumbs and offering a few baubles to the Maori party now is a good investment in a future when they might need Maori party support.

So it is an intelligent move but not exactly ushering in the Age of Aquarius.

Indeed slightlyrighty. However this global situation is most unusual in its potential and urgency. It concerns me that while Key has rapidly formed an MMP-style coalition as yet he has given no solace to the markets nor to business that he recognises the criticality of the situation.

Either:
a) I’m wrong, which means a lot of other NZ and overseas commentators are also wrong
b) He’s trying to display a calm demeanor amidst the coming storm, understandable and wise
c) He doesn’t agree with the analysis and forecasts, viewing this as a mere cyclical issue.

The 3rd alternative is the one he either has to dispel or endorse. At least then we know where we stand. That’s why I’ve been saying since his election last week he needs to clarify his position and he’s had 6 days already. The markets are more skittish than they’ve ever been and Key more than most understands uncertainty is the enemy of stability.

If his position is in the second alternative then that still could have been achieved by acknowledging the need for an action plan while reserving his options, which would have given the markets some certainty.

It’s a big job the young man has been thrust into and one can understand his hesitation as he’s still assimilating his advisor’s advice. The PM however has to rise above that and part of that image is being seen to be decisive. So far JK has not proven such on this particular front but he needs to be, very quickly.

Key has been Prime Minister Elect for one week.

He is not the PM yet. I look forward to robust and reasoned debate from some in the next few months, and the usual bile from the usual suspects, but lets wait until we see the results of the post election positioning.

Let’s hope so….

Getting both the Maori Party and ACT to coordinate with National, does mean that any reforms or controversial economic moves has greater buyin. In effect, Key may be preparing the political ground for some careful economic manouvers.

Perosnally I don’t know, and the signs can be interpreted both as a Labour-lite or as a more sustained change in economic direction.

I think though goodgod there is a welcome recognition that the policies of the past did not help the Maori people assimilate into the Western mainstream. I’m glad Maori themselves are finally recognising that they bring many of their problems upon themselves, however I’m also glad there’s increasingly widespread recognition that Maori do think and approach issues in a completely different way to that of Caucasians and for that matter Asians and Africans. For Maori, the model whereby they are given resources and given the freedom to determine themselves how to use them, appears to work. For Caucasians it would not be the best but for Maori it does indeed appear to be that way.

The chip on their shoulder is gradually being loosened although some such as Mair refuse to relinquish it perhaps because it gives such people a raison d’etre. However even when you look at the actions of the radicals of the 80’s you see a softening and perhaps we would have all been better off had we listened and thought more carefully about the rationale behind what they were saying rather than do what many of us including myself did at the time during the 80’s and 90’s, which was to write off their comments as mere disaffection with a system that seemed to be perfectly OK.

… please show me where Key said he would cut the public service. I suspect you won’t be able to. What Key and National have said is that they would cap the Public Service at its present level and look to achieve efficiencies.

…But don’t parrot newspaper headlines to me as statements of fact when they aren’t.

So you want a secretly recorded personal conversation?

translation: “Don’t prove anything to me I’m not listening! la la la da da da la la la I can’t hear you!”

You know exactly what “achieve efficiencies” means. You’re probably one of the aforementioned lefties deluding themselves they’re on the right. No one on the right would be applauding Key’s moves so far and only the deluded think you get one nation by giving special treatment to one group based on race.

Anyone who recognises the real situation we’re facing, Ruth.

So far, there has been no acknowledgement from anyone apart from Cullen’s release of the Treasury document but that was done for political purposes so discount that. I have never and will never give Cullen the time of day, he was one of the worst Finance Ministers we’ve ever had due to the damage he did by omission, not commission. Not that the immediate history will agree with that conclusion but it will be made eventually.

As many including myself have been saying for some time, we desperately need a robust public debate on developing a strategy to deal with this crisis. Most NZer’s have no idea what’s happening globally and one can only hope Key will on his return from the APEC meeting announce the beginnings of such a process. Weldon and Skilling have already begun, those two know what’s happening.

It’s way past time to relegate politics to a secondary position relative to this critical issue. This nation is going to have huge unemployment – in the hundreds of thousands with no jobs available and this will last for years, believe it. Talk about corrections and cycles is completely pointless. Robust critical discussion of the available options is not only wise, it’s imperative, regardless of whether or not some of the people in the power structure recognise that.

The one that the economic theory and evidence says is current.

The reality is that citizens of First World countries expect a certain level of government services. They expect the government to build and maintain infrastructure for a start.

It is simply not politically feasible (and it never will be) to reduce the level of services we have in any significant way. The NZ people will not stand for it. And as result, the whole thrust of the Austrian movement is rendered incoherent.

It is not grounded in any sort of economic reality and is therefore useless.

As an aside, a huge number of economists seem to find the time to blog – which indicates to me that they are part of academia and are not wealthy. Key is. Whose judgment do you prefer?

What I suspect will happen is that Government departments will be put under a microscope and where there is indentified fat it will be cut out by either (a) natural attrition or (b) redeployed to fill vacancies as they occur.

Obivious candidates are the TEC and Families Commission. There are others.

I would like to see the Finance & Expenditure Cttee given that task undder the Chair oF Roger Douglas.

But don’t parrot newspaper headlines to me as statements of fact when they aren’t.

p.s. Whats the Party with one more seat than ACT??????????????

still nice and chilly? ..eh .

So the poor Melons are the bridesmaids again…eh,
you Melons better watch it Phil, you are starting to look like spinsters…eh,

desperate and dateless … eh.

I think National are making a bold move by including the Maori Party into government, I hope it works out, it it doesn’t it could set race relations back for years. If it does work out many of the problems of the Maori could be history and perhaps we can be one people in a united country.