Woodham on Langley
May 9th, 2010 at 7:58 am by David FarrarKerre Woodham writes:
Was it his throbbing haemorrhoids or a brutal case of jetlag after the long flight home?
Whatever it was, something was riling Dr John Langley when he churned out his mean-spirited, nasty little attack on John Key.
I have wondered about this also. What was the motivation to submit an op ed attacking the Prime Minister in such personal terms?
Even if one concedes Langley thought Key made the wrong call, why would you communicate that impression through a public op ed, rather than privately?
Normally the reason people do op eds is that they want to change policy on some issue. However the chance of a re-occurrence where a PM has to decide between a trade mission and flying home for a funeral is incredibly remote.
Hence my only conclusion was that Langley’s sole desire was to damage the reputation of the Prime Minister – ie he was motivated to be partisan.
Langley accuses the Prime Minister of “scuttling back to New Zealand” and “abandoning an incredibly important mission”. The Prime Minister’s actions, said Langley, were “short-sighted and irresponsible”. On and on it went.
And yet surely Langley must have known that John Key was damned whatever course of action he chose.
Stay, and be accused of putting the almighty dollar before human life; leave the trade mission and risk disappointing the delegates – although I’m sure the Prime Minister never imagined attending a funeral service would have provoked such an ill-tempered response.
Langley is hoist by his own petard when he claims New Zealanders are unable to have adult conversations about important issues. He’s hardly showing how it’s done with this tirade.
It was a nasty little tirade – one his own employer has distanced itself from. It’s also one that would never have been written, I suspect, about the former PM if she had made the same decision.
I wrote in NBR last week that part of John Key’s popularity is he almost never attacks people. He responds to the issue, rather than attacks the person. And this is a good thing.
But there was a part of me wondering if you can be too reasonable. Key responded to Langley by merely saying he is sorry he is upset, but it was a call he had to make and even with hindsight, he thinks the right call.
I can just imagine Clark having delivered a stinging put down of Langley, accusing him of putting his own narrow business interests ahead of the country, and that she doesn’t need lectures on leadership from a former education dean.
I also know that behind the scenes the gears of Government would have started grinding to ensure that Langley’s firm had no future in terms of Government relations. Not just no future trade trips, but no access to Ministers, and an unofficial directive that they would not secure any taxpayer funding for any reason.
And this is why Langley would never have made such an attack on Clark. The fear of retribution. Sometimes you can be too much of a nice guy, if it encourages the Langleys of the world.
There may well have been a debate to be had about the long-term significance of trade and export versus a very personal desire to farewell colleagues but Langley’s intemperate response didn’t generate that.
The emotive, overwrought language chosen by this educator and his ascribing to John Key the most base motives for attending the memorial service of three young men he’d worked with and known personally says much more about Langley’s motives than it does about the Prime Minister’s.
Indeed.
Related posts:
- Should Key have stayed?
- Gregarious Groser
- Woodham on airline gender policy
- Parents should butt out says Education Dean
May 9th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Well why did Key leave instead of allowing Groser to return to attend his mother’s funeral?
And if Key had returned to the trip rather than travel to Afghanistan for a photo opportunity then Langley’s criticisms may have been less valid.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 8:51 am
You really are a bitter and twisted little man Savage.
Given that the corrupt ex leader of the Labour party was not above turning the funeral of Ed Hillary into a party political broadcast it is bloody rich to hear you talk about Key’s actions.
You people really are scum.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Hey BB, crawl back under your bridge, you miserable little troll.
.
Micky’s right – either Key’s “trade trip” was a junket he could afford to leave, or he has let us down by failing to complete the trip.
Going to funerals of dead workers doesn’t usually figure highly on his agenda, so I go for the he has failed NZ angle.
As for bitter and twisted, why not rad mickey’s post again, then your own, and see who is the more bitter and twisted, in fact, one could even say, vile.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Langley is a tosser, another self important overblown ex teacher currently snouting his way through the system.
Passed to me was a transcript of what John Key said before he left-
JK “It’s a real shame about those servicemen involved in the accident, I think I need to be home with the people”
Aide “I don’t think that’s such a smart thing to do, after we do have Dr John Langley in the group and you know how important he thinks he is”
JK “Fuck him, he’s only here on another circle jerk talk fest, the worst he can do is spout off to the Herald, and being the loyal repeaters that they are they will print it for sure, just book the damn ticket.
Aide “Fair enough John, we spend too much time listening to these self promoting wankers, and their petty wish lists, when Langley rings to whinge I’ll tell him to fuck off”
JK “Couldn’t have said it better myself”
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:20 am
“..another self important overblown ex teacher..”..
a la big-jezza…?
(the rest of yr comment is a ‘hoot’…eh..?)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Mickey and LRO:
You obviously didn’t catch one important aspect of the news – JK knew these men. Because that helicopter unit is small, everyone knew everyone else, and they had carried Key to events in the past. I noticed, as did others, that there are few photos of Key from that funeral. He was simply one of many mourners. He didn’t make a big deal of attending it. He earned a bit more of my respect.
As for Groser not attending his mother’s funeral – he could have also made that decision. We don’t know why or why not, and frankly that’s personal. Perhaps it had been coming for a long time and was anticipated, in which case he had said his goodbyes already. I have not had direct experience of that situation, but I know people who have been there.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Key clearly doesn’t care for others views. Those people on that delegation paid for a trade trip that included Mr Key.Its a clear demonstration of a breach of faith and or contract.
Vote:No doubt the Nats. will ensure Langley receives the same treatment as Clark would dish out as it appears that henceforth we cannot have something to say about others behavior or failure to complete their undertaking unless we do it under the bedsheets where no one else knows or hears.
Keys appeasing and and actually condescending attitude of : I’m sorry he is upset” is not even within a bulls roar of an apology. Maybe there are some who think an apology is not due, but Key chose popularism over pragmatism. As bad as Lucy and Kerri and Robyn. Does that tell us something about the personal qualities involved.
Film starts anyone?
Scanner, he may well be a tosser, I have no idea but that doesn’t invalidate his argument and nor does it invalidate his point that we just seem unable to have an adult conversation about this event. Indeed some of the comments reinforce the point.
BB must have had a hard night on the plonk with his remarks for clearly he hasn’t grasped the point and now even moves to defend key. Rather different from his previous attitudes. Out it down to grumpiness this morning.
May 9th, 2010 at 9:33 am
“.You obviously didn’t catch one important aspect of the news – JK knew these men. Because that helicopter unit is small, everyone knew everyone else, and they had carried Key to events in the past…”
as i have noted before…he also ‘knows’ his parliamentayy-drivers..
would he have rturned if three of them had died in a car crash/w.h.y…?
as a reason to justify his ditching those trade-arrangments….and rushing for the photo-op…’?
..tis a tad specious…eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:35 am
John Key just proved he is a media whore. Deaths on the job working for ones country isn’t completely unheard of. So from now on, when a road-worker dies on the job, or a public servant dies in his car on the way to work John Key is going to leave whereever his current engagements are and attend that persons funeral? Come-on, get real. And to be honest, if I was the family of one of these soldiers I would be pissed off at John Key’s pathetic and meaningless gesture.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:36 am
David,
Vote:Key is our Prime Minister not a funeral celebrant. That he knew the guys may well be true but he also knew all those on the trade delegation and had a contracted interest in being there.
We need to remember that the guys were not killed in the line of duty per se but during a routine flying operation between two places. Key should have appointed someone to represent him for he is well capable of taking to the families involved either via skype or when he returned. After all not so many years ago he would have struggled to make the journey back in time.
He would have earned more points by having Mrs Key represent him but that doesn’t seem to be part of this administration, more the pity for I would be very certain that Mrs Key would carry out the task in a very capable way.
( and cause she is easy on the eye might win over some of those like BB.)
What it does indicate is a very limited span of concentration on things at hand. Something GenY seem to suffer from quite badly.
May 9th, 2010 at 9:39 am
John Key just proved he is a media whore.
True and it seems he takes his lead from Lucy, Robyn and Kerry.
Can we not have a real man back in charge?
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:41 am
the fact is:…pollies love a good military-funeral….eh..?
they flock to them like moths to a flame…
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:41 am
The Prime Minister does not need to respond to the John Langleys of this world. Langley can speak his mind if he wants to in whatever terms he considers appropriate. I expect he will be quietly dropped from everything of importance especially if he is going to mouth off in such offensive terms afterwards. Basically he is a non person and I expect the Board of his company will drop him. So what really. Perhaps he can join the Labour Party research unit.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Langley was clearly out of line, but so was Key.
Key made much about NZ service people doing their duty for their country despite the risk. His duty was leading that mission. He bailed.
The mission wasnt about domestic politics, it was about deepening trade ties with the middle east. It was about getting our businesses into contracts and relationships, by using the mana of our PM to open doors at the highest levels.
Stiffing the hosts to attend a funeral of some military personnel is not something that can possibly go down well in that region. Then to compound the error by going to Afghanistan instead – unbelievable.
Those doors won’t be opening again in a hurry. Everyone will be very polite, but key Ministers and officials will be unavoidably busy, and there will be many complications…
So while Langley is a tosser for mouthing off to the Herald, at bottom he is right, the business people on the trip wasted their time and money.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:42 am
V2, are you proposing to pay for Helen’s fare back from new York?
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Ho hum clearly the automatons of the Auckland Labour party and the Stranded have the brains of salamanders if they think this attack line is going to have much sway with the public.
The usual suspects at the Left leaning sewer spreading their bile and Mike Sausage aka Gweg Pwessland continuing spouting his cak over here – go and take some more photos Gweg you appear to be more talented at that line of work than politics or law.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Langley hit the nail on the head.
As someone else noted, if the trip was important then he should have stayed. If not then it was a junket and he should have been in Wellington trying to sort out the mess in this country. Borrowing $240M per week so that among other things, students can rack-up their full entitlement of 0% loans to put in the bank and make a risk-free return. $50 admin fee? – what a hopeless bunch National are.
Who can seriously argue against that? He could have sent Bill English and conveyed his sympathies to the families in the time-honoured tradition of a hand-written note and a telephone call after the funeral. Or is that not public enough?
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:31 am
“..what a hopeless bunch National are.”
Quite so, the only thing more hopeless are the hacks in the ‘opposition’ and the tired hand wringers amongst their support pack at The Standard and EPMU. The Nats don’t have to perform well in government to look good compared to the felchers on the opposition benches.
Feck even those tired old hacks Rob Egan and Neale Jones would surely be able to give better advice than the mugs that Labour’s listening to at the moment, pathetic………… but not as hopeless as the Brits their election and the coverage of it was Pythonesque.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:41 am
LRO. that doesn’t even rate a reply. Although focus was something she was good at even if the view was myopic and wrong mostly.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:46 am
V2, I was simply alluding to the fact that she has more balls the shonkey/blinglish/hide combined.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:47 am
so?
No ACC payouts for helicopter crash families
By SARAH HARVEY – Sunday Star Times
Last updated 08:45 09/05/2010
DAN GREGORY: Died doing what he wanted to do.
ACC will not pay out to the families of the three air force men killed in a helicopter crash on Anzac Day, but the families can take some comfort from the knowledge they will receive defence force grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3673525/No-ACC-payouts-for-helicopter-crash-families
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:55 am
My only hope is that some of the many “I wanted to vote ACT but decided to vote National so my vote wouldn’t be ‘wasted’” manage to think through that little mental trap and do the right thing in 2011. To me that is the only redeeming aspect of National’s weakness.
Of course hope is merely the first step to disappointment.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:05 am
hard to get past that 1.6% poll ranking tho’…eh malcom..?
it wd seem they have already lost far more than they could hope to get..eh..?
bye-bye..?…d’yareckon…?
(and that’s your ‘only hope’..?..y’say..?
that’s kinda sad…eh..?..)
..and i’d steel yrslf for some more ‘disappointment’.,..eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:14 am
You mean 3.65%?
Anyway, I know so many in the “wanted to vote ACT but decided to vote National so my vote wouldn’t be ‘wasted’” camp. Having seen the poor performance of National they might revise their opinion on what constitutes ‘wasting’ a vote. Rodney’s close shave in Epsom only confused the issue.
If ACT can’t get 5% off the back of this useless National Party then I will agree – they’re toast.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Last time I looked John Key was Prime Minister of New Zealand, if he wanted to attend a funeral he bloody well can, he doesn’t have to expalin himself to labour Party hacks and sycophants.
What sad wankers, when he starts forging paintings, getting police in trouble for speeding because he needs to get to the footy, defends a totally corrupt island MP because if he doesnt he’ll have voting trouble , then start moaning, until then fuck off.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Why the argument, isn’t Langley a academic progressive, shit you can’t get better then an academic progressive, they’re know everything about everything.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am
heh for the first time ever, leftists are upset because business interests didnt come first.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:51 am
My god, what a despicable bunch you lefties are, still trying to make cheap political points out of these mens’ deaths. You obviously have no concept of shame whatsoever. I don’t know how you can even live with yourselves, let alone somehow believe you represent some kind of moral high ground. Staggering.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 11:52 am
KEY did the right and honourable thing. LANGLEY’S article and the adverse comments on this thread display the difference in personal values between the Right and the Left.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
“And this is why Langley would never have made such an attack on Clark. The fear of retribution. Sometimes you can be too much of a nice guy, if it encourages the Langleys of the world.”
I can only sense a delicious whiff of irony in that statement. Defenders to the fore.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
They really are scum these lefties, of course what they really wanted was for Key to stay with the trade delegation, for them that would have been perfect.
Then they could have screamed “typical tory, trade before anything else” and “Key shows no respect for our servicemen”
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Good on Kerri – do we know who actually paid for Langley (no wonder young teachers are so poor with him in once in charge of teacher training in Auckland).
I bet the taxpayer paid (for the last time for him) in some way or another. He only bought his duty free I expect, and charged it back somewhere.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
“..Sometimes you can be too much of a nice guy, if it encourages the Langleys of the world…”
(‘sob!’..)
is that your sycophancy taken to new heights..?..there..?..farrar..?
d’yareckon..?
(will we soon hear you begging tobe allowed to touch the hem of his gown..?
the only one looking cheap and nasty here…not to mention being a total media whore….
..is key…
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
gee..!..paulus…you whipped that one up outta nuthin’..eh..?
are you good at souffles too..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
“..My god, what a despicable bunch you lefties are, still trying to make cheap political points out of these mens’ deaths…”
um..!..no..this is what key did…and why we are complaining..
..(do try to keep up…!..eh..?..)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
What did you expect from Langley? IMHO, he’s from a leftist, flaky sector of academia. As principal of Auckland College of Education, he led the amalgamation between the college and the University of Auckland.
“Education” as a subject, when watered by the practical demands of teachers’ college standards, is one of the flakier corners of academia, a bit similar to social work studies.
Teaching skills should have stayed in separate tertiary institutions for students who had gained their intellectual training in more more focused, more rigorous academic departments (or practical areas for fields such as metal work or electronics). Instead the mergers helped dilute the rigour of our universities. When universities had their own education departments and courses, these were tightly focused academic subjects, as opposed to the broader skills training of teacher colleges.
The whole ESOL, foreign-education business (as opposed to education for NZ citizens) is questionable. It is in effect subsidised by State provision of privileged access to fast-track citizenship for its customers.
The private training institutions lack facilities such as libraries and frequently even adequate study areas and books etc for their students. Instead the foreign kids crowd into ratepayer-funded libraries. I’m sure our overtaxed welfare and health systems also meet costs from them. And of course a few of the foreign kids even turn out to be mules for drug runners.
The promoters of foreign education as a business bandy about inflated figures of the foreign currency the industry brings in, but these are always net figures, and are paltry compared with what the fast-track citizenship would bring if offered in international auctions.
The foreign education business undoubtedly includes many practioners who supported Helen Clark.
One of the reasons ESOL/foreign education has grown so much in NZ is that the many leftists who packed the NZ foreign service had a disdain for promoting trade in mundane fields such as meat, dairy products, and electronics, but could talk up education without showing their ignorance of practical matters.
It’s time to make ESOl/foreign education pay its way fully.
What is the Government doing providing taxpayer money to help these leftists effectively to sell NZ citizenship abroad?
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
What is despicable is the harping by Key sycophants who consider he can do no wrong. The man is not infallible and in this case he did get it wrong. He traded leadership for political patronism.
It traded principle and contract for political opportunism.
That you can’t recognize this is worrying for those that earn the money from exports and for those that run the businesses in NZ that rely on those exports and the sting in the tail is that it also affects the rest of you who bludge off the efforts of those people.
For once philu has it right.
“..My god, what a despicable bunch you lefties are, still trying to make cheap political points out of these mens’ deaths…”
um..!..no..this is what key did…and why we are complaining..
And no we are not saying these guys and their families should not be respected. Had they been service men killed in the line of duty overseas rather than doing a taxi drivers job then I would have some respect for Keys decision. The PM during the ww wars didn’t even manage most funerals and those serviceman were defending our country up front.
Oh that’s right we have taxi drivers being attacked and shop keepers being killed in this country. Mass funerals for the PM.
Vote:But then just like the Labour followers with the red eyes and Helen can do no wrong attitude we are now seeing the same from the blue rinse socialists.
Anyone who dares to voice their concerns or say that the Emperor has no clothes is now subject to the same vilification that Helen and co used to dish out.
That makes them no better than the Labour Party, both tarred with the same crappy tar brush and bullying attitudes.
May 9th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
That “No ACC payouts” story was simply an example of the SST trying to make a story out of nothing.
Explained in very simple terms..
“ACC spokesman Laurie Edwards said members of the defence force do not receive ACC payouts because, like other big employers such as Fonterra and Telecom, the defence force is an “accredited employer” and instead pays for workplace accidents.”
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Keep digging the hole, scumbags. You are fooling no-one pretending you give a shit about the armed forces or about business opportunities when you despise both. Whichever one key had chosen you would be hypocritically pretending to be upset about the other one. You simply have no conscience.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
“..Whichever one key had chosen you would be hypocritically pretending to be upset about the other one..”
um..!..no…!
had key done as planned ..and sent english/the missus to the funeral..
..nobody would have even spoken about it…
that it was such an obvious ‘cheap-ploy’..to gain ‘political capital’ from these deaths/this accident..
..and that he ditched important trade-talks..to get to the cameras…
..and then rushed off to kabul…for another set of photo-ops..this time with live soldiers…
..only compounded the obvious ‘tackiness’..
..eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
will he/key be opening the new kfc…?
(photo-op with person in chicken-suit..eh..?..)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
No Not so. The instant I heard he had decided to return I considered it wrong and would have and still would support Key for staying with the job he started if he had stayed.
Vote:Its just nanny stat-ism to run to every tea party rather than do your main job, especially one as importanat and one that he had essentially pledged to do.
Its fast becoming a Key trait to rush off to various tea parties, think Copenhagen, Obama et al. Indeed its starting to look like Key has another puppet master other than Kiwi voters.
One World Rule anyone.
May 9th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
tell key he cd wear his ‘camo’ again..eh..?
if he does the kfc-opening..?
we cd arrange a colnel blimp for him too…
..for summa that war-talk that key so loves…?
..eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
“..Key has another puppet master other than Kiwi voters…”
his name is lord ashcroft..
..remember the ‘special-briefings’..?
does key still have them..?
..and just not tell us anymore..?
did he realise we wd thiink it a bit strange..
..that a billionaire british tory lord…with a modus operandi of interfering in the political business of other countries…?
for the advancment of his political/business-interests….?
wd be flying downhere..in his personal jet..
for meetings…where our prime minister came to the airport..
..for ‘special-briefings’…
..with this tory lord..?
d’yareckon..?
(very retro-third-world/cargo-cult…that key rushing to the airport..
..to meet lord ashcroft…eh..?
‘rich-fella-he-come-in-big-bird’..eh..?..)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Oops, in my 1.26 post I typed:
Sorry I meant: …these are never net figures, not always net figures.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Philu, before I switch you off again, I note you are still fullstop crazy. You are grammar-retarded. Friggin near illiterate.
It wasn’t Helen Clarke who marked your political science degree papers was it?
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
“..You are grammar-retarded..”
no..!!!..you are ‘grammar-retarded’.
..with yr ego-driven/superfluous enslavement to the capital letter..
(i mean..the capital ‘m’ in ‘mr’..w.t.f.is that all about..?..if not ego/insecurity..
and don’t gt me started on the effete comma…eh..?
nah..!….i am grammer-advanced…
..eh..?..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Put it away-agree 100%. I think John Key did the right thing attending the funeral and good on him. Some very mean spirited comments coming thropugh on this thread in my opinion.
Also visiting the troops in Afghanistan was great to see as well.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Well its nice to know that next time a delegation of NZ exporters take themselves off for a trade mission they should not expect support from Key or the many who think like Kerry wooden head that it was all just a talk fest. ( Key right to skip talk fest By Kerre Woodham )
A trade delegation there to sign deals for our exports and Woodenhead considers it a talkfest.
Gees its no wonder we suffer from falling incomes and failing government. Borrowing 250 mil a week to keep the beneficiaries in the style they are accustomed while taking business advice from Robyn, Kerry and Lucy.
FFS its clear that English does need to do some unpalatable stuff but I wager it won’t be against the suckers and whiners.
The socialist Nats. will no doubt attack the winners and earners as they always have.
apparently now we need more science so we are going to go with the ETS. Thats science according to NICK>
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Jack5 and others who have attacked langley on the basis of his education sector employment. If you didn’t see the news clip on TV1 tonight go have a look. It was about 4 students who have developed a way to send computer files from computer to computer vis AM radio. Yep that’s right AM radio.
Why, because it will assist with educating people in countries that are both poor and lack much infrastructure.
What stood out was that all four were immigrants studying at the very institutions that you have been criticizing, run by that very same person.
Vote:Rather makes a shit argument about your anti immigrant stand and the manner in which these institutions are going about their business.
Do you know of any genuine Kiwi that has been able to do that science. Or for that matter much science at all. Most of you have followed Hulun into theatre, along with Lucy, Robyn,Kerry and Key.
May 9th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
>>>mickysavage (648) Says: May 9th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Well why did Key leave instead of allowing Groser to return to attend his mother’s funeral?
big bruv (6140) Says: May 9th, 2010 at 8:51 am
You really are a bitter and twisted little man Savage.
Given that the corrupt ex leader of the Labour party was not above turning the funeral of Ed Hillary into a party political broadcast it is bloody rich to hear you talk about Key’s actions.
You people really are scum.<<<
Vote:Takes one to know one BB
MS makes a legitimate point which concerns me too .. a Prime Minister's Freinds v. A minister's mother … the only reason I can think of is the Minister's knowledge in the talks v. PM's stature. I originally posted before I discovered they were the PM's freinds … not sure where I stand now.
May 9th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Not friends as such but work place servants. Does that help.
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
what a small minded and partisan puddle kiwiblog has become.
Guys, particularly those who have swallowed the key kool aid.
This was an important trade mission – got that? the first in 5 years with Cabinet representation. Led by the Prime Minister – the leader of NZ. We are trying for an FTA with these countries. This was a very big deal. Highest level meetings set up.
80 business people paid to go along on the promise of top level access. They went to build contacts and hopefully start the discussions that would lead to actual trade deals – you know, those export earning thingies that are supposed to matter in order to pay for shit.
The middle east is a face culture. Who you are matters. Having a Prime Minister visit is a big deal – full State visit stuff.
Our PM bailed, for entirely domestic reasons. Some of the staff offed themselves in a stupid accident.
How do you think that looks to a Middle Eastern President or Prime Minister or King? Suddenly the vital full state visit is over because some of the junior staff had a fatal traffic accident.
Imagine the consternation in Riyadh – “Your Majesty, PM Key has left the mission”
“Why? Is there a major crisis?”
“Some junior staff had a fatal accident”
“You have got to be shitting us!”
“No your majesty, apparently a photo opportunity at a funeral is more important than the meetings with you”
“WTF”
“Oh but we hear he’s also found time to visit the Little Satan allies of the Great Satan in Afghanistan for another photo opportunity”
“……!”
“but he’s offered to pop back after his warmongering photo opportunity there”
“Oh well thats just fine then, I’ll just rearrange my government to fit in with his needs…. or maybe you should just get rid of these amateurs. I guess we can’t really chop their heads off, even the irritating teachers on the mission. Have the 13th Secretary’s PA meet with them and see them on their way.”
“Yes Sire, now about the FTA talks…”
“What FTA talks…”
“…Certainly, your majesty”
Vote:May 9th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Companies that accept MFAT offers to be part of Trade Missions are obliged to pay all their own expenses, and rightly so.
I imagine each businessman on the mission would be stumping up the best part of $20,000 and its entirely likely that many who joined the Mission did so on the understanding that Key would be leading it. In these circumstances it is not unreasonable for complaints to be made about Key’s unexpected return to NZ to attend the funeral of minor defence staff.
I wonder, if the pair had died during Key’s visit to Afghanistan, whether he would have broken off that trip and returned to NZ?
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