Stratford on lunch with Winston:

Stephen Stratford blogs on lunch with Winston:

 has posted online the official text of the speech here. It was the usual stuff, a mixture of charm, bluster, fudging the historical record and blaming the media – especially two social-media operatives, Whale Oil and “a mischievious [that's how he pronounced it] blogger known as Kiwiblog” who apparently are responsible for NZ First's dismal result in the last election.

Heh. Again, if this is true I want a knighthood.

When in Peters was notorious for not reading Cabinet papers. He seemed not to have read his speech either – we were all discovering it together. We were on the same journey. At one point he extemporised then went back to the speech notes – and repeated a couple of paragraphs. He didn't notice but we all did.

Oh dear, senior moments.

On Kim Dotcom: “Tim Dotcom”.
On Jacinda Ardern: “Jacinda Ahearn”.
I never knew Jacinda was Irish.
More blather followed about finance and speculation, all of it about John Key and all of it economically illiterate, as I said to Joshua later. He replied, “But he's very politically literate.” Yes. I suppose that's why he is still with us.
I just recall that Winston for 20 years has blathered on about NZ needs more exports, yet as minister ran a newspaper ad campaign against the FTA with which saw a multi-billion increase in exports.
Among the audience eyebrows had been raised and eyeballs had rolled throughout. But not as much as when – after some shameless pandering to the audience about how wonderful “TV7” is – he got onto immigration and Asians, as we all knew he would eventually
And what did he say:
Drive down Dominion Road, there's 150 restaurants. Now there can't be that many people eating.
Oh my God, due to all those Asian immigrants, we now have too many restaurants on Dominion Road!!!!

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