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March 18, 2012 10:54am by David Farrar

Key on Campbell Live

If you have 10 spare minutes, the interview of John Key on Campbell Live is well worth watching in my opinion.

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Comment23

NZ Politics
John Campbell
John Key

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Comments (23)

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tristanb

Don’t have time to watch it, but does Key call him a “little creep”?
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March 18, 2012 12:05pm
mister nui

That video certainly shows up Campbell for the lefty shill that he is. It also proves that he has not a single idea about the creation of wealth and that this very creation of wealth is what enables all of those bums on seats in Wellington.

You can certainly see that he comes from a privileged position that a $300k salary affords him, without ever having to put in the hard yards to earn that sort of dosh.
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March 18, 2012 12:06pm
mikenmild

Great interview. It’s almost as if Key really believes that his 10 targets and ‘outcome focus’ are going to make a difference.
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March 18, 2012 12:14pm
Paulus

Helen Clark was right for once – I believe she called him a “little creep” or something similar.
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March 18, 2012 12:42pm
mister nui

Yes, he is a little creep. With short man syndrome to boot.

Notice how his chair is always higher than his interviewees, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that he does this on purpose, just to give the little puke a sense of superiority.

[DPF: Umm, a little less abuse, and a little more useful comment please]
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March 18, 2012 1:22pm
Johnboy

I can’t get over how close together his eyes are.

My Mummy warned me about chaps like that.

Surely TV3 could shout him some eye re-spacing cosmetic surgery if they want to keep him as their front man or at least shoot the little prick in profile a bit more often! 🙂
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March 18, 2012 1:34pm
orewa1

A professional interview by Campbell and an excellent, relaxed response by Key.

BUT I really worry about the super-ministry concept. Yes, ministries do suffer from silo mentality, but for the reverse reason to what the government has concluded. The silos commonly involve people in the same ministry, and the same section, and even at adjacent desks. They are caused not by having too many departments, but by constant political meddling and restructuring that leads to a culture where information is not shared because it is power. The core issue is MPs using the public sector for target practice – as a means to create headlines and the illusion of action.

Give these people some better security, stop bashing them for political gain, reduce the risk aversion, and focus on them working together effectively. THEN we will have the kind of committed, collegial public service we aspire to, and used to have before the service was politicised.
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March 18, 2012 1:40pm
tvb

Campbell kept coming back to jobs and job security. In my view people who worry about their jobs and not really doing productive work. Deep down they fear their job is not wanted, so they worry. The PM held his ground and said that it is not about job cuts it is about delivery of outcomes. Well almost, there is still that staff ceiling so there must be pressure on the public service to cut jobs so Campbell does have a point but he made it badly.
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March 18, 2012 2:01pm
mikenmild

It really is deckchairs on the Titanic stuff though. A nice little distraction from the bigger issues that the government has decided to ignore.
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March 18, 2012 3:02pm
DJP6-25

I really can’t see the point of appearing on TV programs where the presenters are totally committed to the other side. One way to combat the left is to hasten the demise of the old media. It could be done over the term of an administration. Start doing exclusive live streamed interviews with Whale, DPF, and two or three other centre right blogs. Whale and David won’t ask patsy questions. They have integrity. Possibly do the same for Chris Trotter, and or Brian Edwards. Over time advertising would shift. So the blogs could hire reporters, and a news team. All these blogs are run by people with known views. They’re not socialists trying to be objective. When this process beds in, sell Radio New-Zealand, and TVNZ. Failing that, withdraw their ‘news, and current affairs’ teams. That way the people just get ‘entertainment’, not propaganda disguised as news. Sure an incoming Labour led government would reinstate the ‘news’ content. By then however, many would be in the habit of getting their news from the new media.

cheers

David Prosser
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March 18, 2012 4:03pm
kiwi in america

Mikenmild
Typical partisan whinging. Your view is not the view of one of NZ’s foremost public policy experts – listen to this National Radio interview http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20120316 under “Public Service Shakeup”.

The results based approach with specific targets is how the real world works. Taxpayers fund these workers – its a breath of fresh air to have elected politicians who want to see OUR dollars spent where they will generate the very best outcomes.
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March 18, 2012 4:10pm
kiwi in america

David Prosser
Key did the right thing – he only goes on left leaning shows if his interviews are live (and thus cannot be edited) and sufficient time in the interview to make his case. He acquitted himself well and shut off Campbell’s belligerent whining on behalf of the PSA with humour.
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March 18, 2012 4:13pm
Henry64

Great interview, well done JK. About bloody time the Public Service was results focussed. As a former public servant myself I know that for too long the public service has been highly inefficient and focussed on activities, not outcomes. I clearly remember the resistance to the introduction of annual performance reviews for staff back in 1983/84. In spite of performance based, results orientated staff training, the leap to a similar orientation to work practices and outputs was not grasped at the time.

This is a well overdue reform and is in line with the quarterly publishing of performance of DHBs against the targets set by the government. We need to have an efficient and effective public service that can measure it’s performance against outcomes as the PM proposes. Nothing wrong with that at all.
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March 18, 2012 4:44pm
cows4me

Of course many of those losing jobs will claim there is no work out there. I would strongly dispute that but the jobs I speak of are those that involve dirt, sweet, hard work etc. Like it or not this country is top heavy with anti business, paper shoveling, bullshit artists that believe the world will stop rotating should their department no longer offer their demands and decrees. Shonkey has to start making the moves or we mos well adopt Greece as our sister country.
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March 18, 2012 5:18pm
mikenmild

kia
I shouldn’t worry too much about Bill Ryan’s views. He has been commissioned to cheerlead ‘the future state’ project and we should not really expect any critical examination from him. In any event, even he seems to see quite a few problems inherent in this approach.
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March 18, 2012 5:34pm
PaulL

@KIA, that interview appeared to have been recorded earlier. And Campbell front-ended the interview with a piece designed to make it sound like Key had no answers – but that was inserted after the interview. I think Key should have insisted on real live interview.
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March 18, 2012 5:59pm
NX

Key still has it. He articulated his point very well.
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March 18, 2012 7:05pm
niggly

Interesting reading the above comments (both pros and cons from both sides etc) and then watched the video. All I will say is:

In these situations (public service reform) the PM will always be the better informed person, when being inteviewed by a TV Journalist (and in this instance it was John Key but even in general under previous PM’s the same is usually true).

1. Watching John Campbell continuing to stick to the point of job cut numbers despite the PM pointing out time and time again the primary drivers include better outcomes (for the Public Services’ clients, the public & Whole of Govt interactions) rather than cost cutting for the sake of it, showed up John Campbell’s either lack of understanding (of the bigger picture) or lack of objectivity (I’m not sure which).

2. The PM’s analogy by using TV3 & their current affairs shows need for prioritisation was both brilliant and effective – from that one could see John Campbell finally “got it” (i.e. TV3’s Current Affairs show are prioritised also in a (very) limited budget environment and their analysis of outcomes would include ensuring there a X amount of viewers which will deliver Y amount of advertising revenue etc. Less viewers = less advertising revenue = programmes being cancelled and others re-prioritised to take their places. Breakfast TV would be an obvious example.).

3. Like the NZ Govt, TV3 has to live within their means and when one finally “gets that” as John Campbell finally seemed to, then any prudent Govt or Organisation (be that TV3 or whatever) will periodically review Organisational structures to ensure money is going to the priority areas.

4. If only Labour, the Greens, Mana etc, would also take a similary educated viewpoint (in politics in general) and their public discourse reflected that then NZ would be a much better place and its citizens better informed instead of the “them versus us” mentality that is getting worse as time goes on, which is also causing ongoing division in our society.
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March 18, 2012 9:42pm
DJP6-25

kiwi in america 4:13 pm. I’m glad he did well in this particular interview. However, he won’t be there all the time to put his case. It’s time they instituted the plan I wrote about.

cheers

David Prosser
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March 19, 2012 5:02am
Davo36

Wow, government accountability! Go JK!

Not many governments have done this in the past i.e. agreed to be measured and held accountable for targets they set.
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March 19, 2012 10:26am
Paulus

The only big picture Campbell gets is the one of himself in a mirror.
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March 19, 2012 10:46am
kiwi in america

DP
Agreed – your plan is an excellent one especially in light of the overall left leaning bias of most of the NZ media.
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March 19, 2012 12:57pm
tom hunter

DP

+++1

It’s something I’ve argued for on this forum a number of times. It’s not a question of avoiding Campbell and company; they have to be dealt with, especially around election time or when they have stirred up a controversy.

But the right-wing have got to start using the new media environment. If there was a Q&A session or interview set up, streaming on Kiwiblog, that involved Key then people (including the MSM) would pay attention. It would build the alternative so that the conversations next day in workplaces and homes would increasingly be not What did you think of Key on Campbell Live last night, but What did you think of the interview on Kiwiblog? Sure, people and the technology are not quite there yet and there will always be a group that find it easier to press the TV remote than fiddling with a browser – but they’re slowly declining.

Here’s an example from the US – Uncommon Knowledge – which hosts a series of interviews of a length and quality that broadcast TV simply no longer offers. This show actually used to run on some PBS TV channels in the USA but has now moved entirely to the Web.

The one builds the other over time and both need each other. From the perspective of right-wing politicians, why feed your enemies? And I would again suggest that any right-wing politician, even in a situation like this, get aides to record the entire interview and be ready to pounce on any editing and editorial bullshit.
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March 19, 2012 1:18pm

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