Dear Leader says…
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Questions to Ministers
Recession—Prime Minister’s Statements
1. Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that by early 2010 New Zealand will be coming out of the recession “reasonably aggressively”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) : Yes, I stand by my full quote from March 2009, which is: “… I think by the end of 2009 early 2010 this time next year we’ll be starting to come out of that and I think starting to come out of it reasonably aggressively. I’m more optimistic about 2011 than 2010 but nevertheless I think 2010 will be positive.” Those statements have proved to be absolutely, entirely, 100 percent correct.
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Hon Phil Goff: When looking at the blowout in the Government’s deficit of $2.5 billion over the last 6 months, how much of that deficit can be accounted for by tax cuts for the wealthy, which it is now shown that he is effectively borrowing in order to pay for?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: None.
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Hon Phil Goff: Two years into his Government does he take responsibility for the economic results that came out today, which were much worse than Treasury estimated 6 months ago, or will he continue to blame everybody else for his failure?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well, I cannot take responsibility for a global financial crisis, although Michael Cullen once blamed me for it. I cannot take responsibility for an earthquake. I can take responsibility for doing something about leaky homes—the previous Government did absolutely nothing for homeowners—and I can take responsibility for New Zealand having the best tax switch it has had in 25 years.
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Hon Jim Anderton: Has the Minister of Finance seen figures released today showing that retail sales slumped by 2.5 percent after the GST increase to 15 percent in October, which went with rising prices, falling real wages, and higher unemployment; if so, how are those outcomes a sign of the economic step change that the Prime Minister promised?
Hon BILL ENGLISH: I agree that the flat consumption is in sharp contrast to the record of the previous Government, when from about 2004 onwards the export sector was driven into the ground and New Zealanders went on a debt-funded spending binge. We make no apology for the fact that our policies are designed to turn that round by encouraging savings and exports. An increase in GST and an increase in the effective tax rate on housing will help us to avoid the same kind of binge occurring again.
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7. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Prime Minister: In light of his statement of 9 February 2010 that “I worry that there are signs of an emerging underclass in New Zealand”, what action has his Government taken to reduce the number of children living in poverty since that statement?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) : The Government believes that paid employment is the best way out of poverty for children and families. This year we have been working hard to create jobs and grow family incomes by strengthening the New Zealand economy, and repairing the damage done by a global recession and 9 sad years of a Labour Government. We have continued to run substantial deficits to fund social services that support children and families, including those in vital areas such as education and health, and to fund income support payments, like Working for Families.
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Hon Annette King: Did he say to a delegation of Church leaders whom he met in late November to discuss the future of welfare in New Zealand: “If we cancelled welfare to 330,000 people currently on welfare, how many would starve to death? Bugger all.”; if so, does he stand by that stupid comment?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I have no recollection of the comment. What I do have a recollection of—
No doubt we can take John Key at his word?
Of course we can.
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Reference
Parliamentary Hansards 14 December 2010
Other Blogposts
Pundit: Lies, damned lies, and National party spin-doctoring
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Well said Frank. it’s nice to see Don Key’s past catching up with him. I’ve shared a link to this page with all my contacts, many of who aren’t very political but this should wake them up a bit. My brother is a Nat voter, so he’ll be sent a link to this.
Whats new Frank? Key is a ‘Richard’ who has totally lost control of the economy and hasn’t a clue how to govern New Zealand. He will continue to get away with things until there is an effective opposition. David Shearer has to the end of the year, or else there will be a change to a form of revolution!
But Key can take some responsibility for his Government’s response to the GFC and I have no doubt that he knew it was coming. Many financial industry experts had been calling it for ages, some as far back as 2001. It was a case of when not if. I recall Key appearing on Breakfast TV stating the reason he got out of Wall St was that he was uncomfortable with the levels of risk the banks were exposed to. Now this is coming from someone who was feted by his boss as having a sixth sense when it came to financial matters, almost as though he knew what was going to happen before it happened… oh yeah, John Key knew the GFC was coming all right. And in his line of business, while he may not have been singularly reponsible for the GFC, he certainly contributed to it as he was right at the centre of it in creating, for Merrill Lynch, the very products that were at core of the GFC.
It’s high time he took responsibility for things. How long do we have to wait , till the Second Coming? Oh I forget, he is The Messiah of Monetarism. I know a couple of people who were dead keen on Key but they arent so happy so.
SM – Not only that, but if you have a look at the Timeline on this blog, there is a record of when the GFC hit; and how it was reported here in New Zealand.
And on top of that, Key was still promising taxcuts even as the GFC was morphing into a worldwide recession – including New Zealand.
Cullen tried to warn us, but enough New Zealand voters were sucked in by Key’s bribes that they elected him.
Huttriver – Labour better be getting it’s act together, or else it’ll be a Green-led Green-Labour coalition.
Paul – Rightwingers take responsibility? I’ll pay good money to see that day!!
Little Joe – let us know what your brother’s response is, please?
I call that economic treason.
Economic sabotage?
Mismanagement of the economy?
Derelection of duty?
What’s the charge that company Directors face when they run a company into the ground, Space Monkey…?
And John Key has the cheek to suggest that the media are “hostile” to him? Well gee, I wonder why…? Considering he used the coercive power of the State (the Police) to raid their offices, for a simple “teapot tape” fiasco… Over-reaction doesn’t begin to cover it.
But the side-effect of that event was to mark the end of the media honeymoon with Key, and various news editors deciding that it was high time Dear Leader was held to account. It’s amazing how quickly some folk change their views when they’re on the receiving end of a politician’s ire.
All we need now is one by-election, in a marginal seat…
(By the way, the wordpress system put your previous post in queu for for no reason I could determine. It does it to me to, sometimes.)