John Key and his “priorities”
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Of all the things that John Key has done badly; off all his slip-ups; stuff-ups; and gaffes… this one takes the cake.
What kind of leader of a country misses the funerals of two servicemen; slain on a battlefield; so that he can go watch his kid play a game of baseball?!
This simply beggars belief.
Lance Corporal Pralli Durrer (26) and Lance Corporal Rory Malone (26) were posted to Afghanistan as part of New Zealand’s policy to assist our allies. Both men were there at the behest of the government of this country.
Lance Corporal Durrer and Lance Corporal Malone both made the ultimate sacrifice; their lives ended abruptly, and neither will enjoy the things that John Key has; family, career, nor any other achievements ahead of them.
The least that John Key could do is to make his own sacrifice – one so much smaller than what these two men have made – and do the decent thing: pay his respects at their funerals.
It is beyond understanding that a man of John Key’s supposed intelligence cannot understand where his true priorities should lie.
In December 2010, John Key couldn’t get down to the West Coast fast enough to attend the memorial service, for the 29 men lost at Pike River Mine.
See: New Zealanders stop to join memorial for Pike River miners
I somehow doubt he would’ve declined to attend, because he wanted to watch his kid play a game of baseball!?!?
Message to John Key: You are the Prime Minister. You represent the government of this country. The men and women who serve overseas do so at the behest of the government.
I cannot believe that I have to remind you, Mr Prime Minister, where your primary duty lies.
Your decision to attend a baseball game is inexcusable and if you have to be reminded of what your priority should be, then you are not fit to lead this country.
You must carry out your responsibilities and attend those funerals.
Shirking your duty is not an option.
Regardless of what we think of our involvement in Afghanistan, I believe John Key still has certain responsibilities. Going to a baseball game is not one of them.
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Frankly Speaking... 
I agree on the basis that there will be more baseball games in the future..
that is further confirmation that the man doesn’t have a conscience or a sense of empathy, #1 flag for sociopathy..
Frank, if my daughter were killed on active duty, I would actually ask any politicians who supported the war to leave the funeral. I would think of it like having a child killed by a drunk driver and how I would feel if they turned up at the funeral.
The man who will attend our slain soldiers funerals should be the PM anyway – key is a charlatan. Did I spell that right?
Yes.
Spot on, Frank.
If it was my son I would request that he not be there..
Maybe, JK can send his basketball playing kid to replace one of those fallen young heroes…I’m sure the experience will quickly turn a kid into a man…if he lives to tell Daddy about it.
The clowns should do as they expect others to and go themselves. sending good men and women to die for their cowardly and greedy, selfish reasons. good people die so cowards will prosper. It’s never about freedom or democracy. they’re just convenient key words to blind the innocent and fool them into fighting for someone else’s money and power.
Thanks, Mark.
Murray, if it was youir daughter, gods forbid, I’d understand your personal feelings on the issue. Not a cop-out on my part – just is.
That’s fine, Frank. The world would be pretty boring if everyone thought the same way I did.
tautoko tena Taura. John Key should lead by example, send his son to Afghanistan
I guess one might also argue what sort of a father would he be if he were not to show at his son’s game when he could…personally I think John Key has way toooo many conflicts of interest to even be in politics in the first place…
Murray, it’s occurred to me that having the PM of the day (in this case, John Key) attend the funerals of our slain servicemen and women may make him more wary, next time, before sending our troops into harms’ way.
Key was very gung-ho in wanting to send the NZ Army to Iraq. Thankfully Clark resisted National’s jingoism and settled for only an engineering team to Basra.
I think Key needs to attend every funeral of every dead soldier. Hopefully he’ll think twice before jumping to Washington’s beck and call.
But like I said, I get what you mean.
Well, thats the calibre of the man. Always there with a grin and a wave, but missing in action when it comes to being seen alongside the ‘collateral damage’ from the money men’s wars.
Yeah, it’s just a war, it’s just two funerals, and hell – there’s a BASEBALL game on! No contest in Key’s mind.
Frank: One thing about Keys is he gets to live, while our boys get maimed or killed! Why not just “Get them out of there, bring them all home! It’s not our WAR….
Alive preferably!!!!
Imagine the conversation – ‘I’m sorry your son is dead, but I’ve gotta go see mine playing baseball.’
Also – How long is he going for? – the dates might indicate he has something else on as well, What is the actual date of the game? I checked out the little league tournament website but it’s pretty hard to tell.
It’d have to be something real big for him to ignore the funerals of two servicemen Rosy. I haven’t heard of anything else listed on his diary. All I’ve heard is his son’s baseball game.
It’s not a good look whichever way you view it.
As much as I am not a fan of John Key, the prospect of having him represent the entire NZ government at every engagement (including funerals) is far fetched. He paid his respects to the family and has a family engagement of his own to attend, the actual funeral will have a representative from the government there, why does it have to be Key?
We don’t have conscription in NZ when it comes to our military. I’m sure if his son wanted to volunteer for service and seek deployment to an overseas theatre of engagement, the military would be more than happy to oblige.
Key has made a number of mistakes, so did Helen, Brash even Lange one of our greatest politicans made mistakes. I don’t see this as a mistake, I see this as a son wanting his dad there to support him, I see this as a dad doing what he can to serve two callings, supporting his son and making sure that there is a representative at the funerals.
He’s been involved in a number of gaffes that I personally would have been happy to rail against, most probably where he was content to change NZ employment/tax law to accomodate the producers of The Hobbit while simultaneously screwing over every actor in the country. But this complaint, regarding baseball games and funerals feels petty. The soldiers served their country and died, that is a risk undertaken freely, it’s a sad reality that this happens and their sacrifice will be marked. Doesn’t have to be Key doing it though.
Not sure I agree with you, Andre. But I welcome another viewpoint, to cover all aspects of this issue. You raise matters that deserve consideration…
Had interesting feelings watching him say it, to say the least. Was watching 6 news, and then the later one. I can understand his son gives up a lot of him as a Dad because of the fact he’s the PM of the country. I can even understand that
yes, it’ll be a proud moment for anyone if you were representing NZ. Awesome. But it does not, in any way, reflect the absolutely incomparable price we have seen two 26 yolds pay for also representing their country. I simply just had to shake my head at this one. There was just something quite stomach churning there…
This is interesting as more evidence of Key’s flexibility:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10640901
Key heads home after loss of Iroquois – National – NZ Herald News
Agree. Take on the role of PM, sorry this is your duty. Surely the funerals could have been timed so he could do both?? He certainly should be at those two services.
Perhaps his son should be asked to put down the baseball bat and slip into fatigues and a hard hat!
Finally.. Are people are beginning to wakeup to the Derivatives trader behind the Crosby Textor Prime Ministerial manufactured mask Frank? This is not a man who cares for the result of a baseballmatch any more than he actually cares about who dies in a mine, under a collapsed building, beaten to deathby their parents or because they are fighting a war, where the enemy now are actually those who are fighting for their own country too.
Sorry not a popular thing to say. But it is the truth.. Eveything comes down to what cost benefits who?.. I will be watching what this costs him with a different kind of ‘interest’ than the ones he serves..
Love to be a butterfly at that baseball match.. Be interesting to see who else turns up or who he spends time with, prior or after the ‘game’.. If only we still had some independent investigative journalists not on a No Fly List or one willing to take a risk & tell the truth ..;-)
Don’t forget this one too:
Questions have been raised about whether New Zealand’s SAS may have handed over prisoners to an Afghan unit that is believed to use torture.
The British military has been banned from handing prisoners to the Afgh
an National Directorate of Security as it is so notorious for torture.
The Government has said the SAS worked with Afghanistan’s Crisis Response Unit in Kabul, but was not directly responsible for any prisoners captured by the unit because it was not the head of the unit.
Prime Minister John Key said the SAS were not involved in torture of prisoners in Afghanistan.
If New Zealand troops detained someone there were clear written protocols about how that was done and those protocols honoured the Geneva Convention, he said.
The Geneva Convention sets out the standards for the humanitarian treatment of prisoners of war.
Mr Key said when New Zealand troops handed over someone they had detained they made sure that person would not be tortured later on.
Where the New Zealand SAS worked alongside the unit in Kabul it was not the detaining force, Mr Key told NewstalkZB.
“In that instance, it’s not our responsibility when it comes to those people that are detained.”
However, the SAS recorded the name of every person detained by the unit and those names were freely available to international agencies, he said.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said the SAS worked with the unit to capture insurgents.
“It’s likely some are [transferred to the Afghan National Directorate of Security], yes,” he told the Sunday Star-Times.
He was understood to be looking into the situation.
Green Party MP Keith Locke said the New Zealand Defence Force had to share responsibility for what happened to insurgents it captured.
He supported the withdrawal of the SAS from Afghanistan.
“We don’t want New Zealand’s good name muddied by links for the torture of prisoners, which is reputed to include beatings, electric shock treatment, and sleep, food and water deprivation.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4027781/Questions-over-SAS-handing-over-of-prisoners
SAS torture questions
No wonder Willie Apiata left.
Maybe he feels he has done his “bit” by allowing the spending of so much money for the War Memorial Park in Wellington? Maybe that eases his conscience? For myself, even though my grandfather fought at Gallipoli and in France (being badly wounded in both battles) and my father who served in the Air Force in the Pacific during World War II, plus a brother who served in the Air Force but sadly lost his life in a car accident travelling between Whenuapai and Hobsonville bases (not war, thankfully) I think this is an irresponsible spend of dollars during very hard times. I would prefer to honour a memorial when I finally lived in a society that reflects everything the men in my family fought so hard for.
Great work Frank. The mainstream media’s apologist coverage on this blows goats. Thanks heavens for bloggers bro.
Thanks, Neil…
Again this narcissistic prick hogs the limelight! He just can’t get enough of himself.
Perhaps the biggest reason is John Key sent them there!!! He should have the decency to go to their memorial service. George Bush hid under his father’s clout to get out of Vietnam. And it was George Bush who sent soldiers to their graves…We call them “Chiken Hawkes”. Key is a chicken hawk, a self absorbed one. No leadership from this securities trader.
John Key going travelling with his son is probably more of a positive statement for these men than attending the funeral. It only reinforces the sacrifice the soldiers have made. Durrer and Malone served their country so that we can continue to be free to do what we do.
And why is the PM is considered “obligated” to attend a funeral?
Yes, it was a tragic thing for those involved, but that was their job, it it what they signed up for. Soldiers dying is no more tragic than civilians dying, and we don’t expect him to attend all civilian funerals.
25 April is the day for commemorating all those who served and died in military operations for their country. Why single out two members?
If this funeral is so important I expect that everyone here will be attending too?
I applaud Key for setting a good example for the country, spending time with his son, who is representing his country.
Two points on that, Trev;
1. None of us here are elected representatives.
2. Attendance at the services will be restricted because of limited space.
Because he is the Prime Minister; the leader of the government; and our armed forces are in Afghanistan at the behest of the government. (And I’d make precisely the same point irrespective of who the PM was.)
It is not so much whether or not he attends the funeral that is most important, rather the reason he gave for not attending. I would be embarrassed to be John Key’s son. How can he go back to school without being intimidated by at least some of his peers..unless of course he is a brazen as his father? If there had been a world summit meeting, or a death in JKs own family, of course it would have been excuseable, but to miss the funeral in order to watch an under 17 baseball match that goes on for several days anyway really casts the PM in very poor light. If that is how he handels national diplomacy, how, god forbid, will he handle international diplomacy? It makes me wonder whether or not he is running New Zealand and I have long suspected that he is simply a glorified hawker, a very loyal representative for multinationals such as Petrobras hell bent on risking our environment by drilling in 3000 meters of water in very seismic strata so that George Soros can help Obama pay bay the billions it owes to China. China has Key by the testicals.
How many families would love to be able to spend those precious moments with their children, but are unable to because they’re too busy trying to make ends meet? Since when did a job description include time off to attend your children’s events? John Key sent these poor youngsters to war, the least he could do is attend their funerals. Job description fail – Sacked!
Or perhaps Key is in the U.S. to attend this event, but revealing that wouldn’t sound half as ‘endearing’ as a ‘dedicated’ father wanting to spend time with his son…
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated in secret
http://www.youtube.com
It’s a major Jonathan Coleman f*#k up! The Specialists soldiers, the SAS should of remained and the least experienced soldiers should of been with drawn first. Any military strategist would of used common-sense & military knowledge/experience for withdrawing/extracting themselves from a hostile environment. Arrh but I suppose he was trying to save kiwi’s money?? Prick!
@Trev, Funerals are generally personal affairs, family and friends, and those who have some official capacity. These guys died young, doing a job that John Key ranted and raved about NZ committing to, regardless of the false pretences of what many see as an American war for oil. But regardless of what one feels one way or the other, the question really is, why is the mainstream media so uncritical? Not even raising the question that John Keys choice perhaps implies a dereliction of duty? Because they are a bunch of soft c**ks, who fawn over the wealthy and the powerful like so many sheep, and have little or no journalistic integrity, in my opinion, it’s their JOB to ask the curly questions, this is a fundamental function of democracy, and they’re not doing their job.
Until we have a robust media in this country we will not have the society that Sues forefathers fought for, (and mine).
” I would prefer to honour a memorial when I finally lived in a society that reflects everything the men in my family fought so hard for.”
– I agree. Although it does make sense for the government to spend money in a downturn, employing people rather than sacking them, notwithstanding the memorial upgrade was actually a labour initiative, for which National are attempting to take credit, and it will be a question of how much Fulton Hogan or whoever oversees the job pockets and how much those doing the work actually get paid.
On a side note: Last time John Key was in the US acting the clown on Letterman, he was having a little catch up with his bankster mates at goldman sachs et al… It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a few little catch up sessions planned for this trip as well….
Keep asking questions and doing the job the mainstream media won’t,
Kia kaha all…
I doubt whether key will give a flying one if he attended those funerals Frank. The man has no morals, scruples or testicles worthy of mention. He might make a public show of remorse and such, but it will mean nothing. Just empty words from an empty shell
I concur with Jon.. we are not hearing about the exponentially frequent U.S or U.K casualties here in our lamestream media. ( every week now). Why? because if Kiwis in numbers knew they would screaming for ours to come home now ..http://www.3news.co.nz/NZ-soldier-deaths-unlikely-to-be-last—Stephenson/tabid/370/articleID/264664/Default.aspx
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-08-10/troops-lured-to-death-with-dinner-invitation/997348
It seems to me that what Key has done is perfectly reasonable. He has met with the families personally to express his and the country’s condolences, and a Minister of the Crown will attend the funerals. That seems to me to discharge his duty as PM.
He is not missing the funerals to watch his son play a game of club baseball, or even a national-level representative game. His son is representing New Zealand at an international tournament; something he may only get to do once in his life.
It is not true that other people can’t take time off to go to their kids life events. That is what annual leave is for. That is what parents do. No, you can’t go to all of them, but you do what you can to make the important ones.
Key’s son gets to see precious little of his father (presumably) due to the demands of being Prime Minister. That is a sacrifice which Key Jr. did not choose for himself; it was chosen for him by his father.
Yes, the sacrifice made by the soldiers was greater, but it was a sacrifice they chose for themselves to put themselves at risk of making.
Key has changed official plans in the past to attend military funerals, which shows, I think, that he appreciates the gravity of the occasion. I’m sure there are very few things he would prioritise above a military funeral for New Zealand soldiers killed in action. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to support his son in representing his country seems to me to be a reasonable place to draw the line.
And to those suggesting that Key’s son should be conscripted to go to Afghanistan: Shame! No… let me rephrase that: SHAME ON YOU! What has Key’s son ever done to you that you wish him into harm’s way? I suggest that it is you, not John Key, who needs to examine their humanity.
[NOTE: This poster is not to be confused with “The Madd Hatter”, who also occassionally posts messages on this blog.
– Admin]
Hutter – so you think going to a sports game rates higher priority than attending the funeral of two dead doldiers? Our forces are in Afghanistand because the government wants them there not because they decided they were bored and had nothing better to do.
The least our prime minister can do is show his respects publicly. I’m sorry but your words don’t justify his actions in the least. If anything it makes me a damn sight angrier. How can you equate a bloody sports game with two dead men?
As for Key’s son seeing precious little of his dad, well, that simply isn’t true. Key still gets to go home on weekends to see his kids. Parliament also has long breaks in between sitting. The parents of those two soldiers won’t ever see their kids again.
The least Key can do is to acknledge the sacrifice of those two young men. He represents our country so he should be there. Sending his 2IC is not good enough.
That’s fairly fucken cold of you MAD HUTTER. No wonder you didn’t dare put your name to your post. Your real casual with other peoples lives, arent you? And you have the hypocrisy to then tell us:-
“And to those suggesting that Key’s son should be conscripted to go to Afghanistan: Shame! No… let me rephrase that: SHAME ON YOU! What has Key’s son ever done to you that you wish him into harm’s way? I suggest that it is you, not John Key, who needs to examine their humanity.”
I think your the one who needs to look at himself. You left your humanity behind.
+1
They were killed following his orders.
The soldiers were in Afghanistan because they chose to be soldiers. Given their ages, they chose to be soldiers after the start of the Afghan conflict and therefore knew going in that they could expect to be sent into live combat. They chose to risk their lives in service of their country. That makes them heroes, not victims.
Although it is true that the soldiers were killed while in some sense following John Key’s orders, they were doing so as voluntary professional soldiers. In other words they chose for themselves a profession known to have a significant risk of mortal danger. That doesn’t make their sacrifice any less noble or tragic, quite the opposite, but it does mean that John Key cannot be held solely and personally responsible for their deaths. How dare you devalue their noble choice to risk their lives for something they thought was worth fighting and dying for?
Key has acknowledged the soldiers’ sacrifice by personally meeting with the families. They are the ones who have suffered a loss, not a bunch of whingy hand-wringers looking for any excuse to vilify a politician they despise. He has discharged his duty as PM to them. He owes nothing to you in respect of this incident.
It seems to me that usually politicians attend these things more for the photo opportunity and appearance of “doing the right thing” than because their presence is actually needed or wanted anyway. Attending the funeral won’t bring them back. One might even say good on him for getting out of the families’ faces and letting them grieve in peace.
The PM doesn’t get to go home whenever the House isn’t sitting. He has portfolios to manage, functions to attend, whingers to mollify, etc., not to mention often having to travel for work. I certainly wouldn’t claim he never gets to see his family, or even that it’s a rare occurrence, but he will get far less time with his family than you get with yours, for instance.
If your kid was representing their country, wouldn’t you want to be there? Wouldn’t you miss the funeral of a junior colleague you had never met, to see your kid do something special that they might only get to do once in their whole life? Don’t you think Key Jr. would be gutted if his dad couldn’t be there? Why let his son down, when attending the funeral wouldn’t change anything anyway?
Certainly it would be commendable if he offered to the families to attend – perhaps he did, we don’t know. That does not mean that it is wrong for him not to attend. It is commendable that he wants to support his son in representing his country too. He couldn’t do both. He chose. You might have chosen differently. That doesn’t make his choice wrong. Just hope you never have to make such a difficult decision with four million people watching your every move.
And I absolutely stand by my admonishment of SHAME ON THOSE WHO SUGGEST CONSCRIPTING KEY JR. He is the innocent in this. Vilify John Key if you must, he chose his part in this, but leave the kid out of it. Visiting the sins of the father on the son is barbaric, abhorrent and just downright nasty. Grow up!
This will be the last word from me on this issue. There’s no point trying to tame rabid dogs.
[NOTE: This poster is not to be confused with “The Madd Hatter”, who also occassionally posts messages on this blog.
– Admin]
Logic deserts your argument, Hutter. Neither do you do ‘moral outrage’ very well.
And your closing statement suggests to me that you are unhinged.
It also appears that Key is indeed becoming the polarising figure that Tracy Watkins and Kate Chapman suggested in an article on 29 July;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7370214/Polarising-PM-losing-gloss
re; Mad Hutter
So when you say “The soldiers were in Afghanistan because they chose to be soldiers. Given their ages, they chose to be soldiers after the start of the Afghan conflict and therefore knew going in that they could expect to be sent into live combat. They chose to risk their lives in service of their country. That makes them heroes, not victims.” – what the hell are you saying?
you make it sound like they put themselves in a warzone so it’s their fault they got killed? If so you’re as mad as your handle. Soldiers don’t choose to go to warzones, they get POSTED. They follow orders. That’s what a soldier does.
The least our elected prime minister can do is to make one fucking little sacrifice and attend their funerals. After all, they got sent to Afghanistand because they were ordered by the Prime Minister of the day, not because they chose to go there. You seriously need to wake up and educate yourself.
Key could’ve gone and watched his son play baseball AND attended the memorial service. It wasn’t a choice of one or the other. You and many others have been deceived into thinking that he couldn’t attend both.
Yes. If you are willing to treat the citizens of your country like expendable pawns, and still want to keep up the charade that you are a good person, you should at least attend their funerals.
John Key is weak. What makes his decision unforgiveable is that he could’ve attended the memorial service and still watched all his son’s baseball games. But Key was scheduled to fly out last Thursday evening (according to reports) meaning he would’ve had to reschedule his flights. Obviously rescheduling and the associated cost was more important than attending a memorial service for those fighting to defend freedoms that we take for granted.
The entire saga and the sickening, patriotic, media spin surrounding the tragedy, makes me sick to my stomach.
I agree with any attempt to help John Key remember his humanity and connect with other people that his Government’s policies may affect. According to news reports his son is a right wing capitalist who would sell New Zealand as soon as live
in it BUT he may change his views. If the son wants to live in New Zealand in twenty or thirty years time what will the country be like? If John Key could think about the world his future grandchildren will be born into, maybe he could do something positive for New Zealand for a change. Family are important, they are our connection to the future.
I wonder how many of you lot would be accusing JK of grandstanding and political point scoring if he had attended the funeral?
Alistair,
Key could have attended the funeral AND his son’s baseball. There was no conflict between the scheduling of the two events. Key has attended other funerals of slain soldiers and I’m not aware he has been accused of grandstanding. Key has misled the public and probably the slain soldier’s families into thinking that he couldn’t attend both events. He easily could have.
I have to concur with Ross. I can’t recall any grandstanding over Key attending any of the military funerals. In fact, I think it would be in questionable taste, to do so.
Interestingly, when Shearer was asked what he thought of Key opting to attend his son’s baseball game instead (as well as) of the funerals, he diplomatically said that was a decision for him to make.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7448686/Key-to-miss-soldiers-funeral
Shearer could’ve taken a swipe at Key, but chose not to do so. In this instance, it is the “Court of Public Opinion” that will pass judgement on Key, not his political rivals.
Frank,
Shearer may have assumed that it wasn’t possible for Key to attend both events. He might be surprised to learn that the baseball doesn’t begin in the US until tomorrow (NZT) and that Key could easily have attended both. Yes, he would’ve had to reschedule some flights and it seems this inconvenience was sufficient for him to mislead everyone concerned.
That’s interesting, Ross. I doubt most folk were aware of that – I certainly wasn’t.
Which begs the question why he deliberately chose not to attend the services for the two soldiers?
What was so pressing that he had to be on that flight to the US?
If it were my son I wouldn’t want Key at the funeral, unless he was there to apologise – and I can’t see that ever happening! But – a baseball game? Really? It’s not as if Key’s son is a child – he’s 17, and I never expected my father to attend anything when I was at school, as I knew he had to work…
Deb
+1
Who knows? He left Thursday night (according to reports) but the baseball doesn’t begin til Monday. Maybe an OIA request could shed some light on the matter.
I agree, he should’ve fronted at the service. It’s the least he could do.
Mad Hutter: you don’t make much sense. Several times you totally contradict yourself.
It’s not an election year, so he didn’t want to be bored stiff, it’s more interesting to watch the little brat playing baseball. After that, what, a little trip to the Hawaii holiday home? All at taxpayer’s expense of course.