Trying to get a straight answer from Key is not easy (Mar. 26, 2013)

26 March 2013 at 10:46 am

Trying to get a straight answer from Key is not easy
TV3, Firstline, Tuesday 26 March 2013

Every Tuesday morning, the Prime Minister comes in to be interviewed by Rachel Smalley on TV3’s “Firstline” program. He’s a pretty slippery character, and although she did have a go, it’s obviously hard to pin him down to an honest answer to any question…

RACHEL SMALLEY: Under National, we’ve had massive leaks with Novopay, the EQC and WINZ. It looks to be systemic.

JOHN KEY: Oh, I think it’s pretty much under control.

RACHEL SMALLEY: But they keep happening!

[Smalley could have—should have—confronted Key by reminding him of other, nastier leaks of private information by two of his own ministers. Unlike Novopay, EQC and WINZ, there was nothing accidental about the deliberate, vindictive leaks by Hekia Parata or Paula Bennett. Again, the question has to be asked: Why would Rachel Smalley NOT confront the Prime Minister with these embarrassing facts?]

JOHN KEY: [speaking slowly to indicate seriousness] I think that now we live in a very different world. [brightening suddenly] To show you what I mean, we got an e-mail from a journalist that we should never have got, but we have a constructive working relationship with that journalist so we deleted it! [smiles magnanimously]

RACHEL SMALLEY: [beaming smile] Oh now I’m intrigued! Who was it?

JOHN KEY: Ha ha ha ha ha!

RACHEL SMALLEY: Okay, to the Department of Conservation cuts. You are cutting frontlinestaff, aren’t you.

JOHN KEY: Oh, we expect these agencies to operate in a more efficient way.

[He rambles on for an extended time, while the camera cuts to RACHEL SMALLEY, frowning, clearly unconvinced.] …

JOHN KEY: ….so we will have more doctors and nurses and teachers, and less administrators.

RACHEL SMALLEY: [clearly annoyed] Okay, we’re going to have to leave it there.

JOHN KEY: Okay, sure!

RACHEL SMALLEY: And now it’s sports news with Huw Beynon.

HUW BEYNON Firstly I’d like to apologize to the Prime Minister for those texts I sent!

RACHEL SMALLEY: Oh! Ha ha ha ha ha!

• framu15.1

  26 March 2013 at 12:30 pm

  its so close to those parodies where the slice and dice the responses to make it look absurd, that its hard to tell that its not.
• fender15.2

  26 March 2013 at 1:01 pm

  Getting an article to proof read before its publication is hardly the same thing ShonKey boy.