John Key's shock resignation as prime minister of New Zealand

[ENT]

Prime Minister John Key has announced his retirement as the country's leader, saying he had "nothing left in the tank" and it was time to move on.

In a shock announcement, Key's voice wavered as he said he had "given everything I could do this job" at great cost to his family.

Key said he had never seen himself as a career politician, and "did not believe I could look the public in the eye" and say he planned to serve out a fourth term.

John Key said he had never seen himself as a career politician.

"I gave everything I had, I had nothing left in the tank."

He had recently marked his eighth anniversary as Prime Minister and 10th year as leader of the National Party, a chance "not only to take stock of the past 10 years but also to look forward".

John Key explains why he's stepping down as Prime Minister.

Key said his time in charge of the country had been "an incredible experience", mentioning his government's work steering New Zealand through the global financial crisis, the Christchurch earthquakes and the Pike River mine disaster.

"Throughout these years, I have given everything I could to this job."
Key said his time as Prime Minister "had come at quite some sacrifice from the people who are dearest to me, my family".

The time is right to go, Prime Minister John Key says.


His wife Bronagh had given up plenty of her time, while his children Steffie and Max and had to "cope with an extraordinary level of intrusion".

However, Key said the family had had "remarkable opportunities and experiences", while he had thoroughly enjoyed the job.
"Simply put for me, it has been the most remarkable and satisfying time of my life."

The National Party would meet next Monday, December 12, to choose his replacement as leader, after which Key would tender his resignation to the Governor-General.

While it was up to the party to decide, Key said believed Deputy Prime Minister Bill English would "be a fine Prime Minister".

Key said he would resign from Parliament some time before the 2017 election, and looked forward to a life which would be much quieter.

Prime Minister John Key says the National Party would meet next Monday to select a replacement as leader.

The New Zealand dollar has fallen since markets opened on Monday morning in the wake of Key's resignation.

It opened at US71c and was currently sitting around US70.8c.
However ANZ senior economist Phil Borkin said he did not expect Key's resignation to have a lasting effect on the currency.

Prime Minister John Key announces plans to retire | Stuff.co.nz

[NZdick1983]

^ Wanker left us with the highest house prices in the world....massive gap between rich and poor.
Nany state, media is nowadays just a mouthpiece for the government...


Took the easy road, instead of forging our way to an export led economy
he opened the floodgates to immigrants. (which in large part, overheated the housing market).
1,000 new immigrants flock to Auckland each week! it puts enormous pressure on our infrastructure (roads, housing, hospitals, etc)..
When I left NZ, our population was around 3 million, now it's 4.5 and rapidly climbing...


Currently, we are in large part importing growth, rather than creating it.
Our economic growth is connected to population growth due to immigration.

Key (aptly named) means shit in Thai... is the big greedy rat - jumping off a sinking ship..

According to myth, Māui hauled up the the land of NZ... Key has pulled the plug and we are sinking.


"Rock Star Economy" famous last words fucker...

[ENT]

One of the most cynical policies Key supported and acted on was to give away enough money to fully fund tertiary education in order to allow tax cuts to the rich, resulting in a huge never to be paid student loan debt affecting around 0.72 million New Zealand students who have little option other than to leave NZ with their skills and knowledge and renege on the debt, which increase at 10% per anum.

Labour's humane attitude of scrapping student fees would have encouraged Kiwis to stay in NZ with their degrees skills instead of leaving for brighter prospects overseas, leaving an intellectual and skills vacuum in Aotearoa which is now being over-filled by new migrants to NZ.

Foreign financial investment in NZ has caused Kiwis to increasingly give up management and control of the country's resources to rich 'others' encouraged by key's tax policies, to move in and take over national resources including farms and real estate, even at a financial deficit, which could be recouped through Key's generous tax handouts to them.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul,....even worse, robbing impoverished Kiwi tertiary students to pay the parasitic rich.

[NZdick1983]

Holy fuck! stop the bus! you are not a JK nut hugger, ENT?? ...

I swear, I thought you would tear a strip off me, for my anti-JK comments...

Probably just as well Ant is not here to kick my ass though.

[PlanK]

^
^^

Lol, bunch of tree-hugging, pinko lefties.


He leaves the country in fairly much the same state as it was when he got it. That's not a bad result given GFC and the general deterioration of standards in the Western World.

[ENT]

Like hell he did!

His legacy includes almost 20% of the NZ population owing interest inflated loans of NZ $15 billion, a debt that will never be recovered, while the fat cats get fatter.

How in all reason is that amount going to be factored into balancing NZ's books?

[NZdick1983]

^ I'm no leftie... within his tenure, house prices have more than doubled!

Not to mention, increase in unemployment, child poverty, homelessness, and inequality under his government. National has reduced welfare support to vulnerable people and has been reluctant to intervene in the housing market crisis.

The cost of housing has risen astronomically in NZ and the worst affected are lower income New Zealanders, and young first home buyers.

The expansion of the dairy sector has led to the pollution of rivers and streams. It would be unwise to focus on one sector of the agricultural industry. Under Key, NZ has signed up for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The TPP will increase the cost of pharmaceutical goods and medicines, make it harder to share information and products, and allow corporations to sue governments. Key’s economic and social policies have been consistently market-oriented and fiscally conservative.

[ENT]

Holy fuck! stop the bus! you are not a JK nut hugger, ENT?? ...

I swear, I thought you would tear a strip off me, for my anti-JK comments...

Probably just as well Ant is not here to kick my ass though.

Ha ha!

I'm neither left nor right wing inclined, nor a middle grounder, there's more to political machination than the populace has been encouraged to think about.

Real proportional representation has not even been tried, but side-stepped and rigged by NZ (and other) mainstream political parties in favour of their clique power sharing system that's been foisted on the public through disinformation as to the true nature and possibilities of real consensus government.
ALL government is an evil, left or right or dithering.

[ENT]

^ I'm no leftie... within his tenure, house prices have more than doubled!

Not to mention, increase in unemployment, child poverty, homelessness, and inequality under his government. National has reduced welfare support to vulnerable people and has been reluctant to intervene in the housing market crisis.

The cost of housing has risen astronomically in NZ and the worst affected are lower income New Zealanders, and young first home buyers.

The expansion of the dairy sector has led to the pollution of rivers and streams. It would be unwise to focus on one sector of the agricultural industry. Under Key, NZ has signed up for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The TPP will increase the cost of pharmaceutical goods and medicines, make it harder to share information and products, and allow corporations to sue governments. Key’s economic and social policies have been consistently market-oriented and fiscally conservative.

The TPP could well be doomed, thank goodness, if Trump gets his way.

Key's (and National's) governance of NZ has been government of the people, by the privileged for the privileged, including Maori, through repeated "full and final" Treaty settlement payoffs.

This has left a three way twist, the rich, the poor and Maori, from which unbalanced arrangement has arisen increasing conflict and polarization of NZ society as the majority struggle to make ends meet without welfare, grants or realistic tax relief.

[NZdick1983]

^ Oh, but our shitty, cold, uninsulated, moldy houses are worth millions... so we must be doing well...

[ENT]

NZ real estate is the most over-priced crap in the civilized world IMO.

Foreign ownership of NZ land has driven land and house prices through the roof!

Foreign dollars had greater buying power than the NZ dollar, starting somewhere in the 1980's European money rolled in along with skilled migrants displacing home grown skilled workers and hopeful homeowners who then left the country for brighter prospects in Australia, where many ended up finally settling, owning their own homes and paid good rates for their skills, something that got totally out of their reach in NZ.

[PlanK]

This has left a three way twist, the rich, the poor and Maori, from which unbalanced arrangement has arisen increasing conflict and polarization of NZ society as the majority struggle to make ends meet without welfare, grants or realistic tax relief.

This is the laughable line always trotted out by the typical whingers. The poor majority getting fokked over by the evil rich minority. Where is this poor majority when elections are being held? National ain't guilty of feeding the rich, if anything they're pandering to Baby Boomers, one of the largest demographics in the country. National is guilty of not tackling the Baby Boomer problem, just like every other political party in the world doesn't wanna touch that hot potato as it's a political death sentence.

increase in unemployment

What are you talking about Dickie? Unemployment is at it's lowest level for some time.

There's plenty of shitty jobs out there that only immigrants will do to get their PR.

[Little Chuchok]

^ I'm no leftie... within his tenure, house prices have more than doubled!

Not to mention, increase in unemployment, child poverty, homelessness, and inequality under his government. National has reduced welfare support to vulnerable people and has been reluctant to intervene in the housing market crisis.

The cost of housing has risen astronomically in NZ and the worst affected are lower income New Zealanders, and young first home buyers.

The expansion of the dairy sector has led to the pollution of rivers and streams. It would be unwise to focus on one sector of the agricultural industry. Under Key, NZ has signed up for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The TPP will increase the cost of pharmaceutical goods and medicines, make it harder to share information and products, and allow corporations to sue governments. Key’s economic and social policies have been consistently market-oriented and fiscally conservative.

What a bunch of shite

The TPP is dead and buried under Trump. That withstanding, not to sign it would have been stupid.

As for the Dairy thing...it runs the country.What else should we do, hug trees and go on the dole.FFS!

[PlanK]

One of the most cynical policies Key supported and acted on was to give away enough money to fully fund tertiary education in order to allow tax cuts to the rich, resulting in a huge never to be paid student loan debt affecting around 0.72 million New Zealand students who have little option other than to leave NZ with their skills and knowledge and renege on the debt, which increase at 10% per anum.

If they stay home and work, or even don't work, it's interest free. Thank Auntie Helen for that. That makes it easier for all those students with their highly sought after Film Studies and Art History degrees.

[ENT]

IF there was work for them, which there isn't.

The option of staying in NZ in a sort of social limbo, dependent on handouts or very meagre financial returns for hard won education, training and skills is attractive to the unadventurous but anathema for anyone wanting to excell.

NZ's a land where tall poppies don't grow, allowing government favoured projects and their participants to benefit and achieve a sputtering lime-light of mediocrity.

Try expressing anything "out of the square" in NZ, and I guarantee you'll be shot down in flames by the locals, your neighbours and even your pals at the pub.

A government that will not foster and reward new ideas and growth, independent of big businesses, who invariably rip off every new idea that NZ creative thinkers, innovators and artists come up with, claiming that the creators need a middle man to promote their works.

That promotion comes with a huge cost to NZ innovators, chiefly in the loss of copyright and independence to control the progress of their innovations.

[Barty]

One of the most cynical policies Key supported and acted on was to give away enough money to fully fund tertiary education in order to allow tax cuts to the rich, resulting in a huge never to be paid student loan debt affecting around 0.72 million New Zealand students who have little option other than to leave NZ with their skills and knowledge and renege on the debt, which increase at 10% per anum.

If they stay home and work, or even don't work, it's interest free. Thank Auntie Helen for that. That makes it easier for all those students with their highly sought after Film Studies and Art History degrees.

What has changed with the NZ education system? When I was 16 I had a choice to either continue my education and do the 7th form and try to get a bursary or go into the workforce. I chose to start work and completed an apprenticeship. When I ask friends who when to university what debt that had when they completed their courses they all say they had very little. They all had to have part time jobs and work through their term breaks but they really didn’t have any debt to speak of. It seems now everyone who is in university has debts of 10s of thousands of dollars.

[ENT]

What has changed with the NZ education system? When I was 16 I had a choice to either continue my education and do the 7th form and try to get a bursary or go into the workforce. I chose to start work and completed an apprenticeship. When I ask friends who when to university what debt that had when they completed their courses they all say they had very little. They all had to have part time jobs and work through their term breaks but they really didn’t have any debt to speak of. It seems now everyone who is in university has debts of 10s of thousands of dollars.

The National party under Jim Bolger sounded the death knell for free (or at least affordable if bursaried) tertiary education in NZ, introducing the user pays system to education.

Students now have to work part time as well as doing a full time course to be able to complete their studies.

The stress involved in being constantly monitored and penalized by WINZ and IRD has driven many bright minds out of uni after !st year, the rest hammered to their limits in trying to complete their studies.

Many students have been forced into bankruptcy within a few years of completing their degrees, the rest either slot into the very few jobs available in NZ or give up pursuing careers in their chosen vocations, or simply leave to find work.

These more enterprising, more independently minded and achievement oriented graduates leave the country for better prospects overseas, and are penalized by 10%/year interest fees for doing so in their efforts to earn an honest living according to their training and capabilities.

Hopefully, three years worth of free tertiary education will be introduced if there's a change in government, as Labour outlined earlier this year.

State of the Nation: Labour announces multi-billion dollar plan
•Labour announces it would bring in three years of free post-school education over a person's lifetime.
•Can be used for any training, apprenticeship or higher education approved by NZQA and can be used for full-time or part-time study. The three years don't have to be used all at once.
•Will cost $1.2 billion a year by 2025, with the first year funded from money earmarked by the government for tax cuts.

Labour has announced a multi-billion dollar plan to provide every New Zealander with three years of free tertiary education.

Party leader Andrew Little announced the long-term "Working Futures" plan today at a State of the Nation speech in Auckland, which would stretch over three terms of a Labour government.

It will provide three years of free post-school education over a person's lifetime and can be used for any training, apprenticeship or higher education approved by NZQA.
It includes both full or part-time study and does not have to be used at once.
The plan will not affect the existing living allowances and course-related costs. It would cost $265 million in the first year and $1.2 billion once fully implemented in 2025.
lifetime.State of the Nation: Labour announces multi-billion dollar plan - National - NZ Herald News

[ENT]

^ I'm no leftie... within his tenure, house prices have more than doubled!

Not to mention, increase in unemployment, child poverty, homelessness, and inequality under his government. National has reduced welfare support to vulnerable people and has been reluctant to intervene in the housing market crisis.

The cost of housing has risen astronomically in NZ and the worst affected are lower income New Zealanders, and young first home buyers.

The expansion of the dairy sector has led to the pollution of rivers and streams. It would be unwise to focus on one sector of the agricultural industry. Under Key, NZ has signed up for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The TPP will increase the cost of pharmaceutical goods and medicines, make it harder to share information and products, and allow corporations to sue governments. Key’s economic and social policies have been consistently market-oriented and fiscally conservative.

What a bunch of shite

The TPP is dead and buried under Trump. That withstanding, not to sign it would have been stupid.

As for the Dairy thing...it runs the country.What else should we do, hug trees and go on the dole.FFS!

No. We could diversify our agricultural economy further instead of unquestioningly supporting the by now Chinese controlled dairy industry, the fat cat whinging farmers (a traditionally National party block of supporters) who are seemingly unable to run a farm on a day to day basis without government finance to get them through so called tough times, the result usually of their poor farm management skills and lack of foresight as to the vagaries of weather and market forces.

The dairy industry's a shambles, as is the sheep meat industry, with grants being paid out to foreign investors who quickly put that money to use in establishing meat industries back in their own homelands such as the Middle East.

"
The Government's $6 million investment into a Saudi Arabian farm has been described as "dodgy".
Critics have hit out at what they describe as a compensation deal for Saudi Arabian businessman Hmood Al Khalaf, who 12 years ago was denied exporting live sheep for slaughter to the Middle East.
The case has raised the question of whether New Zealand farmers who were also stopped from exporting live sheep should be entitled for compensation.

Labour Finance spokesman David Parker said one of New Zealand's greatest attributes was its reputation for being free of corruption and inappropriate influence, but that was being undermined by the way the National Government did business.

"I'm not suggesting an illegal purpose on behalf of [Trade and Enterprise Minister] Steven Joyce or [Prime Minister] John Key, but there is an absence of understanding of proper ethics when it comes to governmental conduct," Parker said.
Government's $6 million investment into a Saudi farm 'dodgy' | Stuff.co.nz

Once upon a time NZ farmers were a canny, observant, multi-skilled bunch in tune with their land and its economic possibilities, who worked hard for their dollars, (even up to the late 1970s) nowadays, farms are increasingly run by farm managers with little affinity with the land as their predecessors had.

[wasabi]

^ Oh, but our shitty, cold, uninsulated, moldy houses are worth millions... so we must be doing well...

This is exactly what has happened in Great Britain. Houses over 100 yrs old are now worth over a million pounds

[david44]

Many of the issues are International.

If Kiwis had more difficulty entering OZ there would be no 'brain drain' I am not advoacting this and they generally improve Oz.

The Anglo saxon model housing bubble is linked to Fed policy to strip savers and the old in favour of housing bubbles which make owners feel rich, the same doubling has happened in Sydney and London and the same buyers easy credit for those who own portfolios the remedies are not rocket science but the greedy bankers have stolen the future and student debt is just one facet of the new middle class indebtedness.

For all that NZ is a wonderful friendly beautiful land and its reaction to the Irish win shows also what good sports they are, and with the sense of humour to export some of their entertainers here to amuse the over serious

[thaimeme]

Bring back the days of David Lange.
Now there was a solid and determined PM - domestically and foreign.

[ENT]

David was a really nice man.

I attended his last public speech at the St David's lecture theatre at Otago uni before he died, albeit standing in the rain outside as the hall was packed.

When he heard of the mass outside who couldn't be admitted, he came out and spoke to us in a calm and steady voice, explaining that he was about to die and how moved he was that we were waiting there in the rain to hear him, before returning inside to give his final speech.

The cheers were resounding!
There was hardly a dry eye there, notwithstanding the umbrellas.


For what it's worth:

[thaimeme]

David was a really nice man.

I attended his last public speech at the St David's lecture theatre at Otago uni before he died, albeit standing in the rain outside as the hall was packed.

When he heard of the mass outside who couldn't be admitted, he came out and spoke to us in a calm and steady voice, explaining that he was about to die and how moved he was that we were waiting there in the rain to hear him, before returning inside to give his final speech.

The cheers were resounding!
There was hardly a dry eye there, notwithstanding the umbrellas.


For what it's worth:

During his time, he was quite adamant regarding nuclear war ships visiting NZ and it's and offshore limits - U.S, U.K, French, Russian, Canadian, etc........fuck 'em all!

Ruffled a few feathers amongst the so called traditional allies and foes. And they still didn't get it.

Remembering that time and the controversies with the French in the Pacific - was down in Mt. Roskill [from Kerikeri] visiting extended family that morning of the sabotaged bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour.....and the insipid ensuing politics [Frogs/Kiwis] that followed.

[ENT]

The deal struck by Lange with the French over the Rainbow Warrior affair is about the only thing he did that seems in any way dodgy, if one's looking for a way to castigate him.
My own view is that the French were made to bend over a trade barrel in compensation for the atrocity, rather than that NZ's David Lange had chickened out in not pursuing the frogs through expensive litigation through international courts, as some accused him of at the time.

The deal most certainly benefited NZ, especially the dairy industry.

I really liked that guy, he was so childishly innocent and naive in many ways, cheeky as hell, despite his exceptional brilliance as a lawyer, wordsmith, orator and politician.

[Barty]

During his time, he was quite adamant regarding nuclear war ships visiting NZ and it's and offshore limits - U.S, U.K, French, Russian, Canadian, etc........fuck 'em all!

Ruffled a few feathers amongst the so called traditional allies and foes. And they still didn't get it.

Remembering that time and the controversies with the French in the Pacific - was down in Mt. Roskill [from Kerikeri] visiting extended family that morning of the sabotaged bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour.....and the insipid ensuing politics [Frogs/Kiwis] that followed.

I think that you are misremembering some of the details* and its late at night and I can’t be bothered looking it all up but what I remember is; In the early 80’s under the Lange government NZ declared itself as a nuclear free zone and USA decided to test NZ. The US purposely sent the USS Buchanan to visit NZ, which NZ basically said your welcome into our ports if you can confirm that you have no nuclear capabilities on the ship. The captain had a line that went something along the line of “we can neither confirm or deny that we have nuclear capability… blah blah blah”. So, the US navy was basically told you cannot dock in our ports if you cannot confirm that you do not have nuclear capability on board the ship. This seriously pissed the Americans off and made them essentially cancel or suspend the ANZUS treaty. Which pissed the Australians right off (not because of their very poor rugby skills or their great ability to bowl underarm but they thought the ANZUS treaty was something worth having).

The French and the Rainbow Warrior is something that I need to address tomorrow while I am somewhat more sober than I am now, but I have strong view on the whole charade that looks like it doesn’t match ENT’s point of view.

*to be fair I am probably not remembering some of this correctly either.