It is hard to recall a more chaotic few days for the Government. It is not that any wheels totally fell off the wagon, but all four wheels seemed to come loose at the same time, with John Key trying to refasten them all simultaneously

The week ended with ACC Minister Nick Smith apologising for his comments over ACC, and unable to introduce his law changes as neither the Maori Party nor ACT had agreed to them.

His comments over suicide, while blunt, were in fact absolutely correct. The extensions to the ACC scheme do provide an incentive for parents with dependants to kill themselves, if they are already terminally ill.

Less forgivable is the failure to have the numbers for the law changes, before you announce them. This is MMP Politics 101. There are even Cabinet forms you have to tick about having consulted confidence and supply partners.

But Nick Smith was not alone in having a triduum horribilis. A couple of months ago Anne Tolley was the champion of transparency and the media right’s to compare school assessment records. Then this week she announces a deal with the unions where she will work to make it as difficult as possible for the media to publish league tables.

We learn thanks to TV3 and the Labour Party that Melissa Lee’s company has to pay back $80,000 to NZ on Air. This has been known since June, and somehow in all that time, no one thought it would be a good idea to get it resolved quickly, and front foot the issue rather than allow the Opposition to provide the narrative.

While not a blunder (just a widely criticised decision), the Government also this week turned down a Royal Commission into the Peter Ellis case, despite the two leading champions being former National Party Leader Don Brash and then frontbench MP Katherine Rich. Hell, even the current Police Minister and Attorney-General had signed the petition calling for an inquiry when in Opposition. What happened?

In Auckland, the laboratory testing company sacked by the DHBs for being too expensive, gets back into the game with a contract paying them almost double what Labtests are getting (per capita) as the newcomer has been unable to cope. Now this is the result of decisions made before National took office, but it is National whom the public will now hold accountable.

And finally we have the free to air broadcasting rights for the Rugby World Cup. The only positive outcome from this fiasco has been production of a script for a new episode of Yes, Minister, as suggested by a gallery reporter.

The Prime Minister personally continues to display quite remarkable political instincts, as shown by his intervention into the broadcasting rights, where he dictated there will be one joint bid led by Maori TV and including both TVNZ and TV3.

I wonder where the PM gets the power to instruct privately owned TV3. Hell, I am not even sure he has the power to instruct TVNZ or Maori TV. But that’s an issue for another day.

Nevertheless, people want more from a Government than Ministers and MPs mucking things up, and the PM wading in to sort them out. Sooner or later they question whether the Government is well managed and is, in fact, competent.

The only saving grace for the Government might be the Opposition. I tuned in briefly to the General Debate this week, to hear the Labour Party Deputy Leader going on about the Prime Minister having been overseas so often this year.

Of all the issues to have a go at the Government on, what a silly one. Especially when Labour’s own Foreign Affairs Spokesperson seems to be overseas so often he may not qualify to be a NZ resident anymore.