This Week in Politics: Parliament starts
Stephen Joyce outshines John Key, James Shaw delivers a seminar, and Andrew Little gargles his own spleen. With special audio feature.
Parliament returned this week to the sound of drones.
The Prime Minister's speech setting out the government's programme year was released to media and John Key then largely ignored it when he spoke in the House. Instead, he focused on sledging the opposition, something he does rather well, if at times to excess.
There is much to taunt and tease, especially in the Labour Party. Labour's confusion when the TPP was signed was much mocked at the time as one would have expected the party to have worked out its position, having initiated the TPP in the first place, and then having had so many years when the agreement was being put together.
That confusion, though, should have been a three-day, maybe a week-long, story last October. The fact it is still the story tells you all you need to know about Labour’s confusion and incoherence on the issue.
The best speech came from Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, who could have been forgiven for milking the occasion for laughs after his close encounter with a flying sex toy over Waitangi weekend.
Instead, he delivered the best defence of the transpacific partnership the government has managed. In this, he outshone the Prime Minister, and in fact delivered the best speech of any member of Parliament in the debate on the Prime Minister's statement.
Labour, despite arguing the TPP is a threat to New Zealand’s sovereignty, avoided the issue at question time and party leader Andrew Little only touched on it in his speech.
Green party co-leader James Shaw wrote a good speech but the trouble was it read better – much better – than it sounded in Parliament.
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016
Fri, 12 Feb 2016
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This Week in Politics: Parliament starts
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