At a Kidz First charity dinner in mid-May, I witnessed firsthand National's much-maligned "Cash for Access to Ministers" scheme. The firms that paid big bucks for a table that night had the pleasure of listening to two Ministers: Paula Bennett and John Key.
If Bennett ever tires of politics she could have a career as a stand-up comedian. As MC for the evening, she was too funny. There was the story about the taxi driver who told her: "Don't take this the wrong way but you look a lot like Paula Bennett". There was also the one about the newly employed gentleman who was affronted at the deductions from his wages; as a long-term beneficiary, it was evidently his first encounter with the concept of tax.
Key was the main speaker and on great form. As Fran O'Sullivan said of him earlier that same day, he was "world-class" and "very much in the mode of a former top-flight international businessman". Clearly enjoying himself, he was a man at the top of his game.
Key's address started with some jokes he'd already used at functions earlier but it went downhill fast (for me at least) when he started banging on about a spectacularly dreary topic: changing the New Zealand flag. He promised an interactive session which sounded intriguing but simply involved inviting members of the audience to put their hands up.
Anyway, he asked people who disagreed with changing the flag to raise their hand.