Barry Soper: Why shouldn't John Key get a gong?

Opinion

Sitting in his expansive lounge in his Connecticut-style Parnell mansion, built over three sections and worth mega millions, our new knight looked more like the Lord of the Manor.

Just call me John, people have always called me John and they should feel free to do that. That's what makes New Zealand the egalitarian country it is. That's the way Sir John Key sees it.

Usually someone getting a gong would receive a letter in the mail. Some of his or her mates have filled out the forms, recommending them as a worthy recipient. It's then over to the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee headed by the current Prime Minister to dole out the titles, whether it's a knighthood or just a plain old medal.

For Sir John Key it was a bit different. He was out on a golf course somewhere, he says, when the phone rang - which, if he was abiding by golfing etiquette, he would never have had switched on in the first place. Maybe he was waiting for THE call.

"Hey John, it's Bill here," it went. They exchanged salutations before Bill did something he's rarely done with Key, he issued an order, saying "by the way you've got a knighthood and you'd better accept it."

That's the way the former Prime Minister remembers it, so what choice did he have? Well not a lot really, given that if he'd decided to delay it with the possibility of a change in Government in September, all bets would have been off. And it was Key who brought back the titular honours so he could hardly have refused.

There'll be detractors of course, and that's acknowledged by the new knight, who says they'll be screaming at the news saying "oh for God's sake, bloody politicians, they don't deserve anything." But whether we like it or not former Prime Ministers usually end up with a gong of some sort, and why not?

Living in a goldfish bowl, having opprobrium heaped on you every day isn't a job for the fainthearted.

But while we're thinking about honours it's worth reflecting on how inherently sexist they are. If you're a married to a Knight you become a Lady but if you're married to a Dame there's no acknowledgement of what they call a courtesy title.

When bringing back the system, Key said, that aspect was looked at but a change would require the agreement of the Queen and she hasn't acquiesced to that in any other part of the world.

In the interests of equality, and if we are to embrace the system, surely there'd be no harm in asking.