KEY POINTS:
While New Zealand struggles with a falling job market, Prime Minister John Key is doing his bit to create extra work.
His staff have been working hard answering more than 180 questions posted on Trade Me in response to an auction of the cast on his broken arm.
Mr Key broke the arm in two places on January 17 when he fell at an event in Auckland.
The cast, signed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, was listed for auction in to raise money for a charity, at the suggestion of an officer working with the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.
In addition to the cast, the winner would also be shouted a morning tea with the Prime Minister.
Among the questions Mr Key's workers have been tackling are: "as you dont allow pickups and are not addressed verified, with no feedbacks, how do we know how trustworthy your are?"; "Just a coincidence that it's the right arm, and blue?"; "If i win can i have lunch with Winston instead?";"Do you know if Helen will be making a bid?"; and "is there a chance of the winner of the auction and john key exchanging numbers and hanging out in the future if we hit it off?"
One user who asked "If I was successful with this auction do I also have ownership and rights to any genetic material that may left inside the cast and the right to clone it if I choose to?" was told they would "have to negotiate with John's lawyers for that particular right".
In addition to many postings congratulating Mr Key, some Trade Me users appeared to be less than impressed and used the opportunity to lash out at the new Prime Minister. "My sister in u.s.a wants to know if John Key is going to list New Zealands assests on trade me or will they just be sold off in the usual National fashion?" one user asked.
Money raised in the auction was to be donated to The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ, which operates blindness prevention programmes in the Pacific, and the website advised that all success fees for the auction had been waived to ensure all the money raised went to the charity.
At midday today bidding for the cast had reached $16,100.
- NZPA