Political diary

Saturday

To Act's conference at Epsom Girls Grammar. The first speech of the day, however, is delivered by the Prime Minister by invitation. It may be Saturday morning, but John Key has thought carefully about which tie to wear. As luck would have it, he was given an Auckland Grammar staff tie last month. Key says the dark blue and gold stripes represent a fusion of National's and Act's colours. His son, Max, who goes to King's College, was not impressed with his father's choice. Key talks bout how well things are going between his party and Act, then praises Richard Prebble as "one of the finest politicians this country has ever produced". Key reveals that as a relatively inexperienced MP, he used to ring Prebble. "He always had great advice. He is a very insightful man who made a huge contribution. ..." After Key leaves, Rodney Hide hands out the Robin Clulee Award which recognises party members who beaver away with little recognition. Winner Lynne Fergusson says she can think of 20 other people who deserved the award. Explaining her dedication to the Act cause, she says it is "better than ironing ...".

Monday

Well, at least he isn't making the glib promises you usually find in employment advertisements about how wonderful the job is. The following from Maori Party MP Hone Harawira landed in our inbox: "Kia ora everyone. Hone Harawira is looking for EA (executive assistant) to work for him in Parliament. Anyone dumb enough to want to try for the job should contact ..."

Wednesday

The Council of Trade Unions productivity conference, and the PM is like Daniel in the lion's den. Key's speech tries to put a bit of a bloom into the economic gloom, noting that there will always be sheep in New Zealand and even in tough times "people worldwide are continuing to eat". Countries which make cars, he says, aren't so lucky. "In hard times people stop buying luxury goods. They don't stop buying lamb chops. To give you an idea of how rough the motor vehicle industry is, only 10 7-Series new BMWs were sold in all of the US in February." This prompts one table full of union delegates to erupt into applause ... The delegates also have a few ideas regarding Key's pet project, the national cycleway from North Cape to Bluff. National Distribution Union president Robert Reid suggests that with huge job losses in wood processing and carpet-making, the walkway should be made of wood and then carpeted. "That way, if cyclists do fall off, they won't hurt themselves so much. It will bring down our ACC levies."