PM: Manufacturing Crisis | Mediaworks | G20 spying

Although the Prime Minister offered very little preamble to question time, a variety of topics were covered in today's post-Cabinet press conference, from the manufacturing crisis to the British spying at the G20 summit.

According to the Prime Minister, "there is no manufacturing crisis in New Zealand." He believes the opposition's furore over the Parliamentary Enquiry into manufacturing is merely political posturing by Labour, the Greens and NZ First, who are uncomfortable bedfellows at best. "The only crisis is the one that's brewing in the Labour Party," he said.

Key had no details about the spying undertaken by Britain at the G20 summit. When asked if he would be seeking assurances from Britain that New Zealand had not been spied on, he said "Our friends don't do those sorts of things." He refused to confirm whether New Zealand's security agencies do similar things, stating that no Prime Ministers discuss such matters.

When asked, Key expressed fairly positive views on the subject of karakia in schools, viewing it as a recognition of Māori cultural customs. He was clear that students or teachers could opt out of karakia if they chose to.

Key was asked for his opinion on reports of some teachers' plan to boycott the consistency tools for National Standards. Key said that the tools were very good, and that resistance to National Standards was deteriorating over time.

When asked about the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election, Key said he would encourage National voters to vote for the Maori Party candidate, Na Rongowhakaata Raihania, because they have a confidence and supply agreement with National.

Other topics that were briefly covered included the Mediaworks receivership, the Christchurch housing consent process, gambling harm reduction legislation, the Reserve Bank speed limits of first-time home buyers, and the Environment Court.

ENDS

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