Unless you've had your head buried in the sand, you would know that John Key's credibility has been irreparably damaged. It's dangling by a thread.The PM's dishonesty led me to make a formal complaint to Lockwood Smith, the Speaker of the House... and I've had a response already:
Thank you for your email dated Monday 10 October regarding your complaint about a reply made by Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister, to a question from Hon Phil Goff, Leader of the Opposition, on 4 October 2011. In your email, you expressed the view that Mr Key appeared to have misled the House of Representatives, and requested that I investigate this matter and take whatever action is required to ensure honesty within Parliament is upheld to the highest degree.I wonder if that means Bill English is in trouble as well, being that he's the most likely person to be John Key's "source".
You are correct that honesty in Parliament is of utmost importance, particularly in the context of question time. Ministers who discover that they have provided incorrect information to the House of Representatives are obliged to seek to remedy this, usually by way of a personal explanation to the House. A member who had evidence that another member had willfully misled the House would be expected to raise the matter with the Speaker at the earliest opportunity, for the Speaker to consider whether to refer the question to the Privileges Committee. It is for the Privileges Committee to undertake any investigation.
Yours sincerely
Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith
