Off-key PM on for Maui

John Key and his family are off to Hawaii for the holidays, but he says Kiwis staying at home should 'enjoy the best' of NZ. Photo / Mark Mitchell

John Key can't sing. That was obvious yesterday, and the Prime Minister admitted as much after having a brave go on The Edge radio station.

"There's no career in that after politics," Mr Key quipped after being provoked into a rather flat rendition of Snoopy's Christmas, having been told Helen Clark would never have tried it.

But he was in good cheer, delivering a bottle of his own JK vintage wine and talking about getting away to his holiday home in Hawaii with his family.

"I'm going to Maui - where are you going?" Mr Key asked his boisterous hosts. And yes, he did have to take security staff with him and he would be kept up to speed with events.

"The Muppets in the background send it all to me ... maybe not on Christmas Day."

Mr Key said foreign trips were among the more interesting things he did in his first year as Prime Minister.

"It's been a lot of fun, a lot of travel to far-flung parts of the world. Copenhagen was a long way to go for 24 hours - a long way for a bacon sandwich."

But the first year had been good.

"Don't get scared of the decisions you make, do the right thing."

His Christmas message to Kiwis: "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and enjoy the best of New Zealand. It's a great place."

- NZPA