Prime Minister Bill English quoted Taylor Swift in his closing address at Parliament today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Bill English quoted Taylor Swift in his closing address at Parliament today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Parliament has wound up for the year with a ukulele-playing Maori Party winning the show but strong performances from a Prime Minister quoting Taylor Swift and Labour leader Andrew Little getting Nick Smith up a pear tree.
MPs ended the year with the usual largely good natured exchange of jibes, insults and gestures.
It is usually John Key dolloping out the dad jokes. This was Prime Minister Bill English's turn and it transpired Key may have left his speaking notes on his desk.
He turned to "insightful political commentator Taylor Swift" for commentary on the Labour-Greens relationship: "Oh my God, you look like my next mistake."
English also humbly compared National to the All Blacks. "The most important thing is that the All Blacks thrived after Richie McCaw - and is there not a lesson there?"
His counterpart Little parried by observing the All Blacks had thrived but National had gone from "a Key Team to its B-Team," "a rowing eight to a coxless four."
He had his own moment of humility, observing it had been a big year and referring to the rug art featuring a naked Little: "In fact, I have seen a rug recently that suggests it has been a particularly big year for me."
Little had earlier warmed up in Question Time, asking English about his reshuffle and the brief flare up of challengers in the leadership handover from Key to English.
"Given that he now has four ambitious amigos, three resigning ministers, and two brooding rivals, who is going to rescue Nick Smith in the pear tree?"
Maori Party Leaders, Megan Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell starred at the final sitting of Parliament. Photo / Lewis Gardner
In the cheaper seats, Labour's health spokeswoman Annette King repeated her 2015 farewell gesture of a good-natured two-fingered salute at her rival, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman, later joking that it was intended as a peace sign "but I always seem to get it round the wrong way."
It was left to the Greens to break the cheer and provide the doomsday scenario by introducing Trump to the debate.
Co-leader James Shaw began by reeling off a list of the notable names to have died in 2016 and went on to predict the end of the rest of the world. He spoke of the end of American democracy, British common sense, of truth and of the media.
He quoted from a Martin Luther King speech about "evil-shaping events" and "truth being crushed to earth."
Fortunately the Maori Party came next. Te Ururoa Flavell warmed up by warning the Fox and the Shark were on the hunt and making growling noises.
Then he hauled out a ukulele and his fellow co-leader Marama Fox ripped out a Maori Party version of Santa Baby - getting in a pitch for a ministerial post while she was at it. It was thinly disguised electioneering, but her enthusiasm and voice earned her a loud round of applause from the MPs and those in the public gallery.
