Politics, kings and a telling hesitation

Prime Minister John Key. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It was the tale of two King Johns; it was a tale of political timing, the first example being exquisite, the second more than telling.

Thanks to Act's David Seymour, Parliament yesterday found itself marking the 800th anniversary of England's barons bringing the wayward King John to heel with the sealing, rather than the signing of the Magna Carta.

Spotting Winston Peters rising to his feet to deliver his dissertation on that landmark charter of political rights, National's Gerry Brownlee got in first. "An eyewitness!" he interjected, provoking gales of laughter. Even Peters, whose only concession to age is his whitening locks, had to smile. Indeed, it feels at times as if Peters has been around forever.

However, yesterday's bigger story was the pressure building on the other King John as Opposition MPs rained questions on the Prime Minister dealing with the ongoing Auckland housing crisis; people dying in cold, damp, rented houses and the lingering matter of taxpayer-funded pay-offs to wealthy Saudi Arabians.

In particular, the housing fiasco was neatly encapsulated in a long question from Labour leader Andrew Little.

He asked John Key if he could confirm that some of the Crown-owned land deemed suitable for housing developments was occupied by power substations and cemeteries; that it turned out that the Government did not actually have the 500ha of such spare land that it had said it had; that some of that land was not even owned by the Crown; that it had turned out the Government could not sell the land without giving iwi first right of refusal; that it now turned out the Government had already given iwi first dibs on one such piece of land; and, lastly the whole thing was going to wind up in the courts.

Key's response was a rather lame joke about Labour and cemeteries.

Labour's target, however, is not so much Key as Nick Smith, Key's hardworking but volatile Building and Housing Minister. Little continued by asking Key whether he thought Smith had the Auckland housing crisis fully under control. The twin pillars of party unity and loyalty dictated Key's reply should have been be an instant and unequivocal "yes".

Instead, there was a split second's hesitation on Key's part before he began his answer by saying "what I can say about the Minister for Building and Housing is that he is -- ". At that point, the thunderous roar of triumph coming from Labour's side of the House drowned out the remainder of Key's reply which had included his description of Smith as "outstanding".

Key's reply could not be read as a vote of confidence in Smith. But the exchange revealed something else -- that Little is capable of getting the better of Key.

Some might argue, however, if Little could not make life difficult for Key on this most intractable of problems, he might as well pack his bags and go home for good.