National leader John Key lashed out at the government today, calling their handling of the ongoing crisis in Thailand’s airports ‘hopeless, clumsy, inadequate and basically stink’.
Anti-government protesters have occupied Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport preventing the departure of all international flights and stranding hundreds of New Zealanders, some of whom have been waiting in the airport for days. Pressure to evacuate increased this morning after the explosion of a hand-grenade at the airport killed one protester and wounded dozens more.
‘This is unacceptable,’ Key said while addressing print and broadcast media during a parliamentary press conference. ‘When hundreds of Kiwi’s are stranded and in danger of their lives it is the role of the government to step in and help out. That they have failed to do so is nothing short of disgusting.’
Calls to the office of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign affairs for comment on the situation were not returned, which National foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully said only highlighted the government’s failure to cope with the situation.
‘This government is arrogant, incompetent and totally out of touch with reality and they need to be held accountable,’ McCully said, speaking by phone from a strategy meeting in the Whitsunday Islands. ‘Frankly I think the New Zealand people have had a gutsful.’
Key intends to raise the matter in the house when Parliament returns next week.
‘The Prime Minister won’t be able to dodge the issues then,’ Key said. ‘He’s going to get the shock of his life.’
Excellent
As always, a grain (or lump) of truth behind it. Key still seems to be in “opposition mode”, still slamming Labour.
Comment by Chris S — December 2, 2008 @ 9:44 pm |
To be fair, it would seem after a bit of reading or watching CNN that actually getting on the ground to evacuate stranded Kiwis would not nearly as possible as it might seem at first blush.
Comment by LaFemme — December 2, 2008 @ 10:00 pm |
Hmm 16 hours on a shitty air force transporter or stay at the beach in thailand…
Comment by expat — December 3, 2008 @ 2:12 am |
Great post. The PM sure is going to feel the wrath of the nation in Parliament next week, I can feel it.
Hmm 16 hours on a shitty air force transporter or stay at the beach in thailand…
They have two 757s but they’re BOTH being refurbished in the US at the moment, great stuff.
Comment by StephenR — December 3, 2008 @ 8:29 am |
[...] Hilarious parody over at the Dim Post: ‘Key slams government response to Bangkok crisis‘ « Garth [...]
Pingback by Fiasco at The Standard 2.02 — December 3, 2008 @ 9:17 am |
Has nobody heard of buses? Oh, that’s right, not the kind of public transport this govt wants to be associated with.
I have heard several stories on talkback radio in recent days where people who were stranded simply bused into Malaysia and flew from there to Singapore and then home.
Would it really be too hard to do this and put people on normal commercial flights out of KL or Singapore?
Comment by Kevin — December 3, 2008 @ 9:39 am |
funny, but in a sense you’re suggesting that Key would have been far better off grandstanding on this issue – getting in first with a lot of huffing and puffing and token gestures.
I can’t see that he’s done anything wrong here. A little low-key perhaps but that’s not necessarily bad.
And as it comes out that the Australian Govt really haven’t done a lot more many of Keys critics are left lookng a little foolish. They might pay to keep their powder dry, going ballistic on every little thing just looks stupid.
Comment by Neil — December 3, 2008 @ 9:41 am |
Only in the job a week or two, and John Key’s already resorting to the old trick of blaming it all on the public servants (in this case the airforce). Great moral leadership, beating up on people who can’t hit back.
Comment by Tui S — December 3, 2008 @ 10:54 am |
Key should be released from Federal prison and given clemency straight away if he agrees to be chopped in.
Comment by Simon — December 3, 2008 @ 12:00 pm |
[...] Dim-Post: National leader John Key lashed out at the government today, calling their handling of the [...]
Pingback by Dim-Post on Thailand | Kiwiblog — December 3, 2008 @ 1:47 pm |
Yeah, funny. But there is also a grain of truth that the 757s went off for maintenance at the same time, long before Key became prime minister. What exactly should he be doing?
Comment by PaulL — December 3, 2008 @ 10:38 pm |
sadly it was not as much fun as some people assume – the stories on the radio today were grim – but the main point is, if the Aussies can get (many more) people out, why can’t NZ?
Comment by Dorothy — December 3, 2008 @ 11:54 pm |
Key saying he was annoyed that the planes were not ‘available to him’; as the Minister of Tourism I can understand his anger, most reasonable.
Comment by SeaJay — December 4, 2008 @ 7:38 am |
Great parody, or is it?
Comment by Paul F — December 5, 2008 @ 9:21 am |
Thanks to the Aussies and Aussie airlines!
A relative of mine ’stranded’ in Thailand for a week arrived tired but safe home in New Zealand at the same time our PM’s ‘rescue plane’ arrived in Malaysia.
Thanks Kevin-No thanks John. Too little -too late
Comment by Rodel — December 6, 2008 @ 9:48 pm |
See, if we still had Skyhawks they could be there in four hours.
Comment by Eric Olthwaite — December 9, 2008 @ 6:29 pm |