John Key's response to the Henry inquiry's abuse of parliamentary Privilege and media freedom? It was nothing to do with him:
[S]peaking in Korea today Key said he did not believe Henry, a former top public servant brought in to find the leaker, had impinged on any media freedoms and no action would be taken against him.
He said Henry also would be considered for doing future Government reports.
Henry had been asked to carry out an enquiry using terms of reference given to him by the prime minister' office. Nobody complained about those terms, Key said.
"He then went out and did his own thing. I wasn't involved in any of that," Key said today, adding that he made it clear to Henry that he expected access records to be accessed.
[Emphasis added]
So, Key makes it clear that he expected Henry to get Parliamentary access records, but claims it is nothing to do with him when he does and it blows up in his face. Bullshit. If you tell someone to do something, and they do it, then you bear some culpability for the result.
Meanwhile, his claim that media freedom has not been infringed is unbelievable. Spying on journalists and trying to find out who they have talked to so as to persecute their sources and prevent them from informing the public is a textbook example of infringing media freedom. Key's denial of this is another sign that his government has gone off the deep end is lurching towards a dangerous authoritarianism.
