Confirming positions

Once again Lazarus and his party stiffs ACT in the latest poll showing.

As does she who is having a breather in NY, beats Fill-in Phil as preferred leader. Positions are confirmed - Labour is in caretaker mode going nowhere fast and ACT is stuffed whilst the doddery old fart is resident.

But the party of racist separatists had the biggest change of late. Fresh from basking in the sunshine of a Waitangi where no flagpoles were chopped down and their world was just so rosy with all that media koha, John Boy Key, leader of the smile and wave brigade, pulled the the rug from under.

The Maori Party took severe exception to the proposed increase to 15% in Grab, Snatch and Take screaming it would hurt their supporters the most. Might even bust coalitions. Now at week's end, things have changed somewhat. Pita cannot be found for comment and Aunty Tariana has been heard muttering that the Whanau Ora programme is a bottom line, for whanau only. I'd say only because they want to control the purse strings.

Not so, says Mr Key. Want the WO programme? You will get the same programme delivered to Maori and non-Maori alike. That made her choke on her cuppa for the second time in a week. The inference was - give us the GST rise, you will get the WO program, but on my terms.

Yes, the position of the Maori Party is confirmed. Firmly over a barrel.