Polity by Rob Salmond

Sadly, I'm not sure he's gambling - he's been in the game long enough now to know he can get away with it.

As with the building boom claimed by another Key line, the number of consents are lower in the rate per 100,000 population, than they were in the naughties.

When politicians talk about the current building boom being the biggest in history, they need to look at this chart. https://t.co/RWODhUEZGx

— Bernard Hickey (@bernardchickey) August 25, 2016
(Ref The Standard http://thestandard.org.nz/chart-of-the-day-the-building-boom/ )

The OCR is also not the interest people pay. The banks add their bit, and that stays constant. It really has nowhere lower to go. Frequently, they don't pass on the rate cuts. So the OCR halving doesn't nearly translate into our costs halving (even without the inflationary effect on property prices that have actually effectively doubled under Key).

Since when has the truth ever stopped Key from making outlandish claims? Homelessness, the housing crisis, child poverty, the widening gap between rich and poor, unswimmable rivers, our appalling record on climate change mitigation, fraudulent carbon credits, expanded GCSB spying on NZers, his use of black ops, and even his ponytail pulling are all the fault of the "last Labour Government".

One of the factors that drive interest rates is fiscal policy, and so prime minister's can (and do and always will) argue that interest rates are lower than they would be under the other party because it its "irresponsible spending promises / tax cut proposals". You may try to fight this one blog post at a time but prime ministers will do what prime ministers do.

prime ministers will do what prime ministers do

So just as" boys will be boys " the same logic applies to holders of the highest office in the land? Is that your argument? really?
So us mere mortals are powerless in the face of evolutionary rules? dreamt up by the likes of a national party shill like you?
Really motherfucker?

@Matthew:

prime minister's can (and do and always will) argue that interest rates are lower than they would be under the other party because it its "irresponsible spending promises / tax cut proposals"

I'm sure you're right that Prime Ministers will always claim their policies are better for interest rates, but sometimes the evidence will be on their side, and sometimes it won't.

You may try to fight this one blog post at a time but prime ministers will do what prime ministers do.

When the evidence is not on Key's side, I'll sometimes let people know. I figure some people might care about the facts, even if not everybody does.

C'mon ..... lets play the ball not the man....

Tell MH that.

You may try to fight this one blog post at a time but prime ministers will do what prime ministers do

He may, and he will. I hope. Because that is how all wars that are won are fought. One little battle at a time. Sure, it's an uphill battle to inject sense into reporting on interest rates and the economy in general. But when it's that or lay down and die, I say keep on keeping on.

You miss my point. It is always true that one of the factors that determine what the OCR and other interest rates are is government policy, particularly fiscal policy. So it is always true for them to "claim credit" to a certain extent.

You miss my point. It is always true that one of the factors that determine what the OCR and other interest rates are is government policy, particularly fiscal policy. So it is always true for them to “claim credit” to a certain extent.

Not quite. Key raised the hypothetical that if Labour had been in power rather than National, NZ mortgage holders would be $16,000 pa worse off. There is zero evidence to support that claim.

Put another way, while fiscal policy undoubtedly can have an impact on interest rates, the record suggests National's fiscal policy 09-16 and Labour's fiscal policy 00-08 had about the same impact on interest rates, not the differing impacts the PM claimed.