Robertson Grant: General DebateText is subject to correctionRobertson Grant: General Debate[Sitting date: 29 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2977. Text is subject to correction.]GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central):There was a time when New Zealanders were proud of the Prime Minister. They respected the person occupying the job. One of the most common refrains I used to hear about Helen Clark was that even if you did not agree with her or with every policy that she put forward you respected her. You respected her dedication her commitment to New Zealand. The same was said of David Lange when he made New Zealanders proud at the Oxford Union. Goodness they even used to say they respected Jim Bolger even if he adopted the accent of the last person he talked to. But who do we have now as a Prime Minister? A grown man who repeatedly pulls on the hair of a cafe worker despite her telling him not to do it. That is right. Instead of a respected leader we have the “Parnell ponytail-puller” for ever to be known for his tail-tugging plait-pulling weirdo ways. Not since John Key’s political hero Rob Muldoon in a tired and emotional state called the “gin and schnapps election” in 1984 have we seen a Prime Minister being regarded with such disdain by the public at large. When I used to work for Prime Minister Helen Clark there was always a conversation about whether she should have to wear a hairnet when she went to visit factories and so on. Now we have got workers in factories and offices around New Zealand who want to wear hairnets when John Key comes. It is a form of protection. They are asking for protection from their Prime Minister.Amy Adams wanted us to learn about the international media. Well do not think the disdain about John Key is limited to New Zealand. He has made it on to the world stage: the New York Times the Guardian the Toronto Star the Washington Post CNN the Hindustan Times the Sydney Morning Herald—the list goes on and on. The world does not know just about the “Parnell ponytail-puller’s” mane-mauling. It has also been reminded about his mincing handshaking and language-mangling of years gone by. Then John Key decided that the way to get away with this was with two bottles of JK’s Pinot noir. What a massive ego to decide that the best way to make up for being such a tail-tugger is to give your own wine. To echo John Oliver he is meant to be the Prime Minister not a real housewife of Helensville.How proud New Zealanders in the UK were to read in the Guardian of a psychologist’s attempt to unravel the childish roots of John Key’s behaviour. The psychologist made our chests burst with nationalistic pride when he said that John Key’s behaviour may be an example of the psychological process of regression. The psychologist said: “Regression can be thought of as being malignant or benign. An example of a benign regression would be an adult taking their teddy bear to bed with them.” Has anyone asked Bronagh whether John Key has brought something small and furry to bed with him? I am not talking about Moonbeam here. The psychologist went on to say that the less benign forms of regression included Uruguayan footballer Luis Suárez biting an opponent or Jeremy Clarkson punching a producer. Happy days for New Zealanders. Our Prime Minister the “Parnell ponytail-puller” is in the same breath as a soccer player with a biting fetish and a brawling TV buffoon. So proud we are. The Washington Post had it right when it headlined its story “New Zealand’s ponytail-pulling prime minister becomes national embarrassment” and that is the truth. This is a Prime Minister who has lost the plot leading a Government that has lost its way. It is out of touch out of ideas and out for itself. Once upon a time the Prime Minister told us he was ambitious for New Zealand. Now he is just making us embarrassed for New Zealand.Let us not forget that there is a serious side to this weird behaviour—a woman in a cafe simply trying to do her job repeatedly being harassed. She deserves respect from each and every one of her customers and from the most powerful man in the country she deserves it just as much. Instead she got harassment and inappropriate behaviour again and again. The fact that the “Parnell ponytail-puller” did not even work that out and that he called it horsing around and said that it was not his intention to make her feel uncomfortable shows a major loss of moral compass. John Key warned against the arrogance of third-term Governments the danger of surprising behaviour. He could have added the risk to the reputation of the Government that its leader is a creepy weirdo. This might not be the end of the road for John Key but it is a very sure sign that he and his Government have lost their way.