Shanks Katrina: General Debate 
Shanks Katrina: General Debate 
[Volume:659;Page:8387] 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to take a call in this general debate. As we are coming to the end of the year and building up to Christmas many of us take some time out and take a breather and start reflecting on the year we have had. We reflect on how good our year has been or how bad our year has been and where we want to go in the future. 
There were seven polls over this last year which I want to reflect back on—just seven polls. The first poll I will reflect on was on 22 February this year. It was the One News Colmar Brunton poll. National was at 56 percent Labour at 28 percent Key at 51 percent and Goff—who can guess what Goff was at? 
Hon Members 
: What? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Six! Goff was at 6 percent in February. I will read out the commentary of February as to what happened: “They have been in office for just over 100 days and already the country has given a big thumbs up to John Key’s new National Government. The first ONE News Colmar Brunton poll of the year shows National rating twice as high as Labour whose new leader Phil Goff is looking like the invisible man as he struggles to lift his party out of the doldrums. Key can hardly put a foot wrong right now. The Prime Minister breaks his arm and it turns out to be a boost for charity with his plaster cast selling on Trade Me … for 18-and-a-half thousand dollars … Even when he got roughed up … at Waitangi … the overall signs were of racial harmony with National and the Maori Party’s working partnership setting the tone. In fact right now the National camp has everything to smile about. … In fact the former defence minister is missing in action as far as the battle for recognition goes.” 
Poll No. 2 was in April. Key was at 51 percent and Goff—who can guess what Goff was at? 
Hon Members 
: What? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Six! He was on 6 percent again. What had National done in that time? Well we had talked about tourism and we had done stuff on roads on small and medium sized enterprises and on jobs and growth and we were pretty much on a roll. 
But when we go further and look at the poll in August the third poll we go to what does it say? National was on 56 percent Labour on 31 percent Key on 51 percent and Goff had gone up. Who can guess what Goff was on? 
Paul Quinn 
: Six? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Seven! He was on 7 percent—nearly double figures. Goff was on 7 percent in the third poll of the year. But we still had things to do. We still had the cycleway to push through the cycleway that New Zealand fell in love with. 
But no there is more. We have to go to the fourth poll of the year which was in September. Key dropped 1 percent and was then on 50 percent and Goff had gone up again. What was Goff on? He nearly made it to double figures—9 percent. And so it was that 9 percent was the high for the year. He was feeling good he was doing things he had made it to 9 percent. 
OK let us move on to my fifth poll for the year in October. National was on 59 percent Labour on 27 percent and Key had gone up wait for it 55.8 percent. 
Hon Member 
: What a high. 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: What a high! But no Goff had dropped. Oh no he had dropped from 9 percent. What could he have been on? What was he on? 
Paul Quinn 
: Six? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: He was on 4.7 percent. His rating had halved—oh no! What had happened? Let us see what was said about Goff at 4.7 percent: “Goff does even worse on a question”—[ 
Interruption 
]—are those members listening? This is all real; they can read it themselves—“about personality scoring just 26 percent to Key’s 72 percent. Funnily enough Goff also scores worse on inexperience which is ironic given he’s been in Parliament five times as long as Key. … they think Key … is a friendly personable competent chap who’s doing a good job.” That was poll No. 5. 
Poll No. 6—we are nearly there; I know this is tough for the Opposition—was on 31 October.