Sir John Key for services to New Zealand:

15 per cent GST; 29 dead miners (bodies not recovered); 40,000 homeless; wages that have not kept up with the cost of living; home ownership beyond the grasp of most young Kiwis; congested roads with water, sewage and utilities under pressure; waterways polluted and infrastructure neglected; families having difficulties finding homes to raise their children; run-down state assets; money squandered on motels while hundreds of state houses remain empty requiring maintenance; school-aged education inadequate with declining standards; tertiary institutions compromising on standards to attract and keep foreign students and their money; high medical costs of a visit to the doctor and/or dentist; increased prescription charges; lengthy surgical waiting lists for elective surgery; a clearance rate of less than 10 per cent for burglaries and too few uniformed officers; reduction and discontinuation of social services provided for the sick, handicapped, or impaired.

All aggravated by uncontrolled immigration and the sale of state assets. Does he leave it a better place than he found it?

P Dolden, Papamoa (Abridged).