Prime Minister Bill English has been in Parliament since 1990 but he obviously feels the need to enlighten New Zealanders on who he is. Following the lead set by Labour leader Andrew Little in his State of the Nation speech on Sunday, Mr English decided to open up a bit yesterday about his upbringing. Mr English had, for a while, the nickname of "Double Dipton" for claiming a housing allowance when, in fact, he lived in Wellington. By the early 1980s, Mr English was a new, keen and highly indebted young farmer. As a new MP in 1990, Mr English saw a deep-seated resilience of rural families and communities as they rebuilt their skills and their confidence.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 02, 2017 17:03 UTC