The deviousness of politicians and the complete lack of trust people have in them are not new. The Ipsos Veracity Index lists the five least-trusted professions as politicians, advertising executives, government ministers, estate agents and journalists – probably unfair to estate agents. Moreover, there is now little doubt that our present Prime Minister of New Zealand, trading on what has been described as his choirboy appearance, is as slippery as a snake, possibly even more damaging to our country than his predecessor.