| Monday, July 30, 2012 6:00 AM

The problem for State Homie John Key with the current electoral setup is that he's got to keep his support base close, he's got to keep Banksie and Prissy Peter Dunne sweet even though at times they leave him with a sour taste in his mouth.

His latest gob stopper is Banksie and his 'hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil' towards donations he received in the leadup to his unsuccessful bid to become the country's first super mayor.

Fortunately for him this law's an ass, written for those suffering from amnesia and for those who are clearly short of sight.

Banksie went out and solicited donations, nothing wrong with that. He got two $25,000 cheques after having a yarn to cyber giant Kim Dotcom and then during a meeting with the SkyCity boss he was handed a sealed envelope with a $15,000 cheque in it.

Can you imagine getting a sealed envelope and not having the curiosity to have a peak inside?

The money was paid into the Team Banksie account by one of his lackies and then when it came to signing off his returns he listed the donations as anonymous. It's inconceivable that he didn't know where the money came from but unless there's actual proof that he did then that's the end of the story.

But not if his political opponents can help it, they're baying for blood. Labour's saying on the basis of his obvious memory lapse alone he's not fit to hold Cabinet office.

They say there's no credibility in the State Homie talking about setting the bar for higher ethical standards and then keeping Banksie close to him in Cabinet.

But in reality The Homie's caught between a rock and a hard place, Banksie's there because he represents the Tory's one seat majority and if Labour was in the same position it'd adopt the three monkeys approach as well!

Photo: Getty Images