Comments on: Geographical spread of Honours

By: Fletch

Fletch — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:18:32 +0000

Speaking of Wanker of the Week – I see the asshole who cut down the tree on On Tree Hill is auctioning his chainsaw on Trade Me.

By: burt

burt — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 11:20:41 +0000

I think the old xy-generation Wanker of the week award was fantastic, like knighthoods, NZOOM’s and gongs (WTF ?) it also seemed to be given out regularly to politicians and senior public servants.

Just proves the point, the bright ones will excel in any environment against multiple judgments.

By: baxter

baxter — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:32:17 +0000

Well Bob Jones and Ron Brierly didn’t do too bad out of Lange’s Labour Goverment. It is a pity though she did away with knighhoods, you could generally be assured that if there was a knight in the board-room the company would turn out a dog.Now-adays you can only eliminate the companies witha former politician in the boardroom.

By: tim barclay

tim barclay — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:22:19 +0000

People that like to rely on the Government tit like to base themselves in Wellington. I also include things like the orchestra, ballet opera and all those goody goody things. And in return they get given gongs to keep quiet and not cause too many problems. I assume business has no interest in gongs especially since they got rid of knighthoods. But I am surprised how many academics get gongs. These very obscure people which have spent their lives spending public money researching this or that get a gong. But who the hell cares really, the system is just rubbish aimed getting bits of tin and paper.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:17:48 +0000

From the Queen? Would that it were so..
But no, we’ve gone all ‘banana republic’ and started bestowing honours on ourselves.

The Knighthoods are a great loss in my opinion.
‘New Zealand Order of Merit’ has that same kind of feeling as a kid who misses out on a certificate at Calf Club Day and whose parents feel that he was more deserving (“his flower saucer was *much* better than the child who got first prize”) and so make a certificate themselves for their child.

It’s just not the same, is it? Kind of meaningless – not that I want to disparage any recipients of the NZOOM, but they deserve the *real* award.

Lets hope National can bring back Knighthoods when they win the 2008 election.
If not, then the only consolation I have is the Helen Clark will never be a Dame.

By: mikeybill

mikeybill — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:00:55 +0000

But why do so many honours go to people who have just done the jobs they were paid very well to do?

By: Craig Ranapia

Craig Ranapia — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:53:56 +0000

Well, that was a more than usually stupid column from Mr Rudman – which is truly saying something. Still, I’d like to know where his “one mathematically inclined non-recipient” placed someone like Sam Neil? A good whack of our honours in the arts have gone to people who’ve spent much of their lives in Los Angeles, London and Sydney – so what? Dump the parochialism, Rudders, it’s sooo tired.

By: gd

gd — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:50:09 +0000

And business leaders will continue to under represented whilst we have a Socialist government who hates business with a vengeance and sees them as capitalist pigs.Wealth creators are viewed as one step up from pond life by these cretins who are happy to take their taxes in order to redistribute it to their hangeron mates.