Peter Gibbons worked with Weatherston
It has become fashionable in some parts of the right-wing blogosphere, particularly the prickly part in Hong Kong and the oily section in Auckland, to deride Mr Farrar’s conservative credentials and indeed to allegedly expel him from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (though I believe he still has his authentic membership certificate).
One topic however on which Mr Farrar was undoubtedly still strong, vitriolic and fiery was the trial of now-convicted murderer Clayton Weatherston. So strong, vitriolic and fiery was he (and his legions of devoted commenters) that the Solicitor-General actually took a look at the issue before deciding against taking any action against this blog. As a result though, Mr Farrar adopted a much stricter policy about what could and couldn’t appear on his blog during trials.
Today, Justice Minister Simon Power announced “the partial defence of provocation is to be abolished after the Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment bill was passed last nigth [sic].” Weatherston had controversially attempted to use this defence at his trial which seemed to most simply to be an excuse to besmirch the victim and showcase his ego.
In a number of his posts Mr Farrar stressed he did not know Clayton Weatherston or his victim Sophie Elliott.
Well, I did know Clayton Weatherston. I worked with him for almost a year.
I worked with him at Treasury. I was an analyst, he was the team’s economist. He gave me the distinct initial impression that he had been at Treasury for some time and was quite senior though I was told later he had only been there a few months before me and was a summer intern who had stayed on.
His role was to support the policy team with economic advice and expertise though I saw little evidence of this. He always seemed to be working on ill-defined special projects which no one else knew about. He was very quiet, kept to himself mostly but was not unpleasant.
In one of our rare conversations, he talked quite excitedly about being the Shaq the Cat mascot in Dunedin for several years. He got letters from Shaquille O’Neal’s lawyers telling him to stop breaking copyright and was warned by the Police for inciting opposition fans with obscene gestures involving his tail.
This seemed highly out of character for the quiet, almost shy economist I saw at work.
In terms of style, even then he had a haircut that showcased the studied deliberate messiness which only half an hour with hair gel can achieve. He either wore the most casual, hippest clothes or a hugely expensive suit. There was no middle ground in his wardrobe.
He left Treasury to return to Otago University. I think he was studying the economics of sports gambling and seemed to be looking forward to the change. His going away event was low-key and sparsely attended. He rather faded out and I did not think much more about him for many years.
When I saw the breaking news regarding the death of Sophie and the arrest of Weatherston, I was simply shocked and appalled. I had no sense that Weatherston could be capable of such evil. Certainly, he was aloof, faintly arrogant but not the most unpleasant person I had ever worked with. Not even in the top ten.
I cannot pretend to understand why he did what he did. Frankly, I do not wish to.
I can say that I think the fact that Sophie was leaving Dunedin to start work in Treasury was an issue for Weatherston. By all accounts Sophie was extremely smart and personable. It is likely that she would have superseded Weatherston’s limited legacy at Treasury very quickly. My sense is that this realisation would not have sat well with him. Beyond that, there is nothing I can add.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Well now we undestand why Treasury , in the words of the PM, cant get any forecasts right.
Its populated by socially inept nerds with a freshly minted degree who dont even know what they dont know, all designed to push its ‘product’.
Like a kiwi version of a chinese shirt factory, every colour under the sun , but still all the same and not really designed to last more than a few washes.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Huh, so it was him doing that Shaq the Cat stuff. Or is that more wishful boasting?
November 27th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Isn’t it these “aloof” type characters that regulary do this type of thing?
Sure the bad are just bad and they don’t care but just look how many “unexpected” murderer’s there are.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:32 am
A very interesting post. I imagine it will be picked up by the msm shortly.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:33 am
“..there is nothing I can add..”
well..you certainly succeeded in that ambition..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
November 27th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Getting rid of the provocation defence may sadly deter motivated members of the public from topping scum they come across committing abominable acts of violence, like that piece of neanderthal trash Weatherston.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:08 am
tho’ jake is right..
minions will be trawling file footage..as we speak..
for some of wetherston as ’shaq the cat’..
(if they aren’t..they should be..that’s one of those ‘talking point’ news stories..
(and i’ve never seen/heard of said mascot..
but i want to see that footage..)
and as ‘file footage’..plus voice-over/to camera..it costs nothing to put together..
i wonder who will be first..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
November 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am
tracing the arc of this ’shaq-story’ will be an interesting exercise in the power/influence of web-world…
phil(whoar.co.nz)
November 27th, 2009 at 11:47 am
He’s a self-obsessed tosser. End of.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:48 am
… And don’t even get me started on Weatherstone . ..
November 27th, 2009 at 11:49 am
An interesting post, indeed, although personally I’ve heard more than enough about Weatherston.
His role as Shaq the Cat, however, has been covered on several occasions in the MSM over the past 8-9 months and was quite widely known prior to that.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Any chance we could all stop talking about this murdering motherfucker and just let him rot?
November 27th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Christopher, please:
I don’t think he fucked his mother.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
“though I believe DPF still has his authentic membership certificate).”
I beg to differ. I suspect DPF’s VRWC certificate was printed by the National Party and its as bogus as 2 dollar bill.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
It would be nice if people could stick to ‘actions’ rather than personality traits; this “he was aloof and arrogant” comment about Weatherston seems common from those who know/knew him yet I hardly see it as relevant.
Many people say the same thing about me – and with good reason at times *blushes* – but so what? why this “oh he was such a smart arse we all knew this was going to happen” routine?
All that is relevant about Weatherston is that he murdered Sophie Elliot; whether or not he was a nice person (in the opinion of others) is neither here nor there.
http://www.nightcitytrader.blogspot.com
November 27th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I have a 2 dollar bill. And 1 dollar bill.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I find myself in agreement with philu.
Overuse of hair gel as a precursor to murderous acts? “Aloofness” as an indicator of psychopathology? The suitability of Treasury economists for roles as plush mascots?
In today’s parlance – WTF?
November 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
It is good to see their are 5 MPs with some integrity who are not prepared to go along with knee jerk legislation mainly to pander to the militant and powerful homosexual lobby.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Peter Gibbons probably wrote this titillating TGIF WTF-piece humming that old tune “Lloyd George Knew My Father, My Father Knew Lloyd George”.
Now what would Weatherston have to say of his time observing Gibbons-of-the-Treasury hmmm?
November 27th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Isn’t it sad that Sophies legacy has been an abosolutely screwed up, un-thought of law change. Weatherston was found guilty of murder… so where was the issue? If people object to the way he could publicly besmirch her then isn’t the more pressing issue that of allowing the press to report on those allegations made? Also, what tune would we be singing if it was Sophie who stabbed to death and mutilated Clayton and used the very same defense? Would we want her to be found guilty of manslaughter or murder if what she said was true?
This law change is a knee-jerk reaction made by a bunch of popularity seeking f_@ktards.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Sophie was extremely smart and personable.
Really??? Dumb I would say for hooking up with an arsehole like Weatherston.
Twice her age, a fuckwit with a shit personality, overbearing, ignorant, argumentative, controlling, evil.
She chose to screw with an arsehole like that over a long period of time, to return to that bad situation and you want to tell us that she was extremely smart. I don’t think so.
P.S. That didn’t excuse Weatherston for what he did and neither does it excuse the Nats. for using this as a reason to change the law.