May 15, 2006 9:29pm by David Farrar

NZ has had Stalinist famine!

Graham Kelly, lifetime unionist and Labour MP, is our High Commissioner to Canada.

He helpfully promotes New Zealand by explaining our past. For example listen to his description of th 1990s:

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libertyscott

The same guy who said that Canwest buying TV3 would mean we would all be watching programmes about Canadian Mounties or Canwest owning RNZ commercial stations would only play Canadian music.

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May 15, 2006 10:21pm

Aron Gestalbion

He’s just getting some lines ready for his comrades in New Zealand’s Marxist unions to use at select committee in opposing Wayne Mapp’s 90 day probationary employment bill and maybe in a speech or two by ‘Mr T’ Mallard.

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May 15, 2006 10:35pm

Craig Ranapia

Scott:

And don’t forget that this is the same man who treated who was invited to speak to a Senate standing committee on New Zealand’s fisheries management. Instead, he chose to spice up his presentation with *ahem* something akin to Mike King at his most manic warming up a Winston First rally.

I think it’s about time the New Zealand Government showed Canada a bit of respect, and stopped using the Ottawa High Commission as a well padded cell for embarrasing hacks you can’t just shoot. I know Celene Dion is pretty bad, but responding with Graham Kelly is flat out evil.

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May 15, 2006 11:02pm

M'lud

Don’t you recall the cadres of Young Nats going door-to-door, demanding that any hoarded food be handed over? And then there was Jim Bolger ordering the mass execution of the revisionist remnants of the Muldoonists.

Ah, memories.

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May 15, 2006 11:49pm

libertyscott

It’s not as if obscene Canadian films are corrupting the youth of New Zealand after all.

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May 16, 2006 2:25am

Salomon Gurney

Yes it is rather rude to have sent Graham ‘Argh’ Kelly to Canada. I guess it’s a bit like nuclear waste though – no one wants it but you have to bury it somewhere. And Canada does heavily subsidise its farmers if I recall, so it may as well be them. On the other hand, I can’t recall the Canucks ever reciprocating by nominating someone with a penchant for idiocy as him as High Commissioner to Godzone. Two more points in their favour. First, they’ve more than made up for C Dion with the likes of Shania Twain, Leonard Cohen and … (sorry to say kids, she’s one of them) Anna Paquin. Second, they’ve never taken NZ to the international court in The Hague for our failure to provide an ice rink in every major city (which must be contrary to some UN convention). I think we all owe the Canucks an apology.

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May 16, 2006 7:07am

Danyl Mclauchlan

1. Comparing the 90s National government to Stalin is plainly absurd.

2. Making fun of it on a blog in which the comments section compares the current Labour government with the Nazis, Stalinists, Maoists and North Koreans on a daily basis is even more moronic than Kellys original comment.

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May 16, 2006 7:34am

the deity formerly known as nigel6888

Ah but dim, one is a set of largely anonymous commentators with no standing – the other is the legal representative of our sovereign nation speaking in that capacity on behalf of all New Zealanders.

But of course this makes both instances of exactly equal weight doesnt it.

Is there really no depth which you will not plumb to find these absurd red herrings of moral equivalence?

Its almost like there is a pathology on the left:

“but see one of the other side said something/did something nasty too mummy, so that makes it alright.”

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May 16, 2006 7:49am

Danyl Mclauchlan

It’s very simple, Nigel.

The big difference is that its newsworthy when a public chump like Kelly does it, and not when some anonymous chump on the internet does it.

My (very obvious) point is that its risible for the anonymous chump to then make fun of Kelly for resorting to the same hyperbole that they practise on a daily basis.

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May 16, 2006 8:19am

the deity formerly known as nigel6888

QED Dim.

The “yes, but…” defence doesnt really cut it here.

Us risible anonymous chumps know that all we are doing is sounding off for fun. The representative of New Zealand in Ottawa, does not have that luxury.

That, unfortunately, is the “big difference”. see if you can spot it.

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May 16, 2006 8:28am

Michael (The Right Wing One)

As Kelly was my local MP, it was always fun to read in our local paper how he’d gone on friendship visits to Korea (you know which one) organised by Socialists International.

Maybe that’s where he observed millions starving in a Government caused famine, and now he’s confused about where it was because he’s been in Canada for too long. Time to recall him, methinks.

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May 16, 2006 8:34am

Craig Ranapia

Daryl:

Yes, very sound analogy. Let me explain this in small words. The High Commissioner to Canada is a diplomat, and once upon a time our diplomats (even the political appointees) were expected to be measured, rational advocates for New Zealand’s interests and citizens abroad. They are provided with generous salaries, allowances and perks to provide that very simple service. (I also understand that Ottawa has excellent bookstores, libraries and universities where Mr. Kelly should be able to learn a thing or two about 20th century Russian history. That’s assuming the High Commission doesn’t have internet access or competent staff who would whip up a briefing paper.)

Bloggers – and those who post comments on them – are not.

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May 16, 2006 9:36am

tim barclay

Take these idiots out of the embrace of the Labour Party caucus they they are just empty headed idiots. Now I know why the Labour Party keeps such strict control over what people say. Jonathan Hunt is no better.

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May 16, 2006 12:33pm

Bob Howard

You get this sort of thing when a group (the Left) have to be against something (the Right) but have no rational basis for it.

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May 16, 2006 12:48pm

Bob Howard

You get this sort of thing when a group (the Left) are against something (the Right) but have no rational basis for it.

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May 16, 2006 12:51pm

Clerk of the House

I’ve just sent the following off to the Canadian website. I’ll send it out as a mass email (modified slightly) to the diplomatic corps in Ottawa over the next few days.

“I was interested to read of NZ High Commissioner Peter Kelly’s comments about New Zealand in the 1990s in your Spring 2005 edition.

I would be concerned to think that anyone in Canada had taken them seriously. After, Mr Kelly is nothing more than a failed MP, who was removed to a plum posting in Canada to avoid publicly embarrassing his party in New Zealand. When one considers that he was competing with a corrupt lawyer, a paedophile, a number of former union heavies (literally and metaphorically, and several women who haven’t enough courage to be honest about their sexuality, it is hardly surprising that he was unable to make the grade required for a Cabinet seat.

It’s just a pity that Canada wound up with him.”

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May 16, 2006 5:26pm

Sean

Interesting question – “Couldn’t Labour have found someone better than this idiot.”
Alarming answer – “Probably not.”

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May 16, 2006 7:43pm

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