A Week Of It: Shane Jones, Ian Wishart and Hosking

Friday, 24 March 2006, 4:25 pm
Column: Kevin List

A Cup of Tea And A Wee Natter With Shane Jones
Former Beehive Employee Ian Wishart Talks About Laying Siege To The Beehive via Investigate Magazine
Slightly Dangerous And Groovy Quiz Show Returning

The life of the chairperson of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure committee isn't all flashing cameras and TVNZ inquiries according to new Labour MP Shane Jones. A Week of It caught up with Mr Jones, a potentially rising star of the 2005 intake of MPs, for a cup of tea and a short chat about how he was adjusting to life within the hallowed halls of New Zealand's version of Westminster- style democracy.

Many political pundits pick Mr Jones, who in 2000 became chair of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and Sealord Products, as being headed for a ministerial position. Indeed, following the rate at which Investigate magazine is destroying Labour cabinet minister's careers, Mr Jones' opportunity to sit at the cabinet table may be sooner rather than later. A Week of It traversed Mr Jones' dealings with the media recently, including battles with ACT leader Rodney Hide and how he got himself into a sticky situation over comments he made during the recent TVNZ inquiry.

Listen to Shane Jones chatting about adjusting to life as an MP:

Scoop Streaming Audio: Shane Jones Interview

Click here to download file (mp3)

Touched upon in the interview with Mr Jones:

Would he have felt just as comfortable in a National caucus as alleged in Saunders Unsworth's black book? (evidently not).

What his position is regarding Dr Wayne Mapp's Employment Relations (Probationary Employment) Amendment Bill.

How he feels the Maori Party is going and how he relates to other Maori MPs in Parliament.

The demise of John Tamihere from political life.

A onetime employee of Mike Moore, Ian Wishart is now well and truly on the outside of the building he once worked in. The man who in the late eighties took the lift to the 7th floor of the Beehive is now quite possibly the most disliked journalist in New Zealand for those who work in the upper reaches of the Beehive.

Earlier this week an article penned by Ian Wishart was responsible for terminating the ministerial career of David Parker, who is now the former Minister of Energy, former Minister of Transport and former Attorney General. Mr Wishart is the editor of Investigate magazine, a publication he founded six years ago that is now not only sold in New Zealand but also has a special Australian edition.

Mr Wishart claimed in his latest editorial that Investigate was required to be a Government watchdog and that Investigate is an equal-opportunities magazine that had 'annoyed the Right in the past'.

A Week of It caught up with the self-described 'social conservative' who explained that at one time - a long time ago - he had been the darling of the left and had even been asked to stand as an Alliance Party MP.

The fallout from Mr Wishart's David Parker article had resulted in him being labelled a "creep" by the Prime Minister on Newstalk ZB however he was taking this in his stride and seemed pleased he wasn't labelled a "little creep" as John Campbell had been.

Mr Wishart told a NZ Herald journalist that he found the comments astounding. A Week of It quizzed Mr Wishart about why he found the comments astounding considering he had once referred to the Prime Minister as a "sickly bookish archetypal nerd who now has the ability to kick sand in everyone's faces" in an article.

Also covered in A Week of It's chat with Mr Wishart:

A Week of It particularly wanted to know which Labour MP was next and asked, "Should Shane Jones knees be knocking – he's Maori and he's a prominent businessman?"

Luckily for Labour's next rising star, Mr Wishart, though tempted by working his way through the entire Labour cabinet as an investigative journalistic exercise, considered that it may be time for a wee break from politics.

"We've done three political stories in a row maybe it's time for a breather – heck I need it as much as anyone else," were Mr Wishart's final words on the subject.

Listen to the full interview with Ian Wishart:

Scoop Streaming Audio: Ian Wishart Interview 24/03/06

Click here to download file (mp3)

Fans of quiz shows about politics that are a little bit dangerous, and slightly groovy, will have been disheartened by last Sunday morning's Mediawatch show on Radio New Zealand. Mediawatch's host Colin Peacock decided to take various media outlets to task (namely the Sunday Star-Times) for not investigating a story about a potential waste of hard-earned taxpayers dollars on Prime TV's quiz show Out of the Question.

"NZ on Air forked out no less than $800,000 of public money for Out of the Question. That subsidy will have helped debt-stricken Prime meet the cost of employing Paul Holmes and possibly a pay-out or two for the 14 staff who were let go when the Paul Holmes' current affairs show was axed last year…then there's the fact that Out of the Question disappeared after just six episodes last year after attracting only tiny audiences," railed a rarked-up Mr Peacock before suggesting certain national daily papers should be investigating this potentially scandalous situation.

Fortunately for the public, A Week of It was straight on to the potential scandal and discovered from NZ on Air that although $842,000 was allocated for Out of the Question this was for 20 episodes and only a portion of this money has so far been paid out. Even better news was soon to come - especially for fans of Mike Hosking: Prime TV's publicist confirmed to A Week of It that that Out of the Question will be returning in the next few months with NZ's grooviest broadcaster.

ENDS

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