by frog
From Wednesday’s Molesworth and Featherston (sub only):
Dunne roamin’
We did advise United Future leader Peter Dunne last week to give Rod Donald’s funeral in Christchurch a miss, but did he listen? Nope. Rumour has it his chief of staff Rob Eaddy went on a fact-finding mission to the Greens ahead of the service and was told in no uncertain terms that if the member for Ohariu-Belmont re-read all the things he had said about Rod Donald and the Greens before and since the election and could still square it with his conscience, he was welcome to attend. It seems he could and he did. This man cannot take a hint.
Then in the Diary in this morning’s Dominion Post (offline):
Though he’s no friend of the Greens, United Future leader Peter Dunne made a point of going to last week’s funeral service for party co-leader Rod Donald, with whom he apparently shared a devotion to the cellphone. His was heard to chirp repeatedly in the minutes after Cathedral Dean Peter Beck had made a point of requesting that morners turn them off.
Published in Parliament by frog on Fri, November 18th, 2005
Tags: environment
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
For me the most frustrating part of these “seen to be done” people who attended the service for Rod meant that the majority of Christchurch Greens, who chose to bike with Rod from Bedford Row, were left standing outside ………..
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Peter Dunne is a small, little man who has vividly shown himself to be a hypocrite.
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dragonwoman,
I would much have preferred, not being able to make the journey, to have seen the faces of faithful friends at the cathedral on the coverage, than the simpering sycophants from the opposition, who had been so callous during Rod’s life.
If you beleive his spirit was able to see the events (which I understand he didn’t believe, but that’s outside the thought I’m working on….) then your presence was noted; the living bereaved certainly were heartened by the sight of a cohort of green cyclists, and no amount of hypocrisy by others can dim that. My spirit certainly soared at the sight, and the images repeated through media.
peace, katie
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I dislike name calling but I cannot resist thinking of… the Dunne Heap
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oh he’s just being a Janus dog whistling politician.
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“A picture is worth a thousand words”.
Whenever Peter Dunne’s antics raise my blood pressure, I find it helpful (and fun) to return to the archives of Tom Scott et al. Cartoonists very astute depictions of Peter remind me that many must think as I do!
… My favourite is the infant Peter throwing his toys out of his cot.
There were several others from around election time …
Does anyone have the web hyperlinks?
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Um, to play the devil’s advocate for a moment (and I hate doing it on behalf of Dunne): Have any of you attended the funeral – or wedding or landmark birthday party or work-related function – of someone you didn’t much like for the sake of appearances?
I guess if Dunne hadn’t gone, there would have been snarky items in The DomPost, M&F and this blog along the lines of “Isn’t it a shame Dunne couldn’t put politics aside for a few hours – what a bitter, pathetic, mean-spirited little tosser.”
Having said that, IMO Dunne deserves two snaps down with a bitch-slap back for having his cellphone at all – it wasn’t the time (a solemn ceremony) or the place (a consecrated house of worship) regardless of whether it was off, on or set to vibrate pleasantly.
Sorry, but what is it about cellphones that just sucks all social grace and good manners out of otherwise nice people?
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Posibly Craig, I’m more sympathetic to Dunne’s choice than many I know, but I will note that Winston didn’t attend, and has copped far less flack than Dunne has for attending.
If reports are true that the Greens actively encouraged Dunne not to attend, then that would have been a pretty fine excuse not to attend, if he had required one, which seems unlikely, given Winston’s treatment.
And, really, I’m not convinced that Peter Dunne is that nice a person. I mean, I guess personally he’s probably ok to his friends and kittens, but nah, he just ain’t that nice.
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Craig – with respect to cellphones? I would reckon its forgetfulness mostly… it requires a specific action to turn it off, and is habitually on. If you only turned it on to take messages and respond to them at YOUR convenience it might perhaps work better for us all. Having to call somewhere else for the messages is a pain. The phone should be able to record them in real-time. It’d be a different sort of phone, to be sure.
I recollect that the phone company in the US originally spent quite a bit of time trying to find the most annoying ring-tone possible to ensure people would answer rather than ignore the phone. We hear the bell and march obediently to the sacrifice… we run, lest we miss something. It is all too human.
I remember my astonishment when one of my old instructors (in his office, this was before cellular) simply ignored his phone as it rang. He, unlike everyone else in the society, grasped the fact that the people he was talking to at the time, the people in front of his desk, were important. If the call is really important, they’ll leave a message or call back later.
Telephone – “An invention of the devil which somewhat abrogates the advantages of keeping disagreeable people at a distance” – Ambrose Bierce.
I don’t hold his appearance or his phone against Mr Dunne. I happen to think you’re right and demonizing the man is a mistake. He needs re-education, but he’s not impossible. Rod didn’t (if I read things correctly) find him to be impossible. Just wrong about some issues we find important…
respectfully
BJ
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BJ: In the academic circles I find myself, leaving the phone ringing when you have visitors is almost standard practice. They can ring back later dammit
Otherwise you might as well give your whole brain to the person at the other end of the phone, if they can interrupt you at any time. Mobile phones are even more evil in that respect. Of course, its easier to say that phones don’t rule you then to actually act as though they don’t — its always tempting to think the incoming call may be the most important communication you have ever had… how did we ever live without mobile phones? 
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Here are a few more recent cartoons of Peter Dunne.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3458474a2581,00.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3380822a10233,00.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3402970a10233,00.html
and one of Winston, just for good measure …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3410555a10233,00.html
I have yet to locate pre-election ones.
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BJ: At Rod’s Service, everyone was asked to turn cell phones off. Peter would have been seated in the Cathedral at that time.
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I just thought of a NEAT topic for a cartoon:
bjchip, on behalf of the Greens, “re-educating” Peter Dunne !
How about it, BJ ?
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ooh can I plug my webpage of the things that are wrong with Dirty Dunne?
http://www.norml.org.nz/page62.html
Sorry not updated for years
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More Dunne cartoons
http://www.dorkinglabs.com/fim_popup.php?id=47&title=Civil+Unions
http://www.dorkinglabs.com/fim_popup.php?id=57&title=Common+Sense
http://www.dorkinglabs.com/fim_popup.php?id=65&title=Think+Beige
http://frothmouthedlefty.blogspot.com/2005/09/brash-and-his-lil-pal.html
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I just thought of a NEAT topic for a cartoon:
bjchip, on behalf of the Greens, “re-educating? Peter Dunne!
Can I borrow the whip?
respectfully
BJ
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Hell it’s Friday, so “Down the Dunne[y]!” folks. With apologies to a certain other green who thought of this 1st.
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Pip & BJ:
Fair and thoughtful comments. I’m not holding a candle for Dunne, but I think he’s been piled on ever so slightly unfairly. [Ugh - where is the bottle of battery acid I use for mouthwash
] I agree with BJ that the whole cellphone thing was more likely forgetfulness rather than elephantitis of the ego, but you know something: It would be nice if we lived in a perfect world where common courtesy is imprinted on our DNA. In most respects, it isn’t. Judith Martin (who is best known under her nom de plume Miss Manners) once made a beautiful observation – far from being elitist, true ettiquite is truly egalitarian. As the saying goes, a gentleman is someone who can treat the queen like a parlour maid and nobody turns a hair – because in his own house the parlour maid is shown the same courtesy as a queen. Both are euqally worthy of civility and respect.
And that’s what really pisses me off about bad cellphone manners – it says in sixty foot high flashing neon “YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF MY UNDIVIDED AND RESPECTFUL ATTENTION.”
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One more Tom Scott cartoon :
http://blog.greens.org.nz/index.php/2005/09/21/tom-scott-on-peter-dunne/
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eredwen said:
I just thought of a NEAT topic for a cartoon:
bjchip, on behalf of the Greens, “re-educating? Peter Dunne!
BJ replied:
Can I borrow the whip?
eredwen replies:
You may find it in Peter Dunne’s cot … (see previous cartoon.)
respectfully
BJ
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Rod Donald actually said some pretty nice things about Peter Dunne on National Radio not long after Labour ditched the Greens for the Coalition of the Willful.
He said something about him and Peter Dunne managing to work very well together in select committees and always getting along in private. He then said he wasn’t sure what it was that made Peter Dunne go nuts (or words to that effect) about the Greens in public debates and media interviews.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing at first, but Rod always seemed to out-do Dunne and Brash in the “gentleman” stakes on Morning Report.
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I guess it isn’t so much that Dunne has a morality I am opposed to – its that he has none and at all and it appears plainly obvious that his vilification of the Greens is to placate the 2% or so militant “I’ll hunt if I bloody well want to /DOC is all about ideology over science/take all the nice hunting from Stewart Island and we’ll introduce stoats” brigade who vote for him.
…hmmm… perhaps your cartoon could depict Dunne as Madonna? (the singer not Mother of Jesus)
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Oh yeah, and one group that I really expected to be there who I didn’t see were the Maori party – I surprising omission culturally and politically
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I saw both Pita Sharples and Te Ururoa Flavell there – don’t know about the others.
The thing that annoys me about Peter Dunne is the irrational viciousness of his attacks on the Greens. They go way beyond political disagreement and are more in the line of malicious personal insult.
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Well, digger, I agree with you but – to be blunt – I think the left really has to cop to some pretty malicious and ugly personal attacks being flung the other way. It’s going to take people of good will and integrity on all side of the political specturm (and I know they’re there) to start de-toxing their own houses, and it won’t be quick or easy. But I’m willing to be break the habit of a lifetime, and say I believe it can be done.
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thanks digger – I wonder how I managed to miss them?
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You’ve done a lot of this sort of whining, Craig.
Let’s have some concrete examples please. No waffle. Something comparable to Dunne on the Greens. Put up or… ?
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The thing I can’t understand about Dunne is why Ohariu-Belmont people keep voting for him. I used to vote in that electorate and the local candidate fight is just non-existent. But as far as I’m aware, he’s never actually been a particularly strong advocate for that area, or actually done anything useful for the residents worthy of rewarding (I might be wrong about this, can anyone clarify?). So why does he win so easily? Is it
(a) inertia – OB people are uninterested in politics, and he’s a familiar face who roughly fits their rich, semi-religious demographic.
(b) no party ever expends much effort to run against him
(c) he actually is a local battler for the OB people? As I said, not sure if there is any evidence of this
Anyone got any opinions?
I would love to see somebody (National presumably) take him on and wipe him (and UF) off the scene.
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Apparently he makes a habit of going to all the school fairs etc. in his area on the weekends (at least that is what they said on tv3 on election night). Not knowing anything about the electorate I imagine there is the problem of Labour/Nat vote splitting as well as the fact that neither would risk running against him for fear of enduring his wrath – which as we have seen is quite petty, unfortunately I think this is where he gets his power from. Mind you it seems Winston will never go with National again after Clarkson “stole” his seat
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Alistair:
Well, I’ve noticed that when I’ve made this challenge before – with “concrete examples” – you’ve pulled out the same old tired tactic of dodge the issue and attack the messenger.
A good way to start changing the tone of political discourse is not to keep playing the old game by the old rules. And I think experience has proved that it’s a waste of time and energy to keep rising to flame bait, rather than engaging with serious and respectful debate.
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That’s a little naive don’t you think? Fear and rhetoric works. That is how the Bush administration managed to win the last election
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I wonder if Dunne’s anti-Green attitude is linked to:
[1] his desire to win over conservative recreational and conservation interests whose politics may be National leaning but who have a degree of sympathy for broad Green issues.
[2] his perception of the Greens as a threat to achieving dominance in this pool of potential Green supporters, thus continual attacks aimed at conservative ‘Greens’ to frighten them of Green Party ‘extremism’.
[3] his long standing support for the tobacco industry, which has campaigned against the strong anti-smoking health policies of the Greens.
[4] some very personal clash with Rod during the 1970′s when both were in their teenage years together in Christchurch.
As a political science student at Canterbury myself in the 1970′s, I find it hard to believe such a right-wing product as Dunne could emerge from the same faculty at the same time:)
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Craig :
Yes indeed,
experience has proved that it’s a waste of time and energy to keep rising to flame bait
and it was wrong of me to do so.
I suggest you stop offering this sort of flame bait, or people will start thinking you are a troll. Which would be a shame, because you often bring an interesting perspective to discussions here.
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Peter Dunne wins by being all smiles and cuddles in the electorate campaign, and keeping his more unsightly comments bashing hard-working people like Nandor carefully out of the interest of mainstream media, so that his busy, rich, and religious audience doesn’t see them on One News.
Unfortunately I am part of said electorate, and was most dissapointed that the Labour candidate didn’t even come close. *sigh* If only national would field a strong candidate to cannibalise Dunne’s votes… I’d vote for them just to keep Dunne out of parliament =/
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craig said…
“the left really has [...] some pretty malicious and ugly personal attacks being flung the other way.”
may we remind you that “the Greens are neither left nor right, but out in front?”
i.e. stop lumping us in with other parties. There has never been a Green ugly and personal attack on our political opposition, if there has been, then offer some evidence. Presumably you are referring to dirty tricks of the Labour Party. Reminder, we are not Labour. In this thread we are not interested in how bad Labour are, many in the Greens agree with you that Labour are a bunch of …
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Thank you Stuey, that is what I should have said instead of rising to the bait.
Though I don’t subscribe to the “neither left nor right” line. I believe we are way the heck out in front of the rest of the left.
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aliatair:
I agree that we end up “way the heck out in front of the rest of the left”… in many(?) ways.
However, in some ways, we also end up “out in front of the right” (conservative -> conservation etc)
Greens “get there” by a somewhat different route, (our own!)
… it is the navigation and the journey that makes us different.
Thus, I do subscribe to the “neither left nor right line”
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the other interestin relationship is economics and ecology from the Greek eukos (?) meaning home (?).
I am glad to see you assert that we are neither left or right, this is not a party of extremes but a party which seeks a balance on three fronts as opposed to the “centrist” parties who deal with only two (at best)
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