Antipodean Greens have established themselves as the rudest on the planet, with the New Zealanders easily winning the local derby.
Tomorrow Prime Minister Julia Gillard will address the New Zealand Parliament in Wellington in what her Kiwi counterpart, conservative John Key, had hoped would be a first.
However, NZ Greens co-leader Russel Norman and colleagues have made sure the Parliament won’t be in session when she arrives, making it just another speech and not a high-level honour.
She will be speaking in the Parliament, but technically the Parliament will not be in operation. The Greens have robbed the Australian PM of the distinction of being the first overseas leader to address the national legislature.
Norman has gone to some lengths to insist he has nothing against Gillard, thus displaying a degree of affection towards her not shared by about 50 per cent of Australian voters.
It’s just that she would be a precedent and if Gillard were allowed to be the first head of government or head of state to address a sitting of the Parliament, then you never know who might want to do it next.
If Norman invited you to dinner he would feed you on the porch in case some time in the future a mass murderer asked to come in for a meal.
So who does he fear might be in line after Gillard? It might be one of those awful Chinese leaders the NZ Greens find so offensive. It might be that man Norman considers ``unpleasant’‘, George Bush.
Why Bush would even be considered for the gig was not explained. But the reference to the former US President does provide a link to the rudeness of the Australian Greens.
Bob Brown in person is most polite, gentlemanly even.
But in October, 2003, he and Greens colleague Kerry Nettle heckled George Bush as he addressed a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament. They were protesting the jailing in Guantanamo of Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.
Brown shook the President’s hand as he left the Chamber but Coalition MPs held Nettle back from approaching Bush.
Both Greens were tossed out of Parliament for 24 hours for the disruption they caused, with Tony Abbott demanding their removal.
The ejection prevented them giving a similar performance for Chinese President Hu Jintao when he addressed a Joint Sitting the following day.
If Brown back then had the electoral leverage he has now, would those speeches have gone ahead at all? The actions of the NZ Greens indicate they would not.
There is an old saying along the lines of: If you want to speak in Parliament, get elected. This means you have to receive the authority that only voters can grant to address the legislature.
But the importance of a parliament as the voice of a nation makes allowing an outsider to address it a special privilege which the nation can confer.
To want to confer it on the leader of a close friend such as Australia would reinforce that friendship. To withdraw that privilege would be a snub, and a devaluation of the significance of the parliament. It then become just another function room hired for another speech from a politician.
Gillard and most Australians won’t be bothered by Norman’s isolationist bad manners, but other New Zealanders might start to think about the display of narrow-mindedness, and the reflection on their otherwise-generous national hospitality.
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Greece makes the final and Ireland gets in on a golden ticket. How awkward and embarrassing. Love it. #sbseurovision
The weird thing about #eurovision is you've got this massive collection of dorks in a room and no one is wearing Spock ears #sbseurovision
Europe has the large hadron collider which is light years ahead of its time and #eurovision, where the eighties never die
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Eurovision can’t drown out the human rights abuses
Last year, thousands of Azerbaijanis spontaneously took to the streets of Baku shouting and chanting.…
Revenge. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this
Last month, Katy McCaffrey boarded the Disney Wonder cruiseliner. At some point during the trip, a sneaky…
Friday dilemma: can school bullies grow out of it?
ClubsNSW is set to introduce a fresh new effort to combat schoolyard intimidation, insisting on a principal’s…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Most commented