NEWSFLASH! Karl du Fresne manages a whole hour and a quarter of normality! Radio NZ National,The Panel, Wednesday 12 June 2013 Jim Mora, Karl du Fresne, Finlay Macdonald
Preshow chat, 3:45 to 4:00 p.m.—nothing. Well, one thing of interest: Karl du Fresne notes that the U.S. regime lied continuously and grossly about what it was doing in Vietnam. That’s a remarkable change in his behaviour; a tilt toward honesty.
First half hour: nothing eventful. Some interesting discussions, about Peter Dunne and Winston Peters, and something else about Sir Bruce Ferguson, but nothing eventful.
At 4:30, the News. Nothing exciting.
Karl du Fresne on his best behaviour. So far. Mora and Macdonald pleasant and urbane as always.
At 4:40, a discussion with Phil Ruthven, chairman and founder of Ibis World, from Melbourne, about use of leisure time. Diverting, but nothing special.
Next it’s time for the “Soapbox” segment, where the guests deliver a prepared rumination on something they’ve been thinking about. Or, in the case of guests like Christine (Spankin’) Rankin, a confused and incoherent rant against Māori. So, maybe du Fresne will say something stupid in this segment….
MORA: Finlay I think you want to mention Nelson Mandela.
FINLAY MACDONALD: He’s been there for all of my life. I was born in 1961, when he was just starting his revolutionary movement. He went to jail soon after and he was in Robben Island all during my youth. I was thirty when he was released from jail, and my oldest child was born the year that he was elected president of South Africa. I just wonder who are we sending to his funeral? The prime minister, who can’t remember what side he was on in 1981? Or one of those public figures who called him a terrorist?
MORA:[with a slight edge of facetiousness] John Minto!
FINLAY MACDONALD:[refusing to rise to Mora’s provocation] Yeah, maybe. Or I think possibly John Graham, who went to the townships—he asked to be taken there—and came back to New Zealand and said “I don’t think we should play with those people”. That took a lot of courage.
KARL DU FRESNE: Mmmm, mmmmm.
MORA: Mmmmm, mmmmm. Karl, what’s been on YOUR mind?
KARL DU FRESNE: I want to have a bit of a grizzle about incomprehensible sets of instructions.
MORA: Hur hur hur hur.
KARL DU FRESNE: There are some things where you CAN’T disregard the instructions and charge ahead. Particularly electronic things. My brother is a builder, well accustomed to dealing with technical challenges. But he’s tearing his hair out trying to work the electronic equipment in his house. ….
This monologue continues for some time, and is actually very amusing.
MORA: Lots of suggestions on the texts about who to send over to the funeral: Phil Recordon, Jim Bolger, Sandy McNicol…
FINLAY MACDONALD: There’s a whole planeload of them!
At 4:50, a discussion about crude and offensive language at the football on Saturday night.
At 4:55, an amusing discussion with the sly and hilarious Patrick Morgan, about scooter safety. Once again, Karl du Fresne’s comments are pertinent and positive.
VERDICTS:
Good work, Jim. Keep it up! (A minus.)
Well done, Karl du Fresne. See, you CAN act like a normal human being. (A minus.)
Finlay Macdonald: Badly misjudged assessment of John Graham. That one comment aside, he took nothing like the stance against apartheid, or racism, that you say he did. (B minus.)
Karl du Fresne manages a whole hour and a quarter of normality! Radio NZ National, The Panel, Wednesday 12 June 2013 Jim Mora, Karl du Fresne, Finlay Macdonald