Pathetic New Zealand on display again. What the hell does any serious reporter of news in New Zealand think he is doing by distracting himself, his newspaper, and the public with such brainless “look at me” displays of ignorance and unawareness as the nation informs itself of what its politicians stand for and are committed to deliver. Except, of course, New Zealanders do not bother, or demand, to know what their politicians are really doing or who influences them or where their country is really going … provided that the sideshows and trivial events are spoon-fed to them on a regular and on-going basis. This non-incident and its disproportionate coverage illustrate the point.

What I have established from this brief correspondence, is that NZ Herald is wasting their money employing ‘award winning journalist’ Steve Braunias. It is precisely because of this sort of trivialisation of news into ‘infotainment’ that I no longer visit the NZ Herald website.
I’m sure he’s disappointed at missing out on his game of ping-pong, but I’m sure there are many underprivileged kids who also miss out, so perhaps you could offer to donate a table-tennis table and gear to somewhere the kids wouldn’t otherwise have that opportunity, and invite him to come and teach them how to play, and he can interview you while he’s at it.
If he’s not up for it, ‘Tegal’ and ‘courier delivery’ come to mind.

Hi Gareth.
I fully support your stance. The request is a ridiculous and frivolous waste of your time.
That the establishment parties have (apparently) said yes to the invitation unfortunately only points to their views about and desire for cheap publicity at the expense of substance.
Tim