Biggest turkeys of the year
As you sink into the hammock after the Christmas turkey, spare a thought for those who made turkeys of themselves this year. You could say law firm Russell Mcveagh cooked its goose with its tortuously slow and thoroughly inadequate response to allegations of sexual misconduct that have damaged both the company and the entire legal profession.
Lawyer Steph Dyhrberg, however, showed spirit in the face of criticism from her peers, winning Wellingtonian of the Year for speaking out against the culture of sexual harassment within her profession.
There were a few turkeys on our university campuses this year. Otago University’s proctor, cleverly, quickly apologised for entering student flats to remove bongs, but Massey’s vice-chancellor wasn’t backing down for refusing Don Brash entry because of a security threat, even when an OIA revealed that wasn’t the reason.
Victoria University, meanwhile, created a debate over changing its name to the University of Wellington – a PR move in itself. It claimed it was differentiating itself from the many universities of the same name overseas, but it was another step in trying to lay claim to being the capital’s university. There are two other universities resident there.
Politicians are never far from reputational dramas, but to be fair there is a whole workforce of opposition paid to call them out.
National Party leader Simon Bridges learned that not all his elves were helpers when Jami-lee Ross released a recording of them discussing the value of Chinese candidates over Indians. Naughty Bridges promised to be nice when the recording also revealed him criticising colleagues – making turkeys out of them as well.
It’s not the incident itself but how you respond to it that has the lasting reputational effect.
I’m giving turkey awards to politicians Clare Curran, Meka Whaitiri and Iain Lees-galloway, who would have all fared better if they had simply admitted their mistakes. Instead, their protestations dragged the stories out for months, leading to the resignation of Curran, the sacking of Whaitiri. And Lees-galloway? He was just a bad look.
And it was bad enough that NZTA got caught out for failing to effectively monitor the licensing testing regime but a double fail for not thinking to delay launching its expensive campaign promoting vehicle safety. Doh!
Families of the victims of the Erebus crash weren’t silent the night they saw Air New Zealand’s safety video filmed in Antarctica – the site of New Zealand’s worst airline disaster. The company said it wanted to showcase the important climate and environmental science going on there, but was it really worth the risk?
Christmas parades got a bad rap when the Hawera Mt View Lions Club hammed it up with blackened faces at its parade; in Nelson, children cried for the ‘‘real Santa’’ when they got a Ma¯ ori version, while in Auckland the long-term Santa provider was initially dumped after it said it wouldn’t hire women.
But the No 1 turkey award goes to the Kiwibuild programme, which has had a year of public relations nightmares for poor targeting, pricey homes, producing unwanted houses and letting homes be sold on or rented for profit.
There are many more turkeys that had to be culled due to space. But a general theme has been those who admit failure fair better in the long run.
This year has reminded us that part of doing the right thing is understanding and being aware of social change. What people have tolerated in the past just might not be right any more. Wishing you all a Meri Kirihimete and happy 2019.
Since the 1990s, cheered on by the legal academy, the courts have had recourse to treaties and lesser international documents such as the compact in making decisions.