Mass shootings and media mercenaries
Philip Matthews observes another political sea change.
In the line of fire
Those moments when political culture changes: they are unmistakable. Recent examples include the Arab Spring, the Harvey Weinstein revelations, Jacindamania and, this week, the moment when teenagers talked back to the gun lobbyists. It follows the horrific Florida high school massacre during which alt-Righter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people. Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and other surviving students have refused to go quietly, organising a march, confronting politicians including senator Marco Rubio and challenging the might of the National Rifle Association (NRA). A spokesperson for the latter, Dana Loesch, produced the most tone-deaf response of all when she claimed that ‘‘many in [the] media love mass shootings’’ and ‘‘crying white mothers are ratings gold’’. President Donald Trump has endorsed some gun control measures while simultaneously arguing for armed teachers and praising the NRA as ‘‘great people’’ who ‘‘love our country and will do the right thing’’. It would be sad if it wasn’t so insane.
National’s got talent
The list of those still in the running to be National’s next top leader swelled to five with strategist Steven Joyce and former military contractor Mark Mitchell entering the race. But leaked polling still seems to favour some variation on the original trio of Amy Adams, Simon Bridges and Judith Collins. Everyone knows Joyce but Mitchell is an unknown quantity. A Stuff profile explained that he founded and ran a security firm that worked in Iraq during the US occupation, which he has since sold, but shouldn’t a politician who is hoping to be prime minister one day be more open about his military adventures? As the profile showed, he still refuses to answer questions about whether he killed anybody over there but he can reveal that he rescued two dogs that were left behind in Baghdad. ‘‘The US military couldn’t send troops out to look for dogs,’’ he said. ‘‘If the troops had been killed or injured, there would have been some serious questions asked.’’ So Operation Pooch (not its real name) was contracted out.
Seven years
Hope was the overarching theme of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first Christchurch earthquake anniversary speech. ‘‘We are with you as a city and a people moving to a future that is marked by hope and by a sense of optimism,’’ she said on Thursday at the memorial service. Children were singled out: ‘‘Some of them may not have directly experienced tragedy and loss, [but] they will always have a sense of it around them. We must do all that we can to support those children as much as we support their families as we continue to rebuild.’’ That linked to a pre-election promise to offer mental health assistance to Canterbury children, starting with the hiring of six new staff in Hornby and east Christchurch.
Lost highway
Kaiko¯ ura just can’t catch a break. The newly reopened State Highway 1, relaunched with such publicity before Christmas, is closed again. Slips caused by Cyclone Gita brought down 300,000 cubic metres of debris over the road at 60 sites. Some consolation: it’s less than the million cubic metres that came down in 2016.