Right wing consultant Bill Ralston is running for Waitemata. Bill is like a less feral version of Matthew Hooton, and he uses this guise of reasonableness as his way to get ahead, so it’s surprising that  Bill, while projecting himself as centre right, would be pimping for the far far far Right ACT Party…
…the course promises to teach the dark arts of the right wing adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the same one who was crushed recently in the Canadian elections because the Government had become so crazy and right wing.
Do the good people of Waitemata want an ACT Party pimp as their candidate? Can they trust someone who advises the ACT Party to be a moderate sensible voice on Council?
I’m not sure a spin dr for ACT running for the Council is what the good people of Waitemata want or need.
It’s a noticeable trend that a lot of baby boomer generation journalists who were once progressive/liberal or at least centrist have become more conservative in their views as they have gotten older.
Just another self-serving arsehole working the system and screwing everyone else.
scary stuff. Another escapee from the cryopreserved chamber…
from wiki about Bill…
“In July 2000, police were called to a Saatchi & Saatchi fundraising event, where it was alleged Ralston had punched guests.[5] Until July 2003 he was writing for the Sunday News and the Independent business weekly, and was a talkback show host on Radio Pacific.[5][6]
CEO Ian Fraser appointed Ralston head of news and current affairs at TVNZ starting on 14 July 2003, Fraser saying, “Bill’s energy, his experience and just a hint of the mongrel” would meet the challenge of the job.[5][6][12] Ralston had a goal of reducing the $46 million TVNZ news budget by $4.5 million,[4] and there were a number of high-profile departures from the broadcaster, including Judy Bailey, Richard Long, and Paul Holmes. Discussing the departures later in 2007, he blamed the government, including Prime Minister Helen Clark, for political interference in the salary negotiations.[13] He drew criticism in March 2005 for verbally attacking Prime Television CEO Chris Taylor, saying, “I’d be shooting myself. I’d be pouring petrol over myself and throwing myself off Auckland’s tallest building”.[4] In 2006, ONE News won the Qantas Media Award Best News Programme.[14] He faced disciplinary action also in 2006 over an expletive-laden call to a Herald on Sunday journalist, who was making enquires about a homeless cousin.[12] Ralston resigned from TVNZ on 30 January 2007, prior to an announcement of restructuring.[2][14][15]”
Thank you for that!
Bill has such sound judgement – can remember him in 2008 getting really worked up about the possibility of phasing out inefficient light bulbs. His explanation was that he had lots of them in his house and didn’t want to replace them and Labour had to go for suggesting it.
Now that is right up there with climate change, wars and terrorism, poverty and inequality etc.
When I see privileged men of my generation lapsing into the grossest venality of this sort I get really shocked and appalled.
He has evil eyes, and eyes are the mirror of the soul, my mom always said.
Time for parties of the Left in Waitemata to talk turkey, and work together to freeze our the rorting right and rabid right.
The next time someone points to Radio NZ being full of Trendy lefties, I suggest redirecting that pointed finger at the likes of Maggie Barry and Bill Ralston.
Yes, Maggie Barry. She seemed like such a lovely woman back in the Maggie’s Garden Show days. Who knew, that beneath that melodious voice and encyclopedic knowledge of plant varieties, beat the merciless heart of a true neo-liberal? These days she seems a thoroughly mean-spirited shrew, and the garden centre equivalent of Larry Williams.
I wonder if any of Ralston’s interviews with politicians was ever coloured by his political biases? Now that we are aware of his right-wing politics, it puts his past journalism into new perspective.
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