Far Goff, Phil

When Phil Goff refused to front on Close Up last night if self-described right-wing blogger Cameron Slater appeared, TVNZ kept The Whale and told Phil to join the far queue.  A rare sign of courage from the state broadcaster and a spineless performance from Phil Goff, who reportedly “not only refused to go on with Whale - he also insisted that Whale be filmed earlier so they don’t share the Green Room, and then finally said he would not appear at all, if Whale was on the same show.”

Which gives me an idea.

Back in the 1996 election when Lindsay Perigo was Libertarianz leader, we were told by TVNZ – still smarting over being dubbed “braindead” – that they wouldn’t be filming any meeting which Perigo attended.  We responded by making hundred of life-size Perigo cardboard cut-outs which we took to every political meeting of every political opponent we could find. The ruse succeeded. Many meetings went unreported, or at least unfilmed – and the Perigo cutouts ended up on studio walls all over Auckland.  I believe Bomber himself stole two.

So here’s my idea. If Phil’s so easily spooked then perhaps Cameron’s chums could produce numerous life-size cardboard cutouts of the Whale with which they could taunt Phil at his every public appearance.  It surely wouldn’t be long before Phil developed a severe far cough.