Brash Bassett and Hide take up blogging

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 19th, 2021 - 100 comments
Categories: blogs, don brash, local government, making shit up, Maori Issues, Maori seats, racism, rodney hide, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

A new political blog has appeared.  But rather than involving a fresh presentation of new ideas in an attempt to engender debate this blog has three tired old has beens who are well past their use by date engage in some climate change denial and race baiting.

The authors are all on the far right of the political spectrum.  They include Michael Bassett, a former Labour MP but one who disgraced himself by being in integral part of Rogernomics during the Fourth Labour Government.  He saw the writing on the wall and stood down in 1990 before the good people of Te Atatu had the chance to throw him out.  David Lange, Bassett’s cousin who fell out with him over Rogernomics, famously said “[m]y father had delivered him, and it became plain in later days that he must have dropped him …”.

The second member of the triumvirate is Don Brash whose decay in later life is marked by the fact he started off adult life as a Christian Socialist but now thinks Hobson’s Choice is a good idea.

The third is former ACT leader Rodney Hide, perk buster extraordinaire, who was busted after taking his girlfriend on different world trips on the taxpayer’s dime.

Hide’s first post is a mutant mess:

Spare a thought for climate scientists: no longer the go-to experts for scary headlines. The epidemiologists have taken over.

2020 started well. The usual apocalyptic summer headlines. Then bang: they were gone.

For thirty years climate scientists have led public debate and focused political minds. No more.

It’s now white-coated public health experts driving the debate and to much greater effect. No climate scientist ever locked a country down.

I am not sure but I get the feeling that he thinks that climate change and Covid are both Agenda 21 efforts to spoil our fun.

Brash goes on an anti Maori and anti local government rant:

Local government is primarily about issues like local roads, libraries, water supply, drainage and similar matters: it is entirely unclear why there would be a distinctive “Maori view” on any of those issues.

Mr Lander stated that the Treaty of Waitangi somehow mandated, or at least implied the need for, separate Maori wards. But that is self-evident nonsense. The Treaty was not in any meaningful sense a constitution. It simply involved Maori chiefs ceding sovereignty to the Crown; being guaranteed in turn the ownership of their property; with the additional benefit that all Maori would have “the rights and privileges of British citizens”.

We are on a very dangerous path if we are attributing a separate constitutional status to those who chance to have a Maori ancestor – today, with ancestors of other ethnicities too of course. That path would take us to a very dark place.

Where do I start?  His view of the role of the treaty is incredible and ignores all serious current analysis of what happened.  He should learn the difference between kāwanatanga and Tino rangatiratanga.  Shame the explanation relates to Te Reo.  I suspect Brash has never, ever tried to understand the concepts.

Against rather extreme competition Bassett’s anti Maori rant is even worse.

A bizarre craze seems to be sweeping New Zealand right now. All things derived from Europe except our creature comforts must be set aside as we are expected to embrace all things Maori. It’s racism on a grand scale. No longer do our television stations refer to New Zealand. In fact, we are lucky if its Aotearoa-New Zealand. No reference to the fact that, as Michael King shows, Maori didn’t have a name for these lands, and only came to accept “Aotearoa” in relatively recent times. Several newspapers are falling into line and are now calling our country Aotearoa, a name unknown to most people beyond our shores. No public debate. We are expected to acquiesce. The name “New Zealand” which dates back to Abel Tasman’s visit in 1642 came more into early use and is the name by which our land has always been recognized abroad. It won’t be long before the woke who are driving all this insist on officially changing our country’s name. Instead of being proud New Zealanders, we’ll be expected to call ourselves Aotearoaians. They’ll try to avoid a referendum lest it results in rejection like occurred with changing the flag. Just impose it! The woke have no respect for democracy.

This is racism on a grand scale.  Expecting locals to abide by and adhere to cultural norms created half a world away is bizarre.

If for no other reason than to see the look on Bassett’s face I would be pleased to campaign extensively for the country’s name to be changed to Aotearoa.

Debate is always good.  But trotting out tired old racist anti scientific views is not conducive to a proper discussion about the issues we are facing as a country.

100 comments on “Brash Bassett and Hide take up blogging ”

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  1. Sanctuary 1
    19 January 2021 at 7:30 am

    You'd think they'd have come up with a better name, you know something like "StatlerWaldorfandRizzo" but then that would require an act of self awareness these three aging misanthropes obviously don't have.

    It can go off and join all the other detritus of the failed political right in the blogsphere, Muriel Newman's bunch of racist crazies, Lindsay Mitchell's creepy obsession with solo mums, Cameron Slaters attempts to monetize his dopey followers with warmed over Trumpism and David "don't dare call me a racist" Farrars sewer.

    The scariest thing about the cobwebbed ecosystem of the NZ political right though isn't how it is frozen in the carbonite of 1990s neoliberal conservatism but how many of the people who inhabit those dusty and forgotten corners are ex-MPs – they actually got manage the levers of power.

  2. Andre 2
    19 January 2021 at 7:50 am

    Visions of Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

  3. alwyn 3
    19 January 2021 at 7:58 am

    "I would be pleased to campaign extensively for the country’s name to be changed to Aotearoa."

    Are you going to? Surely it would be the highlight of your political career. It is what our country needs most, isn't it?

  4. solkta 4
    19 January 2021 at 8:23 am

    Check this gem in Bassett's bile:

    Some Radio New Zealand reporters fall over themselves trying to conform to a ruling from on high that they should introduce themselves in Te Reo, despite the fact that the concept of radio came from overseas, and was absolutely unknown to Maori.

    Italian anyone?

    • solkta 4.1
      19 January 2021 at 8:29 am

      HMS Endeavour to Crown Control..

    • Roy Cartland 4.2
      19 January 2021 at 8:49 am

      came from overseas, and was absolutely unknown to Maori

      This is surely one of the most idiotic arguments, in a crowded field of them.

      As is conflating Maori language with Maori 'race' (whatever that is, that they're so hung up on), and conflating people enjoying and celebrating the language with some kind of forced woke agenda.

      Much conflatus.

    • Morrissey 4.3
      19 January 2021 at 9:11 am

      That bilious old brute came on Jim Mora's light chat show a decade ago and croaked malevolently that Nicky Hager was a holocaust-denier.

      Host Jim Mora was clearly embarrassed, but did not demand an apology or retraction. Nor did he ask Bassett to provide evidence for that remarkable allegation. He said nothing, and Bassett continued to be a guest on the show.

      [lprent: “.. and croaked malevolently that Nicky Hager was a holocaust-denier”
      That appears to be an outright lie. See my comment below.
      I’m inclined to deal with you permanently to get rid of your permanent propensity to assert false facts. ]

      [lprent: see apology ]

      • Bearded Git 4.3.1
        19 January 2021 at 9:27 am

        Meanwhile Bomber Bradbury was banned from Mora's show because in a short rant he said something left-wing. I remember it well….it upset right-wing old fogey Jock Anderson who was also a guest on that day’s show.

        Jock continued being a guest on future shows of course.

        (How old is Jim Mora?)

        [Removed the same “S” from user name again. Please pay more attention next time.]

      • lprent 4.3.2
        23 January 2021 at 9:08 am

        …and croaked malevolently that Nicky Hager was a holocaust-denier.

        You are in my opinion, a simple minded dipshit with a poor memory and an urge to make me deal with your defamation. This got looked up in the back end.

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/book-shows-breathtaking-cynicism-within-national/PVZLERKGQLM6SL6GMJNSA4AFH4/

        Yep looks like it is taken out of context. This Herald article quotes Bassett as saying:

        "I've got clear evidence he has suppressed some emails which don't help prove his points," Dr Bassett said.

        "He sees Brash, business, the National Party, as illegitimate.

        "The conclusion I'm beginning to arrive at is I think he is like David Irving, the Holocaust denier, only of course Nicky is from the extreme, anarchist left."

        He is calling Hager essentially a liar not a holocaust denier.

        I have a very limited toleration for selective quoting and shading facts and a high propensity towards solving problems permanently.

        Pretty much everything you say seems to be your opinion about what people say rather than what they actually say. Essentially you just seem to lie a lot..

        I'd say that you avoid stating ANY facts in future and confine yourself to expressing everything you say as your opinion. That will save you from getting booted off here permanently.

        • Morrissey 4.3.2.1
          23 January 2021 at 9:24 am

          I'll skip the foul-mouthed ad hominem attack and deal with the rest of your allegation.

          ….. an urge to make me deal with your defamation.

          I defamed no one.

          This got looked up in the back end.

          On Jim Mora's program, Bassett defamed Hager without bothering to take the precaution of mentioning David Irving. You are challenging my account of what Bassett said on National Radio by quoting an article in the Herald about a different interview, where he was much more careful with his words.

          Pretty much everything you say seems to be your opinion about what people say rather than what they actually say.

          In every transcript I have made on this site, I have been careful to be as accurate as possible. I misrepresent no one. I could not invent the malice of some of the politicians, or the ignorance of some of the journalists and politicians I have transcribed on this site.

          Essentially you just seem to lie a lot..

          Could you point to one lie I have ever posted on this site?

          [lprent: Yes – of course I am challenging your account. Sure – I think that you probably said what you remember and possibly wrote down at the time. Was it inaccurate? Almost certainly based on your track record.

          Was it likely to be a lie – well I already stated my opinion above and again in my last sentence. That is my opinion, I think you often do. I have no idea if it is deliberate or delusional. It is completely irrelevant as to cause except as far as relates to the fact of potentially defamatory statement of false fact.

          Why? I have noticed transcription errors in what you have published here in the past – where I heard the same program myself. They are approximations of what you think you heard. I consider your “careful to be as accurate as possible” to be no more than your hurried opinion about what you heard. If you want to rely on them, then I suggest you copy and store the recordings.

          Others have noticed you doing inaccurate transcriptions in these comments. You have been pulled up on it multiple times by moderators and other commenters. It was the reason that this comment we’re talking about was raised in the back-end. However that is also irrelevant

          Here are the points about defamation law and my position that you are clearly missing. These are the only things that are relevant.

          If you state a fact about someone else that is said by the person to be incorrect and defamatory, then they do not have to prove the fact – you do. To not be able to prove what the fact that you asserted means that you lose the case.

          You are publishing your assertions on this site that I operate. That means I can be sued for defamation as a ‘publisher’. So as your ‘publisher’ I am insisting that you show me proof that satisfies me that your assertion is correct, and the statement is not defamatory as to its facts.

          Not that is what you thought that you heard – that is hearsay and not what you wrote as fact. Not that you wrote it down that way at the time – that is also hearsay and not what you wrote here. Not some hearsay report off another site. Something that I can trust as being accurate or can put some weight in.

          Something similar to this report in the Herald for instance. It was quoting from a RNZ National Radio without stating the program. Quoting was checked by an organisation that makes a profession of not getting sued for defamation, and where the editors would have required backing evidence at the time of publication. Then we could attach that to your comment and it becomes innocent dissemination.

          Incidentally, your assertion that it was on a different National Radio program simply isn’t a defence in defamation. It is wholly irrelevant.

          It is up to you. When you find that and comment it, you can write comments for publication here again. From your attitude and reckless rectitude, you will continue to put me in high legal risk.

          Or you can withdraw your statement with an apology to the venomous and obnoxious Dr Bassett who I detest having to defend here and apologise to me for wasting my time in educating you the Defamation Act 1992. ]

          • lprent 4.3.2.1.1
            23 January 2021 at 1:27 pm

            See my note above. Note that you have only two choices at this point – so read the whole note before trying to reply into moderation.

            You can give evidence that we can attach to your comment that supports your assertion of fact that Dr Bassett..

            That bilious old brute came on Jim Mora's light chat show a decade ago and croaked malevolently that Nicky Hager was a holocaust-denier.

            Or offer the public apologies requested.

            Confine yourself to those two points, because trying to raise any other issue will just result in me making this a permanent ban.

            • Morrissey 4.3.2.1.1.1
              23 January 2021 at 3:47 pm

              PUBLIC APOLOGY TO MR L. PRENT and DR MICHAEL BASSETT

              Saturday 23 January 2021, 3:46 p.m.

              I have for the last decade and a half claimed that Dr Bassett called the journalist Nicky Hager "a holocaust-denier" on National Radio. However, I have not been able to support that claim with evidence. I apologize to Dr Bassett for any consternation or embarrassment caused to him by my allegation.

              I also recognize that making such an assertion without providing cast-iron proof served to recklessly endanger the reputation of Mr Prent and his site, The Standard. I apologize to Mr Prent for any aggravation and duress I may have brought him over this matter.

              Sincerely,

              Morrissey Breen

              Northcote Point

              • lprent …
                24 January 2021 at 12:22 am

                Thank you. Please take a moment in the future to check for assertions of fact, and either source them so we can see something credible backing it, or express things that you cannot prove as your opinions or suppositions.

  5. Alexander Neilson 5
    19 January 2021 at 8:43 am

    "Dutch cartographers named the islands Nova Zeelandia, the Latin translation of the Dutch Nieuw Zeeland (after the Dutch province of Zeeland). By the time of British exploration, the country's name was anglicised to New Zealand." ^From Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_place_names]

    Maybe if Michael Bassett is so dedicated to the Abel Tasman's 1642 naming we should setup a referendum and have two options "Aotearoa" and "Nieuw Zeeland". After all the objection seems to be about changes but as above the name has gone through Dutch, Latin, and then been anglicised so why is using the indigenous word any more of a change or less valid as a suggestion.

    Further while officially we may be New Zealanders (and we will clarify this if people ask) we more often describe ourselves as Kiwi's. So it seems we don't need Mr Bassett's stupid suggestions of "Aotearoaians" as if we changed the name officially to only Aotearoa then I would suggest we "Go our own way" as the beer commercial reminds us we love to do and make the official descriptor "Kiwis". These flightless birds love to fly.

    Regards
    Alexander

  6. Descendant Of Smith 6
    19 January 2021 at 8:50 am

    Verse two and three of Father John Misty's song Pure Comedy summarise them and the human condition perfectly. Was listening to this album reflecting on stupidity last night and then like magic this post this morning exemplifying it – it being the subjects of the post, not the post itself.

    Oh, their religions are the best
    They worship themselves yet they're totally obsessed
    With risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks
    These unbelievable outfits
    And they get terribly upset
    When you question their sacred texts
    Written by woman-hating epileptics
    Their languages just serve to confuse them
    Their confusion somehow makes them more sure
    They build fortunes poisoning their offspring
    And hand out prizes when someone patents a cure
    Where did they find these goons they elected to rule them?
    What makes these clowns they idolize so remarkable?
    These mammals are hell-bent on fashioning new gods
    So they can go on being godless animals

    Oh comedy, their illusions they have no choice but to believe
    Their horizons that just forever recede
    And how's this for irony:
    Their idea of being free is a prison of beliefs
    That they never ever have to leave
    Oh comedy, oh it's like something that a madman would conceive!
    The only thing that seems to make them feel alive
    Is the struggle to survive
    But the only thing that they request
    Is something to numb the pain with
    Until there's nothing human left

  7. Keith Christie 7
    19 January 2021 at 9:08 am

    Another extremely good reason for changing our name to Aotearoa is that it comes before Australia alphabetically. (heh, heh!)

    • Stuart Munro 7.1
      19 January 2021 at 10:05 am

      Wouldn't be the first time – prior to the Japanese annexation Korea was spelled with a C. Couldn't be allowed to precede Japan though, so it was changed.

      Aotearoa's a bit of a neologism though. There is Te Ika A Maui, and Te Waipounamu, and Rakiura and a few other bits.

      We want to be beating Australia in living conditions, median wage growth, quality of life and sustainability – the alphabet is more Don Brash's speed – technical success with no real world benefit.

  8. Enough is Enough 8
    19 January 2021 at 9:49 am

    "They include Michael Bassett, a former Labour MP but one who disgraced himself by being in integral part of Rogernomics during the Fourth Labour Government"

    Rogernomics? Is that the name for the neo-liberal reforms to our economy undertaken by the fourth Labour government, which the current Labour government seems more and more unlikely to reverse?

    I agree with your general description of Bassett, but unless this government does something transformational very soon, the description is pretty accurate for them too.

  9. Tiger Mountain 9
    19 January 2021 at 9:56 am

    At least time is not on this “gruesome threesomes” side!

    Bassett, an original Rogernome, wrote a revisionist book about the 1951 waterfront lockout, and has gone downhill by the year ever since. Many of Hide’s transgressions are on the public record, and his behind the scenes thuggish behaviour well known by politics followers. Brash, as one journalist put it, the corn beef loving reactionarys idea of a fun night would be a game of scrabble and a nice glass of water–which still makes his nasty hatred for all things Māori a little baffling.

    But, as Mike Hosking and scores of other dollar chasing hacks display regularly online, the more vile the person, the more popular they are for a certain white “hater” cultural niche.

  10. Morrissey 10
    19 January 2021 at 10:07 am

    Many of Hide’s transgressions are on the public record…

    You might well ask: what’s Rodney Hide ever done other than make a fool of himself?

    Well, here are the reasons he is now to be addressed by the rest of us commoners as "RODNEY PHILIP HIDE QSO”…

    1.) For his services to body-building….
    http://file.stuff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/hide_1_69461.jpg

    2.) For his services to dance…

    https://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0605/bd0ebc1e64cf1a740e13.jpeg

    3.) For his services to sycophancy, following his toe-curlingly extravagant praise of his bullying usurper, Don Brash, straight after having the leadership of ACT humiliatingly wrested from him…
    http://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz/2011/04/what-we-discovered-about-don-brash-and-rodney-hide-in-the-past-week/

    4.) For his further services to sycophancy, after he refused to object to fellow thug Tau Henare calling him a “buffoon” and a “jerk-off”—or was it just physical fear that Uncle Tau would kick his arse if he complained?…
    http://www.3news.co.nz/Thick-hided-Rodney-not-worried-by-insults/tabid/209/articleID/118165/Default.aspx?ArticleID=118165

    5.) For his protecting and defiantly PRAISING this dead-child’s-identity-stealing, doctor-assaulting, sexual harasser in his caucus until public disgust finally forced him to (reluctantly) get rid of him…
    http://www.odt.co.nz/files/story/2009/08/act_mp_david_garrett_credit_nzpa__wayne_drought_3774842844.jpeg

    6.) For his speaking ever so slowly and in a low voice, as he repeats, unchallenged, Ayn Rand’s mad raving dogma on Bryan Crump’s otherwise excellent show on National Radio….
    http://t.qkme.me/3phsr1.jpg

  11. Ad 11
    19 January 2021 at 10:22 am

    If they focused on the rights and wrongs of the multiple Departments and Crown Entities that they headed for many years, Bassett, Brash and Hide would be powerful commentators. All of their CV's are politically impresive.

    They've launched to seek clickbait and make a noise.

    So after that flurry they should refocus.

    It's not like there's much critical examination of this government coming out of the National Party. So there's room for them.

    • Sanctuary 11.1
      19 January 2021 at 10:40 am

      "…If they focused on the rights and wrongs of the multiple Departments and Crown Entities that they headed for many years…"

      That would imply they are serious about what they want to say. But these guys are deeply, seriously unserious. They don't want grown up serious discussions – they want to revel in the limelight of the banter politics of culture war discourse.

      Ultimately, they want to fight lazy battles with rote and predictable straw man opponents so the raging resentful old men trapped inside their decaying skin suits can feel important again one more time.

      • Anne 11.1.1
        19 January 2021 at 10:50 am

        That would imply they are serious about what they want to say. But these guys are deeply, seriously unserious. They don't want grown up serious discussions – they want to revel in the limelight of the banter politics of culture war discourse.

        More than a hint of truth there. Out of the three of them Rodney Hide is the best example of chauvinistic political showmanship.

      • Ad 11.1.2
        19 January 2021 at 11:29 am

        Perhaps, but I see a lot of stale straw arguments and intellectual laziness here as well.

        We used to have one ex-Minister who came on here. At the moment we don't appear to have anyone commenting here with any elected Parliamentary experience at all.

        For example there is probably no one better qualified on the history of the Labour Party than Michael Bassett.

        I will have a check on them and see what kind of engagement they are up for.

        • solkta 11.1.2.1
          19 January 2021 at 11:33 am

          I think that ex-minister probably decided that his memory is too crap to continue contributing.

        • Sacha 11.1.2.2
          19 January 2021 at 11:33 am

          I have no wish to see foul bad-faith discourse like theirs here. They do not need any more platforms. Dr Mapp at least contributed.

        • woodart 11.1.2.3
          19 January 2021 at 12:50 pm

          "'there is probably no one better qualified to rewrite any history than michael bassett". fixed it for you.

        • Incognito 11.1.2.4
          19 January 2021 at 10:45 pm

          That ex-Minister was serving a ban until 31 Dec 2020. I hope he comes back but maybe he’s had enough of the shitty comments aimed at him by some commenters here and I can’t blame him …

  12. Anne 12
    19 January 2021 at 10:32 am

    Micheal Bassett is the surprise to me. Back in the 1970s and early 80s I knew him well. Although older than me, we grew up in the same community in Auckland. I went to school with his sister. When I joined the Labour Party in the early 1970s, it was natural that I helped him in that decade's election campaigns.

    He had a framed photo of MJS on the wall of his home and was a devoted member of the Labour Party. He set up the Auckland branch of Amnesty International.

    The rot (if you want to call it that) started to set in after he won the Waitemata seat (now Te Atatu) in 1978 and that was followed by a series of fallouts with some colleagues including Jim Anderton and Helen Clark. My impression at the time: they were more the result of personal differences rather than political matters but they manifested themselves publicly as the latter. Jim, Helen and Michael had once been close friends.

    As is well known, Jim Anderton and Helen Clark eventually sorted their differences and they worked together amicably during the Clark PM years. Bassett however never forgave them for their perceived past transgressions (whatever exactly they were) and he forged a new path on the political right thereafter.

    • Incognito 12.1
      19 January 2021 at 10:49 am

      All the more reason to keep your enemies close but your friends closer.

    • Sacha 12.2
      19 January 2021 at 11:24 am

      Was Bassett perhaps exposed to Hayek et al in the late 70s? Seems to be what rotted Roger Douglas's soul before they helped form the first Act government in 84.

    • Tiger Mountain 12.3
      19 January 2021 at 12:37 pm

      Mr Bassett was never far from David Lange’s side for a certain part of the 80s whenever David addressed a Trade Union rank and file delegates gathering, which the Auckland Trades Council under Bill Andersen‘s leadership, in particular, used to regularly invite him to.

      Then come the 1984 Govt. he and Richard “Save Rail” Prebble, were not seen again in such circles!

      While not a member, I ended up at a Labour Party fundraiser social in Otahuhu one Sunday, and Lange the quipster told a tale about his Doctor father having delivered many Auckland babies, including one Micheal Bassett–“he dropped Bassett…” he included with perfect timing…and predictable audience mirth. Those were the days, not only did the Rogernomes swing the wrecking ball through provincial NZ, they severed direct formal links with the NZ working class movement when the Joint Council of Labour ceased meeting.

      • Anne 12.3.1
        19 January 2021 at 5:03 pm

        Interesting TM Mike Bassett never joined the ACT party. At least the last time I spoke with him (20 plus years ago) he was not a member. He told me that ACT was "a step too far for him". Nevertheless I’m sure he maintained his close friendship with Roger Douglas.

        The full truth about what was going on in those years between the early to mid 1970s and the mid to late 1980s is not publicly known. However I know from some personal experiences that there were very shady shenanigans occurring and evidence came to light in later years to suggest there was an off-shore input into them.

        I'll leave you to work out the rest.

        • Morrissey 12.3.1.1
          19 January 2021 at 5:08 pm

          He told me that ACT was "a step too far for him".

          Yet claiming on public radio, without providing any evidence, that Nicky Hager was a "holocaust-denier" was not a step too far for him. Bassett has no honour, and no integrity.

          • mac1 12.3.1.1.1
            19 January 2021 at 5:41 pm

            Do you have a citation for that claim about Bassett? A newspaper report said in 2006 that Bassett had said Hager was like Irvine, a Holocaust denier, but the quote is unclear as to whether he was comparing him to Irvine, who is a Holocaust denier, or saying like Irvine he too was such a denier.

            https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/top-donor-shirtcliffe-has-nothing-to-say/57DT42WWDL3BJKMKT6FESKRLPY/

            • Morrissey 12.3.1.1.1.1
              19 January 2021 at 7:37 pm

              Do you have a citation for that claim about Bassett?

              It was, I think, around 2006 or 2007. So about the same time as that Herald article. I wrote it down somewhere, but I never posted it on line. I thought, wrongly, that something would be done about that outrageous old liar, but nothing was done at all. The old traducer appeared on the program many times after that.

              Bassett had said Hager was like Irvine, a Holocaust denier, but the quote is unclear as to whether he was comparing him to Irvine, who is a Holocaust denier, or saying like Irvine he too was such a denier.

              No, on Jim Mora's program, Bassett snarled that he was a holocaust-denier, without mentioning David Irving. To his shame, Mora said nothing, and neither did the other guest in the studio. I would imagine that they were so astonished by Bassett's behaviour they were lost for words and simply decided not to encourage him.

              Thanks for that article, mac. Very interesting.

              • mac1 …
                19 January 2021 at 8:13 pm

                Morrissey, I can't find the transcript of the RNZ Mora show with Bassett.

                What I have found supports Nic the NZer below. http://www.michaelbassett.co.nz/columns.php?id=152&yh=2007&yl=2006

                Bassett wrote this in his conclusion about Hager's book. " Don Brash who quoted Voltaire in his resignation speech is set up as the intellectual inferior to Hager whose methods are similar to David Irving's. He, remember, set out to prove there had been no holocaust, and cooked the evidence. Irving was found out. It's time Nicky Hager was outed, too."

                • Morrissey …
                  19 January 2021 at 8:22 pm

                  In this case Bassett simply smeared Hager by association. When I heard him on National Radio, he did not mention David Irving.

                  • Sacha …
                    19 January 2021 at 8:26 pm

                    claiming on public radio, without providing any evidence, that Nicky Hager was a "holocaust-denier"

                    Sounds remarkably like a smear, complete with full quote marks which most people would read as what the person actually said, not what you wanted to hear.

                    Remember that this site can be sued along with you for defaming someone. It's not some little game to while away the hours.

                    • Morrissey …
                      19 January 2021 at 8:35 pm

                      You're right, it was a smear, the most incendiary smear possible, uttered in the confidence that there would be no consequences for him.

                      It's exactly what he said, and no, I did not want to hear it.

                    • Sacha …
                      19 January 2021 at 8:52 pm

                      It's exactly what he said

                      Provide some evidence.

                    • Morrissey …
                      19 January 2021 at 8:57 pm

                      I did. My word is as good as anyone else's. He said it. Unlike a lot of people, I was not prepared to let it slip into the memory hole.

                    • Phillip ure …
                      19 January 2021 at 9:56 pm

                      nobody has been defamed..

                      it is a notorious interview..

                      I also wish I hadn't heard it..

                      he said it..

                    • McFlock …
                      19 January 2021 at 10:04 pm

                      I see mozzie's at the "I'm totally reliable, take my word for it even if nobody else can find anything close to what I'm claiming" stage of the cycle again.

                      edit: .. oh wow.. phil reckons he.. heard it too. Tuned in to the same wavelength I guess..

                    • Morrissey …
                      20 January 2021 at 12:08 am

                      I see mozzie's at the "I'm totally reliable, take my word for it even if nobody else can find anything close to what I'm claiming" stage of the cycle again.

                      In fact, mac1 at 5:41 pm cites a Herald article, and then at 8:13 pm a column by Bassett, both of them slurring Hager by associating him with a notorious holocaust-denier.

                      When I heard him on radio claim, sans evidence, that Hager was a holocaust-denier, he did not bother to buffer his black canard with an obfuscatory mention of David Irving. He thought he could get away with it, and in one way he did get away with it, considering that no disciplinary action was taken against him.

                      oh wow.. phil reckons he.. heard it too. Tuned in to the same wavelength I guess..

                      Obviously he was. 101 FM.

                    • Incognito []
                      20 January 2021 at 12:39 am

                      Hang on there! Now you’re saying “associating”, which implies a direct link/connection, when before it was ”likening”. Words have meanings and you seem to be taking some liberties here that could end up causing trouble for you and/or for the site. I care about the latter.

                      I’ve just banned Phil for not providing evidence and support for his assertions AKA reckons plucked from inside ‘his head’. You won’t want to be the next one, but it might already be too late for you …

                • Anne …
                  19 January 2021 at 8:47 pm

                  mac1,

                  Among those who knew him, Bassett had a reputation for verbally telling white lies about people. He held grudges against some individuals virtually for a lifetime. However, he would modify his language if it was going to appear in print somewhere eg. a newspaper article or a book.

                  It should be remembered he has had Parkinsons disease for years and I think it may have affected his ability to be rational sometimes.

                  • Morrissey …
                    19 January 2021 at 8:54 pm

                    Thanks for that, Anne. I noticed he was more careful in print. On radio—especially on a rigour-free program like Mora's—he obviously felt unconstrained, figuring that his words would disappear into the ether. In short, he thought he could get away with it.

                    I'm here to tell him, and people like him, that he can't.

            • Nic the NZer 12.3.1.1.1.2
              19 January 2021 at 7:41 pm

              Seems most likely Bassett was trying to imply Hager was like Irvine drawing invalid conclusions from the evidence, rather than Hager was denying the holocaust.

              Incidentally that article suggests it was not yet publically known who operated the Waitemata Trust (e.g National Party).

  13. roblogic 13
    19 January 2021 at 10:58 am

    A trio of egotistical ACToid rogernomes. Each of these grifters used political power to enrich themselves and their mates and destroy the last remnants of egalitarian NZ.

    Bassett : co-architect of rogernomics, wrecker of the Labour party, mate of Brash, enemy of Jim Anderton

    Brash : erstwhile populist demagogue with 0 charisma, Scrooge-like beancounter who doesn't understand economics, would have destroyed NZ with austerity

    Hide : another unprincipled populist who will say anything for attention, climate-change denier, and one of his last "acts" was to crap all over Auckland by making the SuperCity amalgamation into a dysfunctional mess, taking shortcuts, and trying to split off juicy public assets for corporate takeover.

    • Tiger Mountain 13.1
      19 January 2021 at 12:41 pm

      That sums them up nicely.

      The three are as welcome on the blogosphere as a floater in a freshly cleaned swimming pool.

  14. Incognito 14
    19 January 2021 at 11:17 am

    I’ve been thinking, they should have named it The Brash Trifecta (TBT). Their marketing obviously sucks, but hopefully their accountancy department is in better shape. However, I like the B & W colour scheme of their website. They’re running the risk of crowding out the blogosphere on the right, although KB is endorsing them enthusiastically (who would have thought?), but that’s ok in this dog-eat-dog world where survival of the fittest ensures that only the best & strongest survive to procreate and prosper. Happy days ahead 😉

  15. Sacha 15
    19 January 2021 at 11:39 am

    Imagine being the poor buggers moving these guys' lips

    https://twitter.com/HistoryMuppet/status/1342198495726460930

  16. Incognito 16
    19 January 2021 at 11:53 am

    In Aotearoa, we suffer from a dearth of public intellectuals guiding public discourse on complex topical issues let alone taking a lead. The Government is timid and waiting for a sign from the amorphous centre to do anything other than staying in status quo. The centre is keenly watching the AC whilst keeping an eye on the rising value of their house, bach, and/or property folio.

    When three wise monkeys men with a proven track record of independent critical thinking step forward, we should step back, in awe, bow even, and rejoice that they are willing to fill the vacuum with their deep and inclusive thoughts. I would have liked a little more attention to gender balance in this triumvirate but nowadays you have to take what you can get, right?

    I feel privileged to be allowed to comment, author, and moderate on The Standard. No doubt, these bloggers feel the same deep sense of privilege and responsibility to dissemination of high-quality thought and information that is truthful, accurate, inclusive, and constructive to help Aotearoa to be as good a place as it can be, now and in future.

    Kia kaha Aotearoa.

  17. Reality 17
    19 January 2021 at 12:31 pm

    These silly old codgers still want attention it seems. Just can't sit back and let NZ evolve in its own unique way, as societies throughout history have always done and always will. Nothing stays the same, despite them wistfully wishing they still had some influence.

    Time they went out and tidied the garden and took the dog for a walk, or suchlike. There are younger generations taking over now, as always happens.

  18. gsays 18
    19 January 2021 at 12:33 pm

    If they don't have a name for it yet, I have one for them:

    It's All White.

  19. Phil 19
    19 January 2021 at 1:39 pm

    Brash has a fair (and reasonably nuanced) and criticism of the Trump presidency up there today… and yes, the comments are already full of all the kinds of fuckwits and morons you'd expect.

  20. McFlock 20
    19 January 2021 at 2:57 pm

    I wonder, did they spend minimal $$ on site maintenance, or did one of their grandkids put the website together as an Xmas prezzy to try and lower the volume of racist rants at family gatherings?

  21. vto 21
    19 January 2021 at 4:28 pm

    "old has beens who are well past their use by date "

    nothing like a good bit of age-bigotry to keep the old ignorances alive and well on the standard

    didn't bother reading past that dribble and hatred, but i imagine their was also a bit of male-bigotry in there as well

    never changes, never changes

    bullshit

    • I Feel Love 21.1
      19 January 2021 at 4:44 pm

      Proof is in the pudding.

    • Morrissey 21.2
      19 January 2021 at 5:02 pm

      A very good point, vto. Brash, Bassett and Hide were vile bigots when they were young. The fact they are old has nothing to do with it.

      And males have no monopoly on vicious bigotry, as we know from listening to the likes of Michelle Boag, Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, Jacqueline Rowarth, —and Dame Ann Leslie….

      KATHRYN RYAN: The teachers’ unions have been in the news, Dame Ann–

      DAME ANN LESLIE: Arrrrgggh.

      RYAN: He he he he!

      DAME ANN: Every year we have to listen to the militant rabble rousingof the teacher unions!

      RYAN: What are their concerns?

      DAME ANN LESLIE: They never agree to any method of reforming our LOUSY education system. They need a full SIX WEEKS in the summer,… The unions have opposed EVERY EFFORT to improve the education system. All attempts to improve these schools are stifled. We are absolutely FED UP with them.

      The spluttering and snarling continues for several more minutes, punctuated occasionally by Kathryn Ryan’s giggles.

      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-12042012/#comment-458258

      • Incognito 21.2.1
        19 January 2021 at 5:19 pm

        Oh please!

        It’s obvious that vto didn’t want to read the OP, was looking for a good excuse to call it BS, and needed to share that with us here. That’s is their prerogative and Hoorah for free speech.

        Please don’t take that as an unwritten invitation to hob your hobby horse while the kids are still up, as that could cause them deep psychological trauma. Even I nearly choked when I saw it!

        • Morrissey 21.2.1.1
          19 January 2021 at 7:26 pm

          ...while the kids are still up, as that could cause them deep psychological trauma. Even I nearly choked when I saw it!

          Sorry about that. Dame Ann unfortunately has that effect on people.

          • Sacha 21.2.1.1.1
            19 January 2021 at 7:52 pm

            Never even heard of her. You really need better hobbies.

          • Incognito 21.2.1.1.2
            19 January 2021 at 10:13 pm

            Maybe you need to learn to control your emotions and urges and if Dame Ann has such an effect on you, maybe you should not listen to her, think of her, refer to her in your comments, link to comments of yours that are over 8 years old, et cetera. If that doesn’t work, seek professional help.

    • Sacha 21.3
      19 January 2021 at 8:09 pm

      Silly/nasty old men give old men a bad name.

  22. Phillip ure 22
    19 January 2021 at 8:45 pm

    redbaiter is there ..chucky is there…Garrett is there…

    it's quite the nostalgia trip..

    brashs piece on trump is quite measured..(which triggered redbaiter..)

    I didn't bother looking at his racist drivel..

  23. georgecom 23
    19 January 2021 at 9:22 pm

    They were well past their use by date in 2008 when the results of their economic policies almost killed western capitalism.

    • roblogic 23.1
      20 January 2021 at 1:05 am

      Just as well they weren't at the helm in 2020, we would be staring down the barrel of a UK/ USA outbreak. And the economy would be toast.. never mind the tens of thousands of excess deaths

    • Tricledrown 23.2
      20 January 2021 at 10:54 am

      A threepeat of Tricledown economics plus divide and conquer divisive anti society politics.

      Trumpism misogyny selfishness .all well educated courtesy of the taxpayer no student loans to repay.

      They have formed because of Jacindas success what are 3 failures hacks going to achieve.

      Even John Key took a big swipe at Don Brash's anti Maori anti treaty stance.

  24. Obtrectator 24
    19 January 2021 at 10:48 pm

    Trash, Bashitt and Chide.

  25. millsy 25
    20 January 2021 at 6:30 pm

    NZ's own version of the IDW sites Quillette, UnHerd, Critic, Reason and Spiked Online.

  26. Tricledrown 26
    21 January 2021 at 1:35 pm

    The hard line Brash anti Maori supporters are white supremacists.

    I was on their Facebook site and when I suggested some of the post's were inciting hatred and govt agencies were looking into their hate filled posts'These mainly men deleted their posts immediately.

    Brash knows these people are some of his most loyal supporters but refuses to condemn them.

  27. roblogic 27
    25 January 2021 at 11:50 pm

    Bassett, Brash & Hide

    Bullshit, Trash & Lies

  28. Meh Meh 28
    26 January 2021 at 2:48 am

    "Far right" Only on this blog would these guys be far right.