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Shut up you dickhead

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, June 1st, 2025 - 13 comments
Categories: chris bishop, culture, Culture wars, Maori Issues, national, paul goldsmith, same old national - Tags:

The Aotearoa Music Awards happened this week.

It is always a celebration. The country gets to see and hear the best local music.

It is now heavily dominated by Te Ao Maori. This is because many many artists recognise the uniqueness and beauty of our indigenous culture.

More and more songs contain Te Reo. We have come a long way since the 1980s and the release of Poi E.

And artists are overwhelmingly liberal, concerned about human rights and the environment and respectful of our indigenous culture.

Last year the event was dominated by commentary opposing Government actions that denigrated Maori.

This year that theme was continued.

There were two Ministers present, Paora Goldsmith and Chris Bishop.

At one stage one of our best artists, Stan Walker, performed the song Maori Ki Te Ao, a celebration of Te Reo.

The English translation of the chorus to the song is as follows:

Push

Rise up

Stand up

Spread it far and wide

Release

The Māori language into the world

This strong call for the spreading of the Maori language throughout the world was accompanied by a haka and traditional performers and Toitu te Tiriti banners.

Here is the video. The banners appear at 3:11.

Almost everyone in the room celebrated. Except for Bishop. Who not only hated it but also could not keep his mouth shut.

The details are reported in this Radio New Zealand article.

From Radio New Zealand:

Cabinet minister Chris Bishop says he should have kept his comments to himself after saying “what a load of crap” during a performance at Thursday night’s Aotearoa Music Awards in Auckland.

Video footage shows Bishop seated, with a bottle in his hand during pop singer Stan Walker’s segment.

Some people in front of him were on their feet dancing and waving tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination, flags.

In a statement to RNZ, Bishop admitted he said something about performative acclaim and said “what a lot of crap”. He said it referred to what he called the overtly political branding on display.

In Bishopworld an expression of Tino Rangatiratanga is “political branding” and deeply insulting. He needs a thicker skin.

And deep respect to Don McGlashan for calling Bishop out. Again from the article:

Renowned musician Don McGlashan was seen on the video confronting Bishop, but McGlashan said he did not realise at first that it was the minister.

“I could hear an enormous amount of ranting, kind of against the whole thing. I didn’t get the full gist of it, but it was basically – ‘the hīkoi is ages ago, sit down everybody’ – so this geezer was just ranting away and telling everybody to sit down,” McGlashan said.

“After a while I turned to him and said ‘ah, shut up you dickhead’ and I looked at him and I thought, ‘oh, I know that face’. Then he said, ‘What did you say to me?'”.

McGlashan said that he again told Bishop to “‘shut up you dickhead’, and he said, ‘I could say the same to you,’ and I said, ,Well, I wasn’t talking and you were.’ And then I realised I was talking to the leader of the House”.

Newly minted Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has chosen in his first official act to defend Bishop.

Meanwhile Fur Patrol have responded by saying “You may have been wearing our t-shirt, Chris, but Fur Patrol do not agree with your rant”.

The Government is way behind public opinion on this. Most of us celebrate Te Ao Maori. You just have to see the overwhelming response to the Treaty Principles Bill to realise this.

Bishop has fallen into the Act NZ First culture war attacks on Maori and thinks it is viable. While it may be for two minor parties just over the MMP threshold it is not for a major party.

13 comments on “Shut up you dickhead ”

  1. Ad 1
    1 June 2025 at 8:31 am

    If Tory Whanau or Willie Jackson had done a haka at the Gore Golden Guitar contest, it would have been all over the tv and radio and the papers for weeks and cause a massive moral outrage from every Cabinet minister piling in and bringing in the Federated Farmers and the Taxpayer Union and anyone else who could swing a chair.

    The NZHerald and Stuff media systems are just utterly racist in their constant ability to select their outrage.

    Reply
    • tc 1.1
      1 June 2025 at 1:18 pm

      Totally Ad.

      Bishop and Seymour front and centre stoking those culture wars is unsurprising.

      Tobacco man knew exactly what he was doing as a distraction from his cabinets actions.

      Reply
  2. gsays 2
    1 June 2025 at 9:05 am

    "Video footage shows Bishop seated, with a bottle in his hand…" I remember my first beer.

    It must be frustrating to have had so many, largely uncontested wins (massive cuts to the Public Service, gutting health, sweeping changes in education involving the curriculum and pay for ECE, attacks on workers pay and conditions), then have these uppity Maori being unrepentantly defiant and joyful.

    It occurs to me again, with an identity of 'Maori', it is a banner for all sorts to rally around. Regardless of income, class, gender, location.

    Attack Te Tiriti, you attack Maori and it gives an opportunity for us palangi to lend a shoulder to a wheel that we lack in common.
    An opportunity to –

    "Push

    Rise up

    Stand up

    Spread it far and wide

    Release

    The Māori language into the world."

    What's good for Maori is good for all.

    Reply
  3. I Feel Love 3
    1 June 2025 at 9:41 am

    Well done to Don McGlashan! Today I'm popping into Relics here in Dunedin & am buying his last album Bright November Morning on CD in support (his one before that Lucky Stars is excellent but I hadn't got round to buying the latest).

    Chris Bishop is a racist dickhead & I get a bit of an Elon vibe whiff of "I'm cool, really" with the NZ band tshirts (aka performative acclaim, you ain't kidding nobody Chris).

    Reply
    • georgecom 3.1
      1 June 2025 at 2:05 pm

      yup think mcglashan handled it appropriately, shut up dickhead pretty much what needed to be said to bishop

      Reply
  4. Mac1 4
    1 June 2025 at 10:02 am

    "Deep respect for calling Bishop out". It is something we must all do, when people ask us to agree with them or when they are asking that we do something that is wrong, or telling us even to do something.

    As Don McGlashan said to Chris Bishop, "Well, I wasn't talking, and you were."

    Speak truth to power. Challenge so that there may be debate and light shone on the issue.

    By challenging Bishop, McGlashan has opened up the debate and the issue into main stream media and, importantly, uncovered the beliefs of the National party and its coalition supporters.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaking_truth_to_power

    Sometimes, even a shake of the head, or body language, is enough to issue the challenge to power. I once attended a public meeting at which an African Anglican priest was advocating what was tantamount to violence towards Muslims. I sat there obviously not agreeing with him and at the door after the meeting said to him that I could smell the gun smoke in the room. He replied that he could see that I had been disagreeing with him during the meeting, and I wonder now what effect that had upon what he might otherwise have gone on to say.

    This year I went to a meeting with Minister Goldsmith which though public, as was the Anglican priest's church hall meeting, was by its nature almost entirely National supporters. He started into condemning left wing woke socialism; again, I was there to hear what he really believed, and also to be able to counter what he said to true believers. I think it had a moderating influence. He would have been told by the local MP that a former Labour candidate was in the audience, and he was openly taking notes……

    The act of taking notes of what he said was in itself a challenge to his power. He knew he had to moderate what he said, since Minister Goldsmith, as a published author and historian, knew of the power of the written word and of transcripted evidence.

    Journalists attending public meetings as normal practice, as it once was, would have possibly had some moderating effect, and like Don McGlashan's actions certainly put the issues out into the public arena for examination.

    This whole issue puts into focus the power also of the known identity, as McGlashan is as a popular singer, and the role that such identities play for good or bad in their public utterances. An unknown individual challenging Chris Bishop's 'ranting' might not have had the same publicity appeal.

    So, good on McGlashan and good on The Standard and mickysavage for continuing the public examination.

    Reply
    • weka 4.1
      1 June 2025 at 11:15 am

      very good Mac. It seems even more important at this time when the right are intent on demolishing social and political norms.

      Reply
  5. bwaghorn 5
    1 June 2025 at 10:16 am

    bishop's always come across as a likable slob turns out I was half right

    Reply
  6. Graeme 6
    1 June 2025 at 12:04 pm

    They know it's over, and it all just starts to fall out.

    Reply
  7. Patricia Bremner 7
    1 June 2025 at 1:36 pm

    This is "The Leader of The House" angry

    He is arrogant and rude. There is no welcome for diversity from him.

    Chris Bishop reacted, and showed what he really is. The problem being he is reinforced by the people he hangs with politically and publicly.

    Don and Stan, two Icons. Brilliant people as well as brilliant artists.

    The Bish is a loudmouth uncouth bully.imo

    Always stand up and call out bullies.

    Reply
  8. Anne 8
    1 June 2025 at 1:54 pm

    I turned to him and said ‘ah, shut up you dickhead’ and I looked at him and I thought, ‘oh, I know that face’. Then he said, ‘What did you say to me?'”.

    My bold.

    And there you have it in a nutshell. An arrogant, ignorant dickhead. 'How dare anyone call me, the high and mighty Chris Bishop a dickhead. You wait until I'm PM matey…'

    Reply
  9. Nic the NZer 9
    1 June 2025 at 3:08 pm

    To be fair to Chris I will mention seeing him leaving a performance of Bluey with his family. The look on his face suggested the performance had felt similar to hearing a ManU supporters detailed summary of why Arsenal have been such a failure this season. I have no idea why he would go to any kind of cultural event, they clearly just make him grumpy.

    Reply
  10. SPC 10
    2 June 2025 at 1:22 am

    Some wanted a judge punished for saying things in a private club when Peters was around.

    Some wanted an employee punished for saying something when Peters was in heroic man of the people mode in front of media in a railway station.

    A "former" Minister (had not been/may have been drinking) told an employee that being the one who locked up, made him a loser.

    A current Minister expresses an opinion, which X explains he is entitled to have, what is the problem, nothing to see here – he is "Master of the House"

    (RMA consent to build with the neo-liberal regulatory regime uber ally ACT in play)

    Empty chairs at empty tables.

    Now that David Seymour is deputy, what can one say about the Hooton rule – a woman needs to be at 2 and half foot distance from majeste, lest the haka frighten him.

    lèse-majesté in American English

    (ˌlɛzˌmæʒɛsˈteɪ ; ˌlɛzˈmædʒɪsti )

    noun.

    a crime against the sovereign; offense against a ruler's dignity as head of the state; treason

    or

    any insolent or slighting behavior toward a person to whom deference is due

    https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/lese-majeste

    Reply

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