Danyl McLauchlan: Departure of two key figures illuminate what went wrong under Ardern
Two senior figures are leaving New Zealand politics within a few months of each other: long-serving Labour MP David Parker, who recently delivered his farewell speech in the House, and Auditor-General John Ryan, whose seven-year term spanning most of the Ardern-Hipkins years ends on July 1.
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Newsroom
17 hours ago
- Newsroom
An appointment with Jacinda
Dame Jacinda Ardern to the rescue, possibly. Ardern's new memoir A Different Kind of Power arrives in bookstores this week and looks set to sell its sensitive socks off. The book will retail for $60. Booksellers face challenges from online retailers such as Mighty Ape and The Nile, which are already offering chunky discounts. Even so, it seems destined to provide a bonanza for bookshops across the land. Jenna Todd, mastermind at Auckland's coolest bookstore, Time Out, shared the amazing revelation that Ardern met to grease up Auckland booksellers at a private meeting: 'We were lucky to have an hour with Jacinda back in December to hear about the book. It's not ghostwritten and she said the feedback she'd had on the book was that it was 'surprising.' I was very intrigued.' So was I, and asked for more details of the tête-à-tête. Todd said, 'It was in the leadup to Christmas and Penguin NZ organised us to meet. It was very relaxed and informal with a Q&A with her NZ publisher, Grace Thomas, and lots of time for questions. 'We learned what memoirs she read in preparation for writing (I'll let her say what those were) and could see how seriously she took the whole process eg. she read the whole manuscript aloud twice in preparation. 'It was a behind the scenes insight of the writing experience and also anticipation of a behind the scenes book. Genuinely, this meeting has helped me answer customer questions in the lead up to the book's release. 'I believe it will sell well into Christmas. But I tell you what, we won't tolerating any cover rippers – they can piss right off.' Ah yes, the wild and righteous Turn Ardern crowd; even Sean Plunkett disparaged them recently as suffering from 'Jacinda Ardern derangement syndrome'. Trolls, alternative truthers and various assorted right-wing trash will no doubt rage against A Different Kind of Power. When I spoke with Louise Ward, co-owner of the Wardinis bookshop empire in Hawkes Bay, she said, 'There will of course be those who grumble about it (and probably a resurgence of the 'turn Jacinda' nonsense) but she has her fans and they'll be keen to get into it. The Prince Harry book sold truckloads, in part because he's a polarising figure, so I anticipate an equal or even bigger level of interest.' The book will need to sell exceptionally well for Penguin to recoup their advance. It was reported as $1m but two reliable sources in New Zealand publishing have told ReadingRoom it was $1.5m. ReadingRoom approached numerous people in the book trade and the consensus was that A Different Kind of Power would have to sell between about 140,000-160,000 copies to earn out Ardern's advance. The most knowledgeable person in New Zealand books is Paula Morris. She said, 'That sales figure is achievable, as those sales don't have to be in NZ alone: Australian rights are part of the deal. Julia Gillard's memoir sold 5000 copies on its first day of sales alone in Australia; Malcolm Turnbull's memoir in 2020 sold out its first print run of 45K in under a week. I suspect Jacinda's book will be of interest to many readers there. They have five times our population. 'In the US, Hillary Clinton's last memoir sold 300K its first week, which was seen as a big hit there; adjusted for population, that would mean selling 4000 copies here and 23,000 copies in Australia. If there's ultimately a Jacinda tour in Australia or even a media tour, she could sell a lot of books. For better or worse, we're also influenced in our habits by overseas success. Jacinda has a North American book tour about to begin and should sell lots of books and get tons of media coverage. If the book is a bestseller in the US, that may encourage more prominence in positioning (in book shops and media) here and in Australia, and encourage more people to buy it.' Commercial publishers ran for cover when approached. They felt too compromised to comment on a competitor, and besides they likely put in failed bids to secure Ardern's book. Not so Fergus Barrowman, publisher at Te Herenga Waka University Press, who said, 'This is way out of my league. THWUP is a boutique university press and we have only twice offered advances in six figures, and never anything approaching seven. But on the back of an envelope, it will need to sell about 140,000 copies to earn out. 'Taking the advance as a fixed cost, the publisher should cover costs much earlier, say 70,000, and have a very healthy margin on the next 70,000, before they have to pay any more royalties.' Paula Morris drilled down further. She said, 'Prince Harry allegedly got a US$20 million dollar advance for four books, including Spare. So think of it as at least US$5 million advance for that book, or possibly more so they could recoup as much as possible right away. The rrp was US$36 (NZ$60) for Spare in the US. Let's say the US publisher paid Harry an advance of $7.5 million. I've read somewhere that the publisher could make that back with sales of 500K print copies and 250K e-books. 'One thing: do we know if the advance was for this book only, or included a second book, like Harry's multi-book deal? Jacinda's children's book (Mum's Busy Work) is coming out with Penguin (in NZ and in Australia) this September. The advance might cover that as well. It seems likely. Children's books, like nonfiction, sell well in NZ (versus local fiction for adults). They sell REALLY well in Australia, e.g. over 30,000 copies for successful local titles. So if 40,000 sales (NZ and Australia combined) are for the children's book, then the memoir just needs to sell 100,000 across both markets. That is absolutely possible, especially as it will still be selling in the run-up to Christmas.' One Ardern book at a time. A Different Kind of Power is available in bookstores from tomorrow, June 3. (Ardern also narrates a 12-hour audiobook of her memoir). Final word from Louise Ward at Napier and Havelock North bookstore franchise Wardinis, who said, 'Based on the pre-orders we've taken I think the book will do very well indeed. 'If the publisher gets the print run and the marketing right, and it sells in territories well outside of NZ and Australia (which you have to think it will as Jacinda is so popular overseas) then I would compare it to Barack Obama's A Promised Land or even the slightly more popular (in our shops at least) Becoming by Michelle Obama. 'I hope it'll fly. We could do with a nice winter boost.' A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $59.99) is available in every bookstore across the land. ReadingRoom is devoting all week to coverage of the book, with three reviews, by Tim Murphy, Janet Wilson, and Steve Braunias.
NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- NZ Herald
King's Birthday Honours list celebrates Kiwi achievers
Their achievements are elevated and are on par with sporting heroes and politicians, sometimes more deservedly. For some, the honours are less about keeping in step with British tradition and more about giving Kiwis the recognition they deserve. The debate goes back and forth over the honours system, with knight and damehoods having been famously scrapped in 2000 by Helen Clark's Labour Government, then reintroduced as the New Zealand honours system nine years later by Sir John Key. Next door, Australia's knight and damehoods became almost a tug of war within the Liberal Party. Prime Minister Tony Abbott reintroduced them in 2014, puzzlingly knighted Prince Philip, and they were removed again just over a year and a half later by the next Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and have been absent ever since. It's noted that both Clark's and Turnbull's decisions were approved by the Queen, who rarely got involved with government policy. More recently, the New Zealand Republicans have called for honours to be announced at Matariki, saying that recognising the King's birthday (which is not his real birthday) was not a relevant public holiday for the country. This year, however, it's status quo and today's list of recipients are all nominated by their communities and recommended to the King by the Government. Ranjna Patel, a prominent figure in the Auckland community, receives the New Zealand Order of Merit and becomes a Dame for services to ethnic communities, health and family violence prevention. Patel's CV reads like a veritable alphabet soup: ONZM, QSM and now DNZM. Her contributions to the Auckland health community are far too great to list. Millennials will recognise Suzy Cato on today's list. She is being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to music, television and education. Cato's melodic voice coached children through the Covid-19 lockdowns, producing online content such as storytelling, science experiments and musical activities for children. Cato's show You And Me was staple children's TV viewing in many Kiwi households. She was known by her trademark blonde hair and colourful selection of jumpers. No doubt her grown-up fans can still sing the theme tune It's Our Time by heart. BMX champion Sarah Walker, comedian Dai Henwood, TV personality and historian Jude Dobson, Louise Wallace, Black Fern Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and former All Black and rugby commentator Murray Mexted are other recognisable names on the list. But whether they have name recognition or not, we must take the time to honour and thank our high achievers for their invaluable contributions to society and their local communities – however we choose to celebrate them.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Chris Bishop's Comments During Stan Walker's Performance Have ‘No Place' At Aotearoa Music Awards
Article – RNZ 'The Awards respect and honour te ao Mori and we were proud to support Stan with his vision for his powerful rendition of Mori Ki Te Ao.' The producers of the Aotearoa Music Awards have condemned Cabinet Minister Chris Bishop's comments during Stan Walker's performance, saying his remarks have 'no place' at the awards ceremony. At Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre on Thursday night Bishop was captured on video declaring 'what a load of crap' during Walker's performance, which prominently featured Toitū Te Tiriti banners. Some people in front of him were on their feet dancing and waving tino rangatiratanga flags. In a statement issued on Saturday, the producers said they were committed to creating a 'safe, respectful and inclusive environment' and that these 'expectations were clearly communicated to all who attended the event'. 'The inappropriate comments made by Hon. Chris Bishop during Stan Walker's performance have no place at the Aotearoa Music Awards,' the statement read. 'The Awards respect and honour te ao Māori and we were proud to support Stan with his vision for his powerful rendition of Māori Ki Te Ao.' In a statement to RNZ, Bishop admitted he said 'what a lot of crap' and something about performative acclaim. He said it referred to what he called the overtly political branding on display. 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'. Another witness said the minister appeared to them to be drunk. 'For him to take an instant dis-gratification towards Toitū Te Tiriti and that movement and to say that it's a load of crap is actually highly offensive. I'm very worried for somebody of high power in this country to be making those sorts of remarks in public,' they said. Bishop has since acknowledged his comments were poorly judged, telling RNZ: 'On reflection, I should have kept my thoughts to myself.' However, he has denied making specific remarks about the hīkoi – the protest marches that have taken place across Aotearoa in support of upholding the Treaty of Waitangi – and has suggested the backlash amounts to a 'political smear job'. 'Chris is a long-time supporter of New Zealand music and went to the Awards to celebrate successful Kiwi artists,' a spokesperson said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has declined to comment further, with his office saying the PM had nothing to add to Bishop's statement. David Seymour defended Bishop shortly after he was sworn in as deputy prime minister on Saturday. 'Just because you become a senior minister, it doesn't mean you should stop having opinions,' Seymour said. 'It might well be that, based on what Chris saw in that moment, he was correct. It may be that people will agree with him.' Seymour said he believed New Zealanders would draw their own conclusions.
