3 days ago
Luxon responds after Bishop's music awards comments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has responded after comments made by senior minister Chris Bishop at the Aotearoa Music Awards last week prompted criticism.
And today Bishop said he was "frustrated and annoyed by the overt politicking" around a performance, but reiterated earlier comments that he should have kept his views to himself.
Video footage from the awards evening on Thursday in Auckland showed Bishop responding during a performance by Stan Walker, which featured a large Toitū Te Tiriti banner on stage.
Bishop admitted afterwards that he said something about performative acclaim and said, what a lot of crap. He said his comments referred to what he called the overtly political branding on display.
Christopher Luxon
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According to its website, Toitū Te Tiriti's "intent is to demonstrate the beginning of a unified Aotearoa response to the Government's assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
Luxon responded to the comments when asked on Breakfast today, saying Bishop had since said that he "should have kept his opinions to himself".
"People have lots of different ranges and different reactions to music, and what they like and don't like. I like a lot of country music and people don't, sometimes, I find," he said.
"Look, he said he should have kept his thoughts to himself, I'm comfortable with that."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has responded after comments made by Chris Bishop at the Aotearoa Music Award prompted criticism. (Source: Breakfast)
Asked whether he would speak to Bishop about the issue, Luxon confirmed he already had.
"I spoke to him on the weekend just to get his side of the story, but he came out before I'd even got a chance to talk to him to say he should have kept his thoughts to himself, that's pretty good."
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Luxon said musicians had "taken shots at politicians for centuries and politicians will respond for centuries," saying everybody had different musical tastes.
'It wasn't the right time or place' - Bishop
Speaking to media at parliament, Bishop reiterated he "should have kept my views to myself at the time".
Chris Bishop speaks to media at parliament. (Source: 1News)
"But it is what it is," he added.
Bishop said he would not apologise to Stan Walker.
"It's not clear what I would be apologising for. My views are my views, and as I said I should have kept these to myself at the time, but we live in a democracy."
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He said he didn't have an issue with Walker as an artist, citing his frustration with the "politicisation" of the segment as the reason for his comments.
"I was frustrated and annoyed by the overt politicking around it. It's not about Stan Walker, I actually quite like Stan Walker and quite liked his performance.
Bishop said he was frustrated by the Toitū Te Tiriti banners that were on display during the performance, but admitted that it "wasn't the right time or place to express those views".
"It's not about Stan Walker, or singing in te reo, or singing a waiata."
Bishop confirmed he was holding a Heineken beer in his hand in the video, but emphatically denied having had too much to drink.
Kiwi musician Don McGlashan was also seen on the video confronting Bishop about the "enormous amount of ranting". McGlashan told RNZ that at first he didn't realise who it was.
"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?'".
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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".
When asked about the confrontation with McGlashen, Bishop said the interaction was "ironic" given he was a huge fan of his work as a solo artist and with his band The Mutton Birds.
"His political views are quite well-known, so it is what it is, he's entitled to his views the same way I'm entitled to mine," Bishop said.
