RNZ has reported on the headline-grabbing exploits of an independent candidate in the campaign to win the New Plymouth seat.
A red-faced New Plymouth electorate candidate has apologised for causing an accident between the SUV he was driving and a logging truck in the city last week.
The candidate, Rusty Kane, and a passenger were uninjured when their car collided with the truck at the intersection of Elliot and Leach streets.
RNZ tells us:
The serial political candidate, who has unsuccessfully stood for public office 17 times over 30 years, said he was driving in the wrong lane.
He has sought office at local body and national level across Taranaki, Auckland and Bay of Plenty.
He appears to have required the help of a police report and video to understand what happened:
“Once I found out from the police what had actually happened because there’s cameras around, I accepted that and that they were going to give me an infringement notice and a fine and I had to apologise to the truck driver, the trucking company.”
And:
“… it’s my fault, you know, I realised that I was in the wrong lane and obviously I didn’t even see the truck. I didn’t see anything. I was just crossing the intersection and then bang.”
Presumably he is standing as an independent because he is unsure which political party – at least for him – is in the right lane.
He has also done something which politicians in the so-called “minor” parties have struggled to do.
He has won publicity from RNZ (here), OneNews (here), The New Zealand Herald (here), The Post (here) and no doubt others we have failed to mention (but Googling should be able to identify them).
That’s something to be envied by the leaders of the Conservative Party (on the right), the Alliance Party (on the left) and an assortment of parties of various shades.
A PoO search (not exhaustive) drew a blank when we looked for reports of what those parties were offering and what their candidates were claiming should make them worthy of support.
We enlisted the help of Copilot, which said most of the visible coverage had been party press releases carried by Scoop while interviews and commentary had been provided by smaller or alternative outlets such as Chris Lynch Media, The Platform, RCR, Centrist, and similar sites.
I was unable to find notable reporting during the last two months by major mainstream outlets such as NZ Herald, Stuff, or RNZ focused on the Conservative Party itself. The search results mainly surfaced party statements, republications of those statements, and coverage by smaller political or independent media.
The Alliance has fared a tad better.
RNZ ran a news article on 7 June about the Maritime Union affiliating with the Alliance Party, including interviews with Victor Billot and union representatives. [rnz.co.nz]
But:
The evidence I found supports only a qualitative conclusion: the party’s mainstream coverage appears low, with most recent visibility coming through party-generated content and press-release channels rather than independent reporting.
Co-pilot concluded that based on the available evidence, the Alliance Party appeared to have received slightly more mainstream attention, but neither party appeared to have had substantial mainstream media exposure in the last two months.
Maybe their leaders should try driving their vehicles in the wrong lanes until they collide with logging trucks.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE.
He has sought office at local body and national level across Taranaki, Auckland and Bay of Plenty.
He appears to have required the help of a police report and video to understand what happened:
“Once I found out from the police what had actually happened because there’s cameras around, I accepted that and that they were going to give me an infringement notice and a fine and I had to apologise to the truck driver, the trucking company.”
And:
“… it’s my fault, you know, I realised that I was in the wrong lane and obviously I didn’t even see the truck. I didn’t see anything. I was just crossing the intersection and then bang.”
Presumably he is standing as an independent because he is unsure which political party – at least for him – is in the right lane.
He has also done something which politicians in the so-called “minor” parties have struggled to do.
He has won publicity from RNZ (here), OneNews (here), The New Zealand Herald (here), The Post (here) and no doubt others we have failed to mention (but Googling should be able to identify them).
That’s something to be envied by the leaders of the Conservative Party (on the right), the Alliance Party (on the left) and an assortment of parties of various shades.
A PoO search (not exhaustive) drew a blank when we looked for reports of what those parties were offering and what their candidates were claiming should make them worthy of support.
We enlisted the help of Copilot, which said most of the visible coverage had been party press releases carried by Scoop while interviews and commentary had been provided by smaller or alternative outlets such as Chris Lynch Media, The Platform, RCR, Centrist, and similar sites.
I was unable to find notable reporting during the last two months by major mainstream outlets such as NZ Herald, Stuff, or RNZ focused on the Conservative Party itself. The search results mainly surfaced party statements, republications of those statements, and coverage by smaller political or independent media.
The Alliance has fared a tad better.
RNZ ran a news article on 7 June about the Maritime Union affiliating with the Alliance Party, including interviews with Victor Billot and union representatives. [rnz.co.nz]
But:
The evidence I found supports only a qualitative conclusion: the party’s mainstream coverage appears low, with most recent visibility coming through party-generated content and press-release channels rather than independent reporting.
Co-pilot concluded that based on the available evidence, the Alliance Party appeared to have received slightly more mainstream attention, but neither party appeared to have had substantial mainstream media exposure in the last two months.
Maybe their leaders should try driving their vehicles in the wrong lanes until they collide with logging trucks.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE.
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