Mike's Minute: We need to recognise the legacy of Bill Birch

I was a bit deflated a couple of Fridays ago when the news of the passing of Bill Birch came through.

His life contribution and story barely got a mention.

But I felt better this last Friday when at least his funeral got much better coverage.

David Farrar: RIP Bill Birch

Was sad to see today that Bill Birch has died. I knew him quite well, and he was one of the most competent Ministers of any Government.

His worth ethic was legendary. For the 1998 Budget I was in charge of producing the information sheets (propaganda) for the Government about them. This meant having each iteration signed off by the Finance Minister. They were taking me longer than I expected so I popped in to see him at 10 pm to say I didn’t think I’d get them finished tonight, but could show them to him tomorrow. He asked when I thought I’d finish them, and I said around 1.00 am to 1.30 am. He said that he would still be there, so just come through then.