Thanks to the wonders of MySky I was able to sit down last night and watch “Make the Politician Work”, a new show which had aired the previous night. I have an aversion to reality shows but can’t help but be intrigued by the premise – politicians working at ground level learning more about the portfolio they are responsible for. So last week we had Paula Bennett, Minister of Social Development, working in a soup kitchen. I watched about half of it and just didn’t find it as insightful as I had hoped.
This weeks episode featured Rodney Hide working as a teacher’s aide in a special education school. I was interested for obvious reasons but again only made it about halfway through before pushing the delete button. Rodney is profiled at the beginning of the show (and judging by that montage, his most important contribution to society is/ was participating in Dancing With the Stars) where he expresses his disappointment on being awarded the Associate Minister of Education role and finding that it comes with responsibility for Special Education. “I’m just not interested in it” he is quoted as saying.
Now I’m sure that by the end of the show he had made the staple reality TV journey of self discovery, and that these special ed people aren’t so bad after all, and that maybe there are worse jobs to be had in Parliament after all. But is it too much to ask for Ministerial apppointments to be made on the basis of some interest in the role? I was astounded that he would come out with a comment like that and wonder why he is in the role if he’s got no interest or passion for it?
I know it’s not polite to kick a man while he is down, and maybe in light of the last week’s events the show could have been pushed back or not screened, but it has to be said that this half-episode did not reflect well on Mr. Hide’s responsibilities towards the Special Education portfolio, and by extension Education in general.
