Speaker by Various Artists

"As a consumer and a taxpayer..."

It sounds like you might be interested in taking some form of collective action - I understand that there is an association out there that you may be interested in... although they may not be quite so enthusiastic about your views on multiculturalism...

I'm a highly educated, handsome and thoroughly charming individual

It's funny because it's true.

It's funny because it's true.

and you good sir, can stay on the christmas card list.

furthermore, i can neither affirm nor deny my membership of any political party. especially not the crazy ones.

handsome...thoroughly charming

...and well on your way to becoming a huge fat bastard.

Geez, was there anything left over there by the time you flew out??

Your gustatory powers, Che, are positively mythic.

Your gustatory powers, Che, are positively mythic.

someone has to jolly the aussie economy along. i mean, what the hell else are they going to do, sell worthless contracts to aboriginal land-holding trusts and take all their minerals royalties?!

i mean, please...

Whilst not disagreeing with what you say about Melbourne, I think your view of multiculturism is a bit eurocentric when relating to Auckland. Glad you missed all the sports rioting though.

The way I see it is that New Zealand has a bunch of stores that sell international varieties of food, gadgets or housewares. We happily buy them, we display them, we talk about them, and we use them to demonstrate how global and hip we are, but underneath the veneer is the same old monoculture.

Now before I go getting any hackles up, how many of you reading this speak a language other than English? How many of you have lived in a non-English-speaking country for more than a trip to 'see the sights'.

uh... 我？ (moi?)

20%+ of Auckland and *at least* 30%+ of Auckland respectively? I take your point - Auckland (and Wellington) are a bit crappier than Melbourne in terms of 'mainstreamed' multiculturalism, but I think your comment says more about the readership and System-participation base of Public Address who you're writing for (the assumed monocultural 'we' in your blogpost, which obviously includes 'you', you big cracker, but doesn't include... me?) than whether the population of Auckland is 'monocultural'. You're the expert on whether Pakeha or white Australians are more deeply or shallowly 'multicultural' than each other... but I think rather a lot of people here don't buy 'international' food to prove how global and hip 'we' are. We buy it because that's our food. You big cracker.

Disclaimer: Che Tibby has repeatedly referred to himself on his own blog as a "big cracker". Use of the epithet "big cracker" to describe Mr Tibby is cross-referentially ironic and not intended to offend.

Yes they wear the butchers apron
No pride in a bloodstained rag 26.01.2007

It went up early on the morning of Australia Day. It helped a little with the apprehension I was feeling at the thought of the day to come. But instead the day was much as I expected. Drunk jingoistic munters wrapped in the flag. Every other car flying the fighting kangaroo flag and the token news report about proud immigrants taking the citizenship oath.
I was out in the provinces by then though, so perhaps things were different in the city?

Yes, what do you mean "we", white man?

That "same old monoculture" is a bit of a mirage. It's the previous national myth.

You've got a bit of a monocultural cringe going on there Mr Tibby. If I understood you right, NZ's multiculturalism, whatever that is, is a veneer over a thick wodge of monoculture, whereas Australia is exactly vice versa. And the basis for that? Restaurants. That's bullshit, mate, mere gourmet assertion.

You're just seeing more in Oz because fish don't see the water they swim in.

Now before I go getting any hackles up, how many of you reading this speak a language other than English? How many of you have lived in a non-English-speaking country for more than a trip to 'see the sights'.

Ah me.

tze ming, i take your point, and as the next few comments demonstrate, i'm singing to the choir.

but, like weta's sports comment indicates, there's the perception that the drunken yobs at the tennis are the 'normal' ethnics. of course, they're not.

finally, the restaurant round is a way to indicate all the ethnics who are just going about their business, nice and peaceful like.

but I think rather a lot of people here don't buy 'international' food to prove how global and hip 'we' are. We buy it because that's our food. You big cracker.

I buy it because I love the curry.

But I do recall being annoyed when Winston Peters used to rail against people who welcomed immigrants partly because they brought their yummy food with them. And their freaky supermarkets with big jars of freaky stuff and Korean noodles and shit.

Given euro New Zealand's diabolical history with food, that all seems pretty good to me. And god knows what I'd have eaten in Britain if it hadn't been for foreigner-food. (OTOH, if the Turks had never come I'd never have eaten kebabs and would still be eligible to give blood ...)

But yeah, interesting point about the use of words like "we" and "ours". It's almost like those words needs footnotes every time they're used. Perhaps in some future hypermultiethnic society there will be seven different ways of saying "we" ...

I could slag off Monsoon Poon if it would help.

Perhaps in some future hypermultiethnic society there will be seven different ways of saying "we"

how about; maua, taua, korua, raua? that's four off the top of my head.

doh! [drags out te reo textbook] korua and raua both mean "you two".

so make that maua, taua, matou, and tatou.

Air NZ is no worse than average. Certainly better than most low-cost and much better than US carriers (worse than low-cost).

The Koru Club is much, much nicer than equivalent Star Alliance facilities anywhere else I've been (haven't checked Singapore out yet). United Airlines have a cash bar (with an oh so generous two free drinks if you're flying international) and nothing more substantial than a chip. Lufthansa is slightly better in giving you draught German beer, but it's chokka and again no food.

I think that's because its subscription / frequent flyer / premium passenger, unlike the rest of the world which is FF / premium only. They need to offer something decent to make people fork out NZD500 a year or whatever (unless your in one of the categories that gets comped: MPs, journos? not government policy advisers - obviously!)

yeah, three or flights a year doesn't make the koru club justifiable.

my gripe with air nz is that it has no consistent or reasonable level of service. i worked in service in big and small places for nearly twenty years, and what marks a decent business is the simple act of putting the customer first.

NOT whacking them with a drinks trolley, then looking at them like they're stupid for getting in the way (i was asleep), or asking them to move to another seat so the host has his bag in a easy to get place when it's time to leave the plane.

But I do recall being annoyed when Winston Peters

Once, in a moment of quiet desperation I watched TV and was rewarded with some show where Winston, entertaining at home, was cooking his signature dish...

Thom Kha Gai

I guess Thai immigrants are ok by him?

And god knows what I'd have eaten in Britain if it hadn't been for foreigner-food.

I guess you could've eaten crackers. Huge factory that churns em out in Essex apparently. Btw, cold dahl on cracked pepper vita-weats crackers is my all time favourite 'too hungover to steam rice dish ever' and clearly establishes my benign multicultural ethos.

so make that maua, taua, matou, and tatou.

I'm not sure if that works Che, you'd still encounter the same problems of context - what those kupu Maori refer to depends partly on who speaks, so you'd still need to know the speakers whakapapa to know what 'all of us (tatou)' s/he refers to. Basically, you still need qualifiers.