There's Nothing Funny About New Zealand!

David Weigel | July 19, 2007

It's been three weeks since New Zealand banned political satire by forbidding punks like us (the media, I mean) from using footage of parliament acting silly:

Green MP Nandor Tanczos said: "You can't restrict satire and nor would you want to. It is an important part of the culture of New Zealand."

But Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples said the rules would support "a more positive parliamentary environment", and it built on the code of conduct signed several weeks ago by some of the smaller parties.

Co-leader Tariana Turia hoped the rules "will assist the media in resisting the urge to indulge in satire, ridicule or denigration, to poke fun at individuals rather than representing the key policy issues and tensions of the day."

The punchline: 71 percent of Kiwis are against it and the brains behind the law are the subject of more satire than ever. To wit*:

Some media have gone out of their way to break the rules and today the Dominion-Post started a caption competition using photographs of MPs. Today's picture was of Foreign Minister Winston Peters being bestowed with a Samoan chiefly title.

*terrible pun. I should be banned.