ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Culture
F AROUND AND FIND OUT
In what officials are calling a “quick win for a speaker keen to be taken seriously” the Government has confirmed TVNZ’s Maiki Sherman has been banned from covering Parliament for five days.
The suspension, staunchly confirmed by Speaker Gerry Brownlee this afternoon stems from an incident last week where Smith’s doors were banged on loudly.
However many have pointed out that Sherman is likely going to be fired anyway, due to her getting drunk and yelling “faggot” at Stuff’s Lloyd Burr. It also seems almost impossible to imagine she could take a five day break from parliament and then come back on 6 May and somehow everything would be back to normal.
Brownlee’s decision to ban Sherman for five days has been described as everything from “symbolic and based on principle” to “point-scoring that’s also somehow totally pointless”.
However one senior newsroom figure, speaking on condition of anonymity, spoke to our reporters.
“It’s a bit like Gerry’s found a dead horse and he’s just started flogging it for some reason. No one’s impressed by it, but it’s happening.”
More to come
