The Speeding PM

TVNZ reported last night that the Prime Minister’s motorcade was speeding to get her to the airport on time.

Now I don’t actually have a problem with the PM’s motorcade speeding (as long as still safe – 140 km/hr in a 50 km/hr zone is rathert excessive) and in fact the law specifically allows for this.

But the use of police lights and siren is unprecedented in my memory, and I have actually been in quite a few Prime Ministerial motorcades. In NZ lights and sirens are for emergency services, not Ministers. I am amazed Clark would not have queried why the motorcade was using sirens and lights – it is absolutely unheard of unless one has foreign VIPs with you.

Interestingly the press reports on Stuff do not mention the lights and siren at all, only covering the speeding – which to me is not so much the issue.

I do pity the people who actually rely on just one media source for their news. Anyone reading the mainstream media in NZ would have no idea about Joe Wilson being so discredited in the US now.

I just did a Google news search for any reporting of Murray McCully’s speech which was critical of the media. Not a single story anywhere at all. And one can presume that as he delivered it to the National Press Club they did hear it.