Who is the “Bad Manners Minister”?
Danya Levy at Stuff reports:
Australian media have dubbed an unnamed Government minister as the “New Zealand Minister for Bad Manners” after he allegedly made a scene in the official Australian box during the Wallabies opening Rugby World Cup game. …
The newspaper quotes insider “Jeeves” as saying “He booed and abused the Wallabies all game”.
“He was yelling out, ‘f–ing cheats’ and other offensive remarks, and then when the Wallabies started to get on top, he suddenly left.”
The Australian Rugby Union representatives and their partners in the box were “gobsmacked”, the newspaper said.
One of the Australians had asked a local government official who the man was, saying his behaviour was “right over the top”.
“The local suit replied: ‘Sorry. I can’t do much about it. He’s a government minister,'” the newspaper said.
iPredict have stocks on who will be identified as the Minister. Current probabilities are:
- Jonathan Coleman 65%
- Other/None 35%
- Wayne Mapp 2%
- Steven Joyce 2%
- Phil Heatley 2%
- Murray McCully 2%
- Craig Foss 2%
- Gerry Brownlee 0%
- Tim Groser 0%
- Bill English 0%
UPDATE: Ministers Coleman, Mapp and Williamson have all categorically denied it was them, and said they think the story is made up. This may be right, as it was an anonymous second hand story.