Ian Templeton

Last week Parliament paid tribute to Ian Templeton who is retiring after 60 years in the parliamentary press gallery. Ian is one of the nicest people around, and one of the most astute. Not many people are still working at the age of 88!

Some of the tributes:

• Winston Peters: Ian, your service to journalism in Parliament and parliamentary reporting has been pretty remarkable. As a journalist, you were amazingly accurate, interested in the details, a repository of deep knowledge, and, because of that, the stand out character in the press gallery. It’s hard to see how your achievements can ever be replicated.
• Gerry Brownlee: In 60 years of reporting from this place, you’ve carved an enviable reputation for accuracy, for insight, and for fairness. Your discerning but authoritative interview style has always demanded respect. Over the course of your time here, you’ve seen some 608 MPs take their seats, and this is your 21st Parliament. I came to this place when you were well past the midpoint of your career, and the then Prime Minister told all of his new intake that if we wanted to know what was going on around the place, just read Templeton, and that the Trans Tasman was a must-have subscription.
• Clare Curran:  I hear you’ve got an uncanny, longstanding, and well-deserved reputation for getting things right. One of the most important elements of this was his ability to gain trust, and the reason that Ian was able to write so accurately was because of the relationships that he built. He was known to have a weekly meeting with Helen Clark, which I’m sure his fellow gallery journalists were envious of.