Kevin Milne: Sir Bob Jones and his legacy

Prominent businessman, author and former politician Sir Bob Jones has died in Wellington after a brief illness - aged 85.  

Jones formed the New Zealand Party in 1983, which stood for 10 years.   

He received a knighthood in 1989 for services to business management and the community.  

Kevin Milne told Jack Tame he will be remembered as a terrific writer. 

He says Wellington already feels all the more grey for his passing. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
A'd be thank you for your messages, Jack, so many
memories for us. All of New Zealand had its finest cisling. Yeah,
I mean it is. It's always funny. You get kind
of nostalgic, don't you look back? I mean, just look,
just look at that. An eighty five square meter house
on a nine hundred and something square meter section. It is,
you know, that's what That's a true quarter acre, right.

(00:32):
I just remember as the kid, it was fast like
Grandad's section just felt so big you can kind of
get lost. It just meant that Hide and Seek was
always so much better, you know. Anyway, ninety two ninety two,
if you want to send us a messages this morning,
please do tell me. If you drive that stretches State
I One more regularly than I do between ash Vegas
and christ Church, tell me please assure me that the

(00:55):
potholes aren't usually as bad as they have been this week.
I mean, obviously there's been so much rain, right, so
those potholes are pretty enormous. But my goodness, I just
couldn't believe the state of the road. I could not believe.
I'll get to more of your feedback very shortly right now, though.
Kevin Milne is with us this morning. Calder, Kevin Jack.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
I've got very warm memories of Ashburton as well. My
oldest sister lived there when she got married. Noturs to
go down to the state, but I tell you one
thing I remember so much that you were the me
envy me for I once went to the Ashburton Domain
to see the MCC cricket team. Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Really, where was that?

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, I don't know. They were playing some Canterbury side
with the MCC side with glittering names. Yes, touring New Zealand,
and Ashburton was one of the places that they are.
They played a test match at.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Least feature match.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yeah four days or yeah, four day game.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, how good? The Ashburton Domain A, it's a it's
one of those, you know, like fantastic you know, sometimes
you get them in parts of regional New Zealand, like
really really amazing public space. I always loved the flying
fox at the esh Button Domain always had the flying fox,
you know, like one of those proper ones that probably
wouldn't pass a health and safety laws these days. But yeah, Anyway,
Hey Keven, you have been reflecting over the last twenty

(02:16):
four hours or so on the life and times of
SA Bob Jones.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah. Jack, As you know, when you work in television,
you've got to expect some criticism, some nasti reviews. But
the king of the Nazi review was SA Bob Jones,
who died yesterday. One review of a Fairgo story I'd
done I've kept. It's a bit of a classic. It
refers to one of the best stories I ever did

(02:41):
on Fairgo. Actually it ended up in the courts all
the way up to the Court of Appeal and Fairgo
won it that Bob didn't like it. Bob's review was
lengthy and here is just some of the lines from it.
It appeared in Wellington's Dominion newspaper headlined would you buy
a fair Go used car story? It begins one of

(03:04):
the worst examples of defamatory television journalism abuse I have
ever heard, shamelessly ignorant and grossly unfair. According to the
smug mediocrites who present this show, this was an example
of moral and ethical turpitude, demanding nationwide exposure. This bumptuous

(03:27):
shower at Fairgo knows nothing about commercial practice. According to
these buffoons, this was a one off revelation that they
had discovered. It was a disgrace. It was unjust, ignorant, unbalanced, defametry,
and in my view, a crime against decency. It was,

(03:48):
in one word, sleazy. The program has a lack of
balance and has witch hunting tendencies. So Bob ended that
with fairgoes a row of smug, supercilious and ignorant talking heads.
It's garbage and should be closed down smartly. Anyway, that

(04:10):
was way back in nineteen eighty eight, and Fago continued
successfully for another thirty six years. I later got to
know and quite enjoyed so but I had some once.
If he remembered the review, he said he didn't. But
Bob Jones will be remembered as a terrific writer. Jack
Wellington already feels all the more gray for his parting.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, it's funny, I.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
Can.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
I can tell you that. Similarly, Bob Jones was no
great fan of mine. However I actually had. I actually
went and saw him a few years ago. It was
very interesting. It was just before COVID. It was like
literally about a week before the COVID lockdown in New Zealand.
And that's when, you know, senior government officials were kind

(04:56):
of not really considering the prospect of lockdowns or anything
like that. And he said to me, you watched this.
This whole country is going to be locked down in
a week or two. The global economy is going to
be totally dis up, all of the supply chain is
going to be a massive issue. You just wait in
New Zealand. It's going to need to port from the
government all these things. And then, of course, about three
days later he just proved to be one hundred percent right.
But you know, I know there are some people, you

(05:19):
know who have you been upset by comments he's made
over the years, And certainly he's he's not been a
shrinking violent when it comes to, you know, saying what
he really thinks.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
But yeah, it's not about as long as it's not
about you, it can be most enjoyable reading some of
his pieces, you.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Sort of feel like this, you know, like he's such
a character. You know, you sort of feel like the
character like that couldn't quite exist in the modern age anymore,
you know, which is which is a bit of a shame.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, I gave the speech at Barry soaper's seventieth birthday
a couple of years ago, and we were chatting, Bob
and were chatting beforehand, and I give him a speech
and he suddenly he suddenly lets out with your bloody
ugly milk, and but you but you learn that he
didn't mean it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was just all

(06:05):
part of the pant Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
All very good. Hey, thanks Givin. You have a good
weekend and we will catch again really soon. Kevin melm
with us this morning.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
to News Talks at B from nine am Saturday, or
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