The Insider: Star billing

The Film Commision describes its role as "lining up the planets" for the film industry. Photo / Getty Images

Maybe it's just professional envy, but Film Commission boss Dave Gibson's expenses have not gone unnoticed. The commission's job is to get New Zealand films made, promoted and screened, and in pursuit of that goal, Gibson's burden was to attend the Toronto and Shanghai film festivals and other film events, including Cannes. All up, travel cost more than $60,000. The going was particularly rough in Cannes, with more than $9000 in airfares, $1600 in accommodation and $900 in per diems. The commission credit card also racked up more than $7000 in hospitality expenses over 12 months, the biggest item being an almost $1200 dinner bill for the board and others to celebrate commission chair Dame Patsy Reddy being awarded the NZ Order of Merit. The commission describes its role as "lining up the planets" for the film industry. Tough work, but someone has to do it.

Flight of fancy

Debate over the legality and morality of eating kereru has prompted memories of the time former Act MP Gerry Eckhoff advocated farming kiwi, to protect the bird from extinction. He was mocked widely for the suggestion, and his argument that no farmed species ever became extinct didn't get much traction. Perhaps Eckhoff was ahead of his time, and if there is a demand for kereru, maybe the market could meet it? On second thought, that idea seems as likely to fly as the kiwi.

Twisted tweet

Justice Minister Amy Adams having a film star as a namesake continues to cause much hilarity. One fan - of the actor - got his twitter handles confused and informed the minister he had noted her "big booty", to the amusement of Adams and her colleagues. The tweeter apologised with much embarrassment when he was told of the mixup.

Where's Len?

City Vision is marking the halfway point of this Auckland Council term with a fundraiser and debate on the proposition "there is no place for politics in local government". Among the politicians attending the event next month will be Labour's Jacinda Ardern, political strategist Matt McCarten and the Greens' Denise Roche. Phil Goff, who has all but declared himself a mayoral candidate at next year's elections, is master of ceremonies for the event, at the Polish Society Hall in Morningside. Absent from the list of attendees is long-serving Labour Party member and Auckland Mayor Len Brown.

Long silence

The Labour Party has only just celebrated its 99th anniversary, and already another birthday is coming up. This Sunday will mark a year since a Labour MP posted on the Red Alert blog, set up to enable MPs to have conversations with the public. Perhaps it would be best to pull the plug, if no one cares any more.

Note-worthy

As New Zealanders debate - or mostly don't - the design of a new national flag, Britons are pondering who should replace philosopher Adam Smith on the 20 note. After seeking suggestions for an eminent visual artist to feature on the notes, the Bank of England now has to choose from 592 suggestions, ranging from eminent worthies to movie director Alfred Hitchcock, comedian Mel Smith, or - the Insider's favourite - Charlie Chaplin. There's even a Kiwi, Dunedin-born cartoonist David Low.

Dig this...

Sometimes people just have the perfect name for the job. Case in point: the latest appointment to the Oil Pollution Advisory Committee - one Richard Wells.

Trade tactics 101

Trade Negotiations Minister Tim Groser has been in Europe trying to get support for a trade deal with the European Union. He regaled a Dublin audience with the story of his first attempt to free up trade in the region. As foreign policy adviser to Rob Muldoon, he wined and dined with Taoiseach - Irish PM - Charles Haughey, to push for access to the UK market for butter and sheepmeat. "After a memorable dinner of outstanding Irish salmon en croute, and a more than sufficient quantity of good French wine to help it down, Rob Muldoon laid out the NZ case to Haughey. The Taoiseach responded thus: 'I'll tell you what, Rob. I won't support you, but I won't put the boot in'. And with that, we left on our merry way." So that's how the tough business of international negotiation works.