Espiner profile on Andrew Little

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 17 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, labour - Tags: , ,

The Listener has published a profile of Andrew Little, unfortunately behind a paywall. A few select quotes:

On his tough-man image:

Does he have to tell errant MPs to pull their bloody heads in? “I haven’t so far,” he says with a laugh. … “What I won’t do is what has happened in the past, the kind of ritual humiliation. I don’t believe in that. There is a way of handling people and a way of preserving people’s dignity.”

On his softer side:

“My marriage and my home is cherished territory,” he says. So is he prepared for the scrutiny that comes with leadership? “We’ve talked about that. Leigh is agreeable to do the things for the women’s mags but there will be limits. Our son is not going to be public property, so he’s out of bounds.”

And on his politics:

“I think there is a genuine sense of ‘Gee, you know, you see all these European late-model cars around town you didn’t see 10 years ago and houses are getting bigger’.” Hang on though – is that a bad thing? “It’s a bad thing when it comes at the expense of other people.” But does it? “To the extent that the system allows a greater concentration of wealth for some, yeah, it is actually disadvantaging the others. Some can get access to capital in a way that others can’t. Some people can get big flash houses; others can’t even get into their first home. The system allows that to happen so, yeah, there is something wrong with the system.”

Subscribers can read the whole thing, or pick up a paper copy.

17 comments on “Espiner profile on Andrew Little”

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  1. 1

    It was the bit about ‘cold eyes’ (twice v- just in case we missed it the first time) that got me – what a lot of cobblers!
    Mind you, if I was him I might be a bit less than thrilled to be interviewed by that pillock – he would know what that there’d be some negative angle no matter what he said

    1. 1.1

      It was the bit about ‘cold eyes

      Sounds like Espinor is mistaking sharp, intelligent eyes for cold territory. We all know who has the cold, expressionless eyes… except when he’s putting on an act for the benefit of the naive and gullible – and the TV cameras.

    2. 1.2

      I am sure it was a deliberate slur by Espiner to imply Andrew is cold hearted. He couldn’t do the angry thing as that would be too obvious, but he wanted readers to get a negative reaction. Nasty stuff.

      I have met Andrew and actually his eyes are his best feature – warm and sparkling, but maybe not so much when he is in Guyon Espiner’s company.

      1. 1.2.1

        Karen you are right. It was a deliberate slur. Do you remember the Morning Report interview with Little a few weeks before Xmas? I can’t recall the subject matter now, but Andrew put Espiner in his place. It was a “cut the crap” moment although he didn’t use that expression. The silence from Espiner was deafening. Methinks he was playing UTU with Little.

        As for the “cold eye” analog… what’s the bet Little was seeing right through Espiner and it showed up in his eye contact. Espiner would not have liked that.

        1. 1.2.1.1

          The comments section has gone haywire. First it tells me it was a duplicate comment then it won ‘t let me edit.

          It should be analogy in the last sentence.

        2. 1.2.1.2

          This morning too he was trying it on, “Well three times the average wage is $250,000, so are you saying you want Auckland houses to be $250,000?” (paraphrased) Little didn’t bite – he continued with the point he was making before the interruption.

    3. 1.3

      Obviously, being a national supporter espiner prefers the ‘lying eyes” of key.
      The sort of eyes that try to keep others in the dark and prevent them from seeing what key and the international right wing group he is now head of are up to.
      I believe that for national supporters ignorance is bliss as long as they think they will get something out of it.
      Am I being too cynical?

  3. 3

    I won’t be going out of my way to read it despite being keen to learn more about Andrew Little. I’ve become rather allergic to the Guy on E Spinner after his destruction of the previously high standards of Morning Report on RNZ. E Spinner is just another Gower clone with a better vocabulary and more cunning.

    1. 4.1

      Aw, you poor thing. What have you done? Recycled some Teabagger garbage?
      WTF does military service have to do with anything? Or building or running a company?

  5. 5

    Does ANYONE still buy or bother to read the bloody Listener? Espiner can’t write . i wouldn’t give him a pass mark for anything of his I wasted time reading. Poorly constructed sentences cobbled together and glued with prejudiced remarks which betray his gross lack of experience. He’s never written anything of any depth .
    perfect for the shallow thinking Kiwi I guess.

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