Not really a journalistI'm pleased Russell Brown has posted the transcript to National Radio's Linda Clark / Don Brash interview from Monday morning, and specifically the bit where Linda takes Don to task about his claim that New Zealand has "one of the worst crime records in the developed world."

Clark: Well, that's interesting. See, that's what you said in your speech yesterday. You said arguably we've got one of the highest crime rates in the developed world.

Brash: Absolutely.

Clark: Well, this morning we get out the seventh United Nations survey on crime trends - and we haven't. I'm looking at a comparison of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England and Wales, South Africa and the USA. In homicide, rape and robbery, which I think we all agree are the three crimes which would by anyone's account be the kind of criminals you would imagine we'd want to be focusing on, we'd want to be locking up, New Zealand doesn't have the highest rate. Per 100,000 population New Zealand on homicides; 1.17, Australia is 1.57, Canada 1.59, England 1.61, South Africa 51.3, USA 4.5. We have the lowest homicide rate. Go to rape. New Zealand 22.4, Australia 81.4, Canada 78.08, England 16.23. They have a lower rate. South Africa is higher, USA is higher. We don't have the highest ...

Brash: Linda, I quoted ... My source for my statement in my speech ... I haven't got that source in front of me at the moment, but on the basis of that source which I gave in my speech, we have one of the highest crime rates in the developed world. I mean that's the basis on which I made the statement.

Clark: Well, your source was the United Kingdom Home Office statistical bulletin of the year 2000.

Brash: Okay. What's wrong with that?

Clark: Well I'm just... Well, nothing I guess, but I'm just quoting you the UN survey on crime and it says completely the opposite.

Bwahahaha! Classic. The wife and I were stuck in traffic down Jervois Quay at the time, and had a good old chortle over that one. But, yet again, Brash seems to have struck a chord with the masses, and debate has now opened up over what is to be done about the growing (depending on which stats you use) crime rate, and the rate of recidivism amongst those that do get convicted of serious crime. For my money, the root of the problem is social - no amount of tinkering with the prison system, deterrents, longer sentences, whatever, will make any (or at best a minor) difference to the crime stats (or the 'production' of criminals). The root of the problem is in the way people are raised, and I think Labour have done pretty well at introducing some legislation that will, down the road, improve the lot of many to the point where they don't feel that crime is the solution to their predicament.

Speaking of Linda Clark, how funny was Eating Media Lunch on Tuesday night? Not being one for the telly, this was only the second episode I've managed to tune in on, and the segment where they interviewed some Christchurch Broadcasting School students was priceless.

Newsboy: Name a ginger journalist

Student: Ahhh, Linda Clark? Although, she's not really a journalist, is she?

Ahahaha! Another good laugh had.
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