1989: Palmer’s Trumpet
February 12, 2025
By AHNZ
Mike Moore became the last Prime Minister of Labour 4.0 for about five minutes, “but it was the most interesting five minutes imaginable.” wrote Jane Clifton. Moore accurately, it was 4 September until 2 November, 1990.
In September 1989 new PM Geoffrey Palmer was literally blowing his own trumpet and clearly signalling he wanted to go on. Here he is in a clip from the Holmes show jamming in the Prime Minister’s Office. Clifton says this coincided with Palmer “running out of puff.”
But Moore (1949 – 2003) grabbed that poison chalice with both hands and drank deeply. National 4.0 were elected in a landslide.
“Now it’s not widely known, not widely known at all, that a very prominent New Zealand has been known to pucker the old lips for a brass instrument, ” – Holmes (1989)
“Bob Hawke wants to get hold of me!” says Palmer. “Can he wait?” Holmes asked. “Oh,” replies the PM, “he’s going to! Yes.”
“Clever as he was, Moore was out-maneuvered by Helen Clark for the saprophyte leadership and so it was she who became Labour 5.0’s next Prime Minister. ” – 1990: Prime Minister Mike Moore, AHNZ
“Geoffrey Palmer was the second of the three Labour 4.0 Prime Ministers, taking over after David Lange quit until Mike Moore was deployed to fight the 1990 General Election. Palmer’s Ministry lasted just 11 months (August 1989-September 1990) during which a great deal occurred that might have helped him, and his Government, win re-election.” – 1989: The Palmer Interlude, AHNZ
“By his own confession, Mr Palmer was [delighted.] He said so on “What Now” when interviewed by an intrepid sleuth, aged 10, on Saturday morning. He declared that it had been the funniest moment in his time as P.M.” – Press, Papers Past
“The bulk of the material on this double bill programme was drawn from the artists’ hit lists of the 1960s, the decade when Bilk and Ball were both household names. The ageing audience (and I include myself in this collective description) wallowed in the nostalgia with enthusiasm.” – Press, Papers Past
The guests on this occasion were a couple of Silent Generation musicians, Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball. Palmer, himself Silent Generation, knew Bilk’s tune and that his target audience would too: Stranger on the Shore (1961.) Holmes had evidently picked the pair up at Wellington Airport and driven them directly to the Beehive on Monday 18 September 1989 for a 2pm appointment. Good publicity for all concerned.
I wish they’d taken a moment to tell us about what kind of computer the PM had beside his desk.
—
Ref. Geoffrey Palmer with Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball, Holmes (1989) NZ on Screen
Ref. Chapman Archive, Auckland University
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