An interview with Tom Scott: political commentator, cartoonist, writer, comedian

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The Wellingtonian interview: Tom Scott

Jousting with the Prime Minister

By JOSEPH ROMANOS - The Wellingtonian | 5:00AM - Thursday, 08 April 2010


TOM SCOTT: “I grew up in a household where my
father only ever referred to me as Egghead”.

Cartoonist, writer, playwright and comedian Tom Scott talks about Rob Muldoon, the art of drawing cartoons and his friendship with Sir Edmund Hillary.

How did you get your start in journalism?

It was all a bit fortuitous. I came off the street in 1972 and presented Ian Cross at the Listener with a cartoon. Cross looked like he could have been a prop from the South African rugby team. He said, "Yes, we'll run it". He was quite brusque. But he asked for another the following week. Suddenly I was working for the Listener.

How did you progress from cartoons to writing the political column for the magazine?

Again it was Cross' idea. I'd had a go at a bit of humour writing for the magazine. I had to buy a typewriter, and some big drums of whiteout ink!

Cross must have been a bold editor.

He had very good judgement, when you think who he picked up in those days — Rosemary McLeod, Geoff Chapple, David Young, Gordon Campbell, Burton Silver, and others.

You wouldn't have looked much like the typical press gallery reporter.

I had shoulder-length red hair, flared trousers and platform shoes. They were horrified in the press gallery and were hostile towards this interloper. They clearly resented me being there.

Your run-ins with Muldoon became the stuff of legend. Did you get much support when he was going after you?

Other journalists were only privately supportive. Muldoon couldn't handle any form of mocking and he felt I was disrespectful, though his colleagues loved it. Jack Marshall and other senior National Party MPs were frightened of him out of all proportion. They'd shuffle up to me and whisper things like, "He's really gone too far this time. You've got to do something." Sadly, the older and further from power Muldoon got, the braver they became. But earlier, when it required them to be bold they were not up to it. Muldoon developed contempt for them. He didn't like their cowardice.

How did you and Muldoon finish up?

Quite well. At the end of his days, he did admire me. He said, "That Tom Scott is a very good cartoonist". He was quite pleased with Fallout — he knew it was honest.

Did the stuff with Muldoon — being kicked out of his press conferences, not being allowed on his plane and so on — rock you?

No. I grew up in a household where my father only ever referred to me as Egghead. I mean, I'm as vulnerable as the next person, but the wholesale Muldoon aggression became a joke.

Did you get tired of writing political columns?

I felt a lot of distress at having to live up to my reputation. I hated it for the last five years.

What about drawing cartoons? That must be stressful.

It's so easy some days. You have ideas and it just flows. On other days, you've run out of ideas. That's when you earn your money. A cartoon requires a good idea, humour, and to be well-drawn. When you have all three you have a good cartoon.

Do you get criticised for bad taste in your cartoons?

What's bad taste can become comic a few days later. Religion can be a bit fraught. With the Catholics now it's like shooting fish in a barrel, but they get very upset. The Anglicans tend to take it on the chin more. With some of the Middle East countries, they'll put a fatwa on you.

Is it hard to be funny?

I'm just me. My humour is not a craft, like Rowan Atkinson or John Cleese. I come from an Irish family. They were all bloody funny.

Do you do much public speaking?

Well, it's nice to get paid, of course, but the ones I enjoy the most are where I get no money and am a bit more relaxed. There's not the same pressure to put on a show.

What do you think of Wellington?

I love Wellington, but I love Auckland, too — all of New Zealand. I'm staggered by how literate and intelligent New Zealanders are, even in the most remote places. If I've been overseas for more than about six weeks, I'll have tears in my eyes when I'm flying back.

Ed Hillary seemed to be a special hero for you. How did you meet?

We spoke at a black tie dinner in Sydney. I was first, and was at my best. The humour flowed. As I sat down, Ed said, "I see I'll have to raise my game". He was competitive, and he gave a stunning speech, spellbinding. Then later Ed and I retired to the bar and drank whisky for two hours, laughing and joking. We both felt totally at ease.

Did you spend a lot of time with him?

I did. I can recall sitting at the South Pole with him, and sitting in a remote monastery in the Himalayas listening to Ed and George Lowe telling stories about the good old days, laughing their heads off. One of [Ed's] sayings was, "It's not the mountain we conquer but ourselves".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/local/the-wellingtonian/3555057/The-Wellingtonian-interview-Tom-Scott