GARRICK TREMAIN: REMINISCING

People still contact me believing I'm cartooning. I am not currently. I have hung up my cartooning pen, perhaps for good, but have lately been using another pen in writing a book of my life, which contains a small section on cartooning. Here is some of that section:

I produced cartoons daily for 35 years. After parting company with the Otago Daily Times and no longer wishing to be associated with legacy media, I had a number of avid readers contact me and plead with me not to cease cartooning. I would explain that I had no firm plan to continue, but should I decide to do so, I would email them what work eventuated and so for the last three of those 35 years I more or less daily emailed cartoons to 400+ readers, many of whom forwarded them to their own networks. I was frequently offered payment but declined, preferring to remain free of commitment.

During those 35 years, I worked under 11 different Prime Ministers, some more memorable than others. I think Norman Kirk showed signs of being the best, but due to his very short tenure I will never know. Those who did the most damage to the country, in my opinion, were clearly Muldoon, Key and Ardern. It is not easy to say who was the worst, but I suppose Muldoon and Key did not become so detested by New Zealanders that they could no longer regard themselves as being safe within our borders.

Looking back it is like following the same mistakes made again by different people. Possibly, the biggest irritation is the constant wastage of public money e.g. creating the inept Race Relations Commission since which we now have the worst race relations since Parihaka. Similarly ineffectual commissioners watch the decline of Human Rights from their plush offices. And as the supermarkets gouge our wallets we are reminded of how the establishment of a Supermarket Commissioner would lower grocery prices.

Looking back it seems that politics is the art of announcing what is going to work, then never explaining why it didn’t.

I began daily cartooning shortly after the founding of the Waitangi tribunal, and ever since racial politics have featured regularly in the news, and as cartoons follow rather than lead the news, hence in my cartoons also. I could foresee the slippery slope that would bring the country to the sad state it is in today where politicians, afraid of upsetting belligerent treaty claimants, have honoured falsehoods to the detriment of our law, and our democracy. In lampooning those politicians and their policies, I was amused to be frequently accused of Māori-bashing. It is possible to see how the dim-witted come to that false conclusion. We witness the same phenomena today when David Seymour strives for fairness and equality for all and is labelled a racist for so doing. It proves Thomas Sowell correct when he said ...

“Give people special treatment for long enough, and they will cry ‘discrimination’ when they get equal treatment.”

Over those years I had many comments from politicians, some flattered, some smarting. I think my favourite was from Alliance MP of the time Pam Corkery. We were taking part in a so-called celebrity debate in Dunedin. I arrived late and just two minutes before we took to the stage Pam greeted me with ...

“Great to see you Garrick! Keep those bloody cartoons coming mate! I'm no racist, but I'm pleased you are!”

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And a pick from the 'editor' ... hard from so many great cartoons. If you are missing Garrick, check out his website