ON YOU ROGER, SHAME !

A complaint of sexual harassment from a staff member to the State Services Commission has led to the resignation of Canterbury Earthquake Commission’s CEO, Roger Sutton. His major offence, it seems, was to address a woman on the staff as ‘sweetie’.

Everyone agrees that Sutton has done excellent work in the difficult job as CERA’s CEO. His decision to resign is regretted by Brownlee, Minister responsible for CERA, and I would guess most of his staff. He struck the public of Christchurch as a good man. His wife agrees with him: “He's a really good man - he's far nicer than I am. He's far more compassionate than I am, but he's also really silly. And that's kind of what I love about him. I think he kind of forgot that he was the leader of a public service; and he's too informal, he's too relaxed ... but that's who he is. That's what makes him amazing, and why his staff, the CERA staff, love him." She was an advocate, she said, of men and women being safe in the workplace, but added: "I just wish this could have been done in a less public, less hideous way."

One cannot but agree it would have been better if the offended staff member could have approached Sutton personally. He would have responded positively, I’m sure.

 I can remember myself, oh! – it must have been 25 years ago, a woman at a party offered me a plate of sausage rolls. I said: “No thanks dear, I think I’ll give those a miss tonight.” Whereupon she flashed at me: “Don’t you call me dear – I’m not your dear.” I didn’t have time to respond before she sped away with her sausage rolls. How should she have known that I am an old fashioned Cockney from the East-end where a bus conductor can inform a passenger: “Tooting Common next stop dear; or the local butcher can address a customer: “What will it be today dear – some nice sirloin?” The epithet ‘dear’ is common parlance in London Eastend. But then, my unfortunate use of the word was in New Zealand.

Times and sensitivities change – a little towards over sensitivity at times, as when the word Golliwog (a soft doll with a black face and fuzzy hair) in a  children’s story book can lead to protests of racial insensitivity.

contact: stanrich@vodafone.co.nz