Richard O’Brien, creator of the cult classic the Rocky Horror Show appears to have being granted residency in New Zealand, so Sue Moroney and I took a few minutes out in Hamilton today to celebrate with his alter-ego, Riff-Raff who has been immortalised by the city.
He has been granted an exception to policy, and while some people might have concerns, on the face of it seems reasonable. O’Brien lived in New Zealand for about 12 years during his adolesence and early twenties. He returned to NZ often as his parents remained here until they passed away a few years ago. His siblings still live here, and he owns property.
The Rocky Horror Show was a huge part of my growing up. Along with a group of friends we were kind of obsessed with the show, and to this day I can just about remember almost all the words (sad I know). We saw sit live a couple of times in the 80s with Rob Muldoon and Billy T James fulfilling the roles of the Narrator. I also remember a particularly boisterous screening of the film one Friday evening, that culminated in a mass confetti and water fight both inside and outside the theatre.
It is a total classic, and fantastic that it was written by a New Zealander. Richard O’Brien once said it was based on his experiences in Hamilton and Tauranga in the 1960s. Who knew they were that interesting….
It’s a shame that NZ has become so petty that a special exemption had to be granted to allow him to stay…
Let’s do the time warp
It’s just a jump to the left… ;D
peter, I guess with any system like Immigration, you have to be seen to apply the rules evenhandedly until directed from above, otherwise. He doesn’t meet our rules, so he has to establish outside the current rules the exception, there is simply no room for this kind of discretion at officer of Manager level, in my opinion. That would open a can of worms. If the Minister decides to make an exception with open and publicly stated reasons then that is different.
This is a success for National. National has been able to overcome the inherent discrimination against immigrants who have skills to offer, share an association for New Zealand or our language and culture within the Department of Immigration, engendered by a decade of Labour social engineering.
Throughout the years of the Labour Regime, it was almost impossible for Caucasians, the affluent, the skilled and the educated to obtain residency or citizenship.
Labour preferred the diseased, the unskilled and the uneducated of the third world -all enticed to New Zealand to further burden our society.
This is an offensive comment which I’ll let through. But you are now in moderation. Clare
I guess you dont consider British or White South Africans, well, Caucasian. I wonder what colour the sky is on your planet
It’s like the phrase de jour is “social engineering”
Let’s do the time warp again
Yes , this photo was on a special day for Richard O’Brien, but the sad truth is that I force most visiting Labour MPs to do the Riff Raff Statue photo shoot when in Hamilton. Even sadder is that some of them have never heard of the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Not naming names….yet.