Iain LEES-GALLOWAY
Jacinda ARDERN
Spokespeople for Bagpipes

22 September 2011
Bagpipes? Och aye
Labour is calling on officials to overturn the ban on bagpipes being played at World Cup Rugby matches, saying it makes Kiwis look like a bunch of kiltjoys.

“If we can have the haka, then surely the Scots should be allowed a bit of skirt and skirl,” Labour’s unofficial spokesperson with a Scottish name, Iain Lees-Galloway, said.

The Palmerston North-based MP and colleagues Jacinda Ardern and Lianne Dalziel were approached for comment on the ban by a journalist from Edinburgh’s Sunday Post who said the issue had caused a furore in Scotland, prompting that country’s Sports Minister to issue a plea to games organisers to rethink their stance.

“I’m not sure on what grounds I was contacted, although I am a third generation Scottish migrant, from the McVicar and McCrae line, but I do know my long-passed Scottish grandmother would be outraged by the ban,” Jacinda Ardern said. “And men in kilts? What’s not to like? Richie McCaw fronted up in a kilt, with a set of pipes and played Amazing Grace at a recent charity auction and he’s an All Black.”

“Like the haka, bagpipes have stirred the spirit of sportspeople for centuries. And, like the haka they are an important part of New Zealand culture,” Iain Lees-Galloway said.

“Many of us have close family links to Scotland. Given bagpipes were included in the sensational and dynamic RWC opening ceremony, why not allow them at the games – even if it’s just before and after a match – as well.

“I can’t deny my ancestry. I support Scotland against any other team but the All Blacks. Surely a compromise can be reached before Scotland’s next game in Wellington,” Iain Lees-Galloway said.

ENDS

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