By Emma Jolliff
The controversial 1080 documentary which saw an activist refuse to come down from Mount Tongariro unless it was screened on television has been given an award.
But it comes from the Skeptics Society, which says the documentary deserves its Bent-Spoon Award for gullibility and a lack of critical thinking.
They argue it is advocacy journalism rather than a documentary.
“It would be unfortunate if people saw that, thought it was a documentary giving them a full, balanced picture, and went away and said ‘we must ban 1080’ because that would kill our forests,” says Vicki Hyde.
But documentary-maker Clyde Graf is far from offended.
“This award is an endorsement for the documentary. I would say it’s a good advertisement, I would say thanks to the Skeptical society for this extra advertising”.
Graf says 1080 destroys not only pests, but native birds and other animals too.
“It’s going to make people aware just how bad this stuff is, how dangerous it is, and how it’s going to affect us long after we stop using it,” he says.
The anti-1080 movement saw campaigner Chris Short spend a week on Mount Tongariro in August, refusing to come down unless the documentary was shown on television.
He was eventually coaxed off the mountain, despite the documentary not being shown.
The Bent-Spoon Award is part of the Skeptics Society’s two day conference in Wellington, but Hyde says there is no actual spoon being awarded, as recipients would never show up to collect it.
3 News
source: newshub archive
