IMAGINE a New Zealand secondary school classroom in which the new history curriculum is about to be given an intriguing twist. The teacher, not a fan of the current historical orthodoxy, has decided to show her class what New Zealanders were really like 100 years ago. She has persuaded an actor friend to play the part of an imaginary Reform Party Member of Parliament.

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Known principally for his political commentaries in The Dominion Post, The ODT, The Press and the late, lamented Independent, and for "No Left Turn", his 2007 history of the Left/Right struggle in New...