Mallard takes media training advice and admits mistake

Labour MP Trevor Mallard took a few hours but finally used his media training skills by admitting he was wrong to sell his tickets to Wellington's Homegrown Festival on Tade Me for a profit last week. While the practice was not illegal for this event, Mallard himself sponsored anti-scalping legislationa in 2006 to outlaw it for big events like last year's Rugby World Cup. Any media training expert would have told Mallard to admit he got it wrong and take his medicine. When the story first broke, he defended himself by stating it was not illegal and he didn't know how to set a "Buy Now" price on Trademe. If he did this he could have sold the tickets for their retail value without making a profit. But as the story grew, he decided to fall on his sword. On Campbell Live he said:"I've cocked up" and "It's not a good look, is it." From a media training perspective, he should have done this from the beginning because while the practice was not illegal, it was a very bad look and unethical. Mallard is a seasoned politican and excellent media communicator. But it must be said, this is not the first time he has been involved in questionable behaviour. Who can forget the incident when he punched National MP Tau Henare. No amount of media training can get an MP out of that sort of trouble. The only option is to admit the mistake and apologise. This is something Mallard is getting used to.