I've attended many Back Benches shows, mainly as an audience member, and on one occasion as a Soapbox speaker (for the Republican movement) as well as a vox pop or two. Rough and boisterous as the show is, I hope it gets picked up elsewhere as it serves a purpose as well as reaches an audience.
Whether it has been the professionalisation of political communication through media advisors, press secretaries and so forth, or other causes, Politics has suffered a disconnect between the apparatus of representative government and the people. Back Benches has helped mend that wound by bringing strangers and political animals alike back into contact with their alleged representatives.
As David Farrar attests in his autopsy of the show, it has also proven to be an excellent training ground for new MPs to gain their feet in the public. Young people are once again interested in political debate. Collegial talk across the cross benches is not unheard of either.
Unlike Farrar, I believe in audience participation. Peter Dunne earned his boos during the introduction tonight. Witnessing the filming of the Native Affairs election special last year, with its nana hecklers, brought home the important part the public plays in this feedback loop.
I hope Back Benches is reincarnated elsewhere, and that the live pub format is not neutered by some timeshifted slot in some arcane morning slot.
