Digging holes for himself how our MP relaxes

Bob Clarkson, MP for Tauranga, yesterday escaped the limelight the only way he knew _ he hopped on his digger and dug a sewer hole at his latest building site in Jean Batten Drive.
He had joined his team of good jokers and he couldn't resist chipping in. Working the hydraulic gears of the digger, his mind was far away from the political maelstrom he had created over the past week.
He pricked the sensitivities of the nation by demanding that Muslim women take off their burqas when walking into a bank or court and saying homosexuals and lesbians should not flaunt themselves in public.
He rounded on the Government, saying they are a "lying cheating bunch of crooks".
He believed good Kiwi jokers were "getting screwed" and called on them to unite and get rid of this Government.
A fiery debate quickly broke out. Was Mr Clarkson burying himself in a political hole?
"No way," he told the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday. Mr Clarkson was not about to recant. "I speak the truth and I have no need to tone things down. Everyone has the right to say what they believe, as long as it's within the law, and I'll fight that to my dying day. I've said nothing wrong and I won't give an inch."
As the representative for Tauranga, does he think it's a good look for the city?
"I received 186 emails, even one from Afghanistan and Russia, and only four of them had slagging remarks.
"Ninety eight per cent agreed with what I was saying ... it's our country and people have to be tolerant if they want to come and live here.
"Number one, I am working for Tauranga, then for New Zealand and finally the National Party. But the work I do in Parliament doesn't hit the headlines _ I'm not sitting on my bum down there.
"I'm deeply involved in the leaky homes crisis; I'm told there are 138 in Tauranga. And I'm doing a big study on state housing and affordable housing for young New Zealanders.
"I'm doing my fair share of speeches to earn credits to bring MPs to Tauranga _ that's the buddy system working."
It was one of those speeches that took him to Palmerston North at the end of last week. He ended up having "a chinwag" with the local reporter and during the interview Mr Clarkson suddenly looked out of the office window on to The Square and noticed the cross on the town clock had fallen off.
He asked why the cross hadn't been put back and was told that some religious groups were opposing such a move, including Labour's list MP Ashraf Choudhary, a Muslim.
Mr Clarkson's response was straightforward: "That's ridiculous. I'm very tolerant of all religions. What's the matter with this guy? Put the flippin' cross up again. The Bible says: `word spreads in many ways'."
Mr Clarkson went on and said: "I do have a problem with Muslim women who want to leave their burqas on during a court case or when they enter a bank. In those situations, they should remove the burqas from their face.
"Us good jokers are not allowed to wear a crash helmet in to a bank. All I want is these people to follow our ways when they come to New Zealand."
When he walked away from the interview, Mr Clarkson honestly thought he would hear nothing more about it.
"I didn't think it would be blown up, and twisted, the way it was _ it was just casual remarks to help get the cross back on the clock. All I was saying is that people have to learn to be tolerant."
Mr Clarkson will even tolerate the fact that the Islam religion made women subservient in their own countries, "though I'm saddened by that. But if they bring those ideals to our country then I would expect a violent reaction from our females here.
"I truly believe that women are totally equal in this country and have earned the respect of males as equals _ in my case I've employed a female as chief executive of Baypark Stadium."
So who are Mr Clarkson's good jokers? They are male and female, average New Zealanders who earn a dollar, pay some tax and pay for a round of beers. They act in a good manner, they enjoy their footy and they know when to be serious and when to be funny. They are tolerant of others, including Muslims, homosexuals and lesbians, as long as they don't jam their ideals down their throats.
Mr Clarkson has done plenty of talking this week and has changed tack. "My throat's so sore _ I don't want them sticking it up my nose."
After a week in the limelight, he got some advice from his wife Martha: "You've got your point across; now it's time to have a quiet period."