Rowan Atkinson, youth rates and kiwis

Press, 17 August 1983, Page 10

Rowan Atkinson, youth rates and kiwis

When overseas entertainers visit New Zealand they begin working long before they appear on stage. From the moment they step off the aeroplane they become products to be promoted and sold. Tonight on “Close-up” Alison Parr follows the British comedian, Rowan Atkinson, through the gruelling marketing process and talks to him about his reaction to the publicity machine. Fred Cockram reports on youth rates. To make school leavers more attractive to employers the Government is planning to bring in youth rates of pay across the

board. It will let employers pay teen-agers less than adult workers doing the same job. To some it is a chance to get young people into the work-force. To others it undermines the hard-won principle of equal pay for equal work. Ted Sheehan reports on the kiwi, New Zealand’s national symbol. As such it is a source of pride, but how much do New Zealanders know about it? Not much, according to the experts, and, unless people start protecting their habitat, there is a danger that few kiwis will survive.