SIDESHOW BOB THROWS A TANTRUM

Sideshow Bob is going on holiday and he  isn't happy that the good people of Christchurch won't be paying for his wife's travel expenses.

Sideshow Bob is off on vacation  at the expense of the good people of Christchurch , namely visiting  some  of Christchurch's sister cities.

Sideshow Bob says that it is 'very important' that he goes  but his overseas jaunt will have no discernible benefit for Christchurch. Indeed The Press asked the Christchurch City Council under the Official Information Act whether it could quantify the economic benefits of the relationships and the response was that 'The council said it did not have any financial reports putting a dollar value on the links.'

But Sideshow Bob is going nevertheless thanks  to a 9-2 council  vote in favour of  Bob's big  holiday. Parker and his wife will visit Gansu and Wuhan in China, Kurashiki in Japan, Songpa-Gu in South Korea, and Seattle in the United States. How nice for them.

Wider Earthquake Communities Action Network spokesman Mike Coleman told The Press  Parker would be "spitting in the face of Cantabrians" if he went on the trip.

"I don't know anyone that believes Bob Parker should be going on trips overseas to sister cities when so many people are struggling across the city."

"We've got thousands and thousands of people in absolutely desperate situations, and for him to get on a 747 overseas to be wined and dined, it's an absolute disgrace."

Sideshow particularly enjoys holidaying in China where even the most minor of overseas politician  gets the red carpet treatment.  In 2008, while in Beijing, he defended the Chinese regime's  bloody repression of the Tibetan uprising.

Said Bob: ''There is the feeling that the story is not a balanced story that is being told in the West. There is a sense in some ways they feel the Western media is being manipulated in a very clever and calculated way. There is a side to the story that also should be told to bring balance to the story.'

I'm sure China's Stalinist rulers will welcome back Bob with open arms.

The only positive  thing to come out of yet another Sideshow Bob rip-off is that the good people of Christchurch  won't be picking up the tab for his wife Jo Nichols Parker.

Last night  Sideshow, who gets paid well over $200,000 a year,  announced that  he would pay for Mrs Sideshow Bob's travel expenses.

But Sideshow isn't happy about it and threw a tantrum at today's council meeting.  He went all red in the face and smoke blew out his ears.

He accused his council opponents of 'politicking'  which , of course, Sideshow  Bob has never, never,  never done. Really.

Reports The Press : When challenged by Cr Glenn Livingstone over whether he should be participating in the debate over the trip, Parker said he had every right to defend himself, and his wife, against the "cheap shots'' that had been fired at them.'

Just a short two weeks ago Sideshow wrote in his Christchurch Star column that 'In the short term , I acknowledge we need to focus on  getting people's homes fixed and help them rebuild their own lives to ensure that they are part of the new city that will evolve in the coming years.'

Clearly this isn't really  a priority for Sideshow - he'd rather go on holiday instead.

Graphic: Porcupine Farm