We use cookies to help us understand how you use our site, and make your experience better. To find out more read our privacy policy.
Play

00:00

/

00:00

Full screen
Video quality

Low 0 MB

High 0 MB

HD 0 MB

Captions
Volume
Volume
Hero image for Ken Douglas: Traitor or Visionary?

Ken Douglas: Traitor or Visionary?

Television (Full Length) – 2006

This 2006 documentary is a portrait of one of New Zealand politics' most contradictory figures: unionist Ken Douglas. At the time of filming Douglas occupied numerous board positions (eg Air New Zealand, the NZ Rugby Football Union), but early on he was a truckie and Marxist. Rob Muldoon branded him 'Red Ken'. For 15 years until 1999 he led the Council of Trade Unions. Directed by Monique Oomen for Top Shelf Productions, the film is framed around interviews with Douglas and his colleagues, and asks whether he is a turncoat or a strategic realist moving with the times.

Probably our [the Socialist Unity Party's] most successful recruiter ...
– Ken Douglas's description of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon

Key Cast & Crew

Profile image for Grant Tilly

Grant Tilly

Narrator

Profile image for Monique Oomen

Monique Oomen

Director

Profile image for Vincent Burke

Vincent Burke

Producer

Generic Profile image for Jude Callen

Jude Callen

Network Executive

Generic Profile image for Grant Taylor

Grant Taylor

Sound Mix

Generic Profile image for Luis G Portillo

Luis G Portillo

Online Editor

See all 16 credits

Produced by

Logo for Top Shelf Productions

Top Shelf Productions

Acknowledgements

Made with funding from NZ On Air

Music

Opening title music composed by Henry Cockburn

Categories

More from the Labour Day Collection...

Thumbnail image for Gallery - Ending the Post Office Go-Slow

Gallery - Ending the Post Office Go-Slow

In this legendary 1970 edition of current affairs show...

Thumbnail image for Revolution
Series

Revolution

Four-part series Revolution mapped sweeping...

Thumbnail image for 1951

1951

In 1951, New Zealand temporarily became a police...

Thumbnail image for Ken Douglas: Traitor or Visionary?

Ken Douglas: Traitor or Visionary?

This 2006 documentary is a portrait of one of New...

Thumbnail image for Standing in the Sunshine - Work

Standing in the Sunshine - Work

Four-part series Standing in the Sunshine...

Thumbnail image for Someone Else's Country

Someone Else's Country

Someone Else’s Country looks critically...

Thumbnail image for Gliding On - No Smoke Without Fire (First Episode)

Gliding On - No Smoke Without Fire (First Episode)

In an age before Rogernomics, well before The...

Thumbnail image for Coffee, Tea or Me?

Coffee, Tea or Me?

In this 2002 documentary director Brita McVeigh heads...

Thumbnail image for Assignment - Back to the Future

Assignment - Back to the Future

Thumbnail image for Weekly Review No. 374 - The Coaster

Weekly Review No. 374 - The Coaster

The coaster Breeze and her crew are...

Thumbnail image for Close Up - Big Dealers (featuring John Key)

Close Up - Big Dealers (featuring John Key)

This episode of current affairs show Close Up...

Thumbnail image for In a Land of Plenty

In a Land of Plenty

The tagline for this feature-length dictionary runs...

Thumbnail image for Our People Our Century - Winning and Losing

Our People Our Century - Winning and Losing

Taking in depression and prosperity, this edition of...

Thumbnail image for Weekly Review No. 355 - Railway Worker

Weekly Review No. 355 - Railway Worker

This 1948 documentary follows 24 hours of work on the...

Thumbnail image for To Live in the City

To Live in the City

Made for television in the late 60s, this documentary...

Thumbnail image for Face to Face with Kim Hill - Andrew Little

Face to Face with Kim Hill - Andrew Little

In this edition of her 2005 TV series, broadcaster Kim...

Thumbnail image for The Marching Girls - Mahara's Story

The Marching Girls - Mahara's Story

Created by Fiona Samuel, The Marching Girls...

Thumbnail image for Dustie

Dustie

This NFU documentary looks at working lives of a crew...

Thumbnail image for Weekly Review No. 97 - Coal from Westland

Weekly Review No. 97 - Coal from Westland

This classic wartime newsreel profiles the coal mining...

Thumbnail image for A Friendly Career

A Friendly Career

A Friendly Career (or The Story of the...