Sam Rossiter Stead

By David

Last week Swimwatch listed five events associated with the campaign to eliminate the Wairarapa Region and have the area’s affairs run from Wellington. It appears that one of the leading advocates of change was a public relations spin pundit called Sam Rossiter-Stead. You may recall that he is the individual who distributed an email to the Wairarapa swimming community claiming that he was the recipient of “crank phone calls”. He also told anyone who would listen that he was “working with Vodafone and the police to identify the culprit”. He said he had given “them a list of numbers to check out”.

Demonstrating creditable initiative some members of the Wairarapa swimming community decided to check out the email and its story of telephone abuse. Amazingly they were told that the Masterton police had never heard of Sam Rossiter Stead’s crank calls. The police had not approved his email and were not checking out a list of Sam Rossiter Stead supplied numbers.

I have a real problem with this email. I also have a problem with the agency, Swimming New Zealand, that sanctioned its distribution. Here is the Sam Rossiter-Stead email in its entirety. It seems to be a pretty malicious work of fiction.

So what is it about Mr Sam Rossiter-Stead’s email that I find so disturbing? The apparent contradiction between this email and the information obtained from the Masterton police is difficult to reconcile. Either the police have lost or are unaware of a complaint they received or Sam Rossiter-Stead never laid a complaint – no matter what his email says. I wonder which one it can be. I do hope lies were not used to gain a political advantage in SNZ’s pursuit of power. Certainly, if Rossiter-Stead is to continue representing the Wairarapa on the Board of the Wellington Region, the apparent contradictions of fact in the document he authored need to be properly investigated and resolved.

I may have missed something but I can’t find any record of Rossiter-Stead being appointed to the Board of the Wellington Region. It seems he just appears as the Wairarapa’s representative, happily seconding motions and voting his little heart out. Is this another example of SNZ democracy at work? Remember how they elect national Board members these days, North Korea style – the same number of candidates as vacancies. Wellington has obviously learned at the feet of its master.

I find the email’s reference to a list of telephone numbers puzzling. Vodafone and the police were given a few numbers to investigate eleven months ago. Has there been a result? Has Vodafone reprimanded any user for misuse of a telephone? Have the police prosecuted anyone for making abusive calls? Rossiter-Stead very quickly and publically pointed the finger at members of the Wairarapa swimming community. He could at least clear up the result of his complaint. I happen to know many of those who opposed Rossiter-Stead’s involvement in this process. None have been approached by the police or Vodafone. It is not right that they continue to live in the shadow of a Rossiter-Stead blanket accusation. Or – perhaps there never were any numbers.

Rossiter-Stead devotes a whole paragraph to the plight of Wairarapa youngster Grace Yeates and compares her distress to the behaviour of some in the Wairarapa swimming community. I find this whole comparison in the worst possible taste. How dare anyone use the condition of Grace Yeates to make a political point. I can think of no circumstance that justifies using her name and medical suffering in this way. It is really bad. Is any abuse justified in the pursuit of power? Should someone, prepared to make a comparison in this way, be asked to leave the sport?

This is an absolutely dreadful tactic that is routinely used by the worst manipulators, abusers and bullies to justify their horrible behaviour. “X has it worse, so stop complaining when I do Y.”

I note that Rossiter-Stead pleads for those making crank calls to “increase the frequency of their calls”. I guess he thought that lots of calls would improve the chances of detection. However I cannot believe that the police or Vodafone are jumping with joy at an email that encourages the recipients to break the law. It does make you wonder whether the police were aware of Rossiter-Stead’s decision to email the Wairarapa swimming world with his problems. My bet is they would be less than pleased with this last paragraph. I suspect the police had no idea that they were about to star in Rossiter-Stead’s email.

It’s a small point but it does irk me that on three occasions Rossiter-Stead refers to swimming as a children’s sport. Of course that is true. Swimming is a children’s sport. So are cricket, rugby, netball, boxing, track and field and football. But swimming is also so much more. What Lauren Boyle, Michael Phelps, Camille Muffat and others do is not children’s sport. It may make Rossiter-Stead’s membership of the Wellington Board more effective if he understood the sport better than is implied by this email.

Did you know that Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910? According to Rossiter-Stead logic Halley’s Comet caused both events. There is, he says, “a clear pattern to the timing of these, which appear to be strongly connected to my voluntary work with swimming. They begin a few minutes after a significant event in the swimming community and continue to coincide with group emails either sent by me or sent to me”. The logic of that assertion is quite ridiculous – just as ridiculous as suggesting Rossiter-Smith’s email was sent out to coincide with a Club meeting being called two days later to ask when the governance body was going to report to members as required by its terms of appointment.

Certainly this email raises more questions and suspicions than it answers; suspicions and questions that can only be answered by the author. While the confusion continues I am pleased Sam Rossiter-Stead is in Wellington. My impression is that the Wellington Board, Swimming New Zealand and Sam may be well suited to each other.

  • Inspector Bob

    So, what you are saying is a person walked up to the police station to ask about a complaint the Police were investigating and the Police revealed the details to a stranger???
    Doesn’t even happen on QSI
    A policeman would face serious disciplinary action both by the Police and a possible complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.
    something here doesn’t ring true…or if it is true, there is a crooked cop somewhere and I’ll bet Swimwatch can find him/her!

    • Karmahasnodeadline

      What doesn’t ring true inspector plod is whether a complaint was ever laid about crank calls….breathe deeply and read the email slowllllly …..use a brown paper bag if necessary. The email clearly indicates someone on the brink of desperation, I suspect the privacy commissioner would be interested in the misuse of a membership database to send out rubbish like this…go figure.

  • Dr Felix Cumberbund

    Who has written this? David, what is your last name? Anyone prepared to character assassinate a community volunteer, should have the guts to put their credentials on full display. Why would anyone want to volunteer when there is poisoned, malicious
    insanity like this out there?

    • Jane_Copland

      Really? Start by reading the “About Swimwatch” page maybe? It’s no secret who writes this blog.

      Honestly.

      • Dr Felix Cumberbund

        Ok thanks Jane, but this malicious crap is ruining lives! Who do you think this helps? Maybe you can tell your mates. I have known Sam for many years and know him to have impeccable values. This is a stitch-up.

        • Jane_Copland

          Your opinion is noted :)