Tom Scott

Evening Post cartoonist and writer, Tom Scott is a satirical cartoonist, columnist and entertaining speaker who pokes fun at political and topical issues.

It’s hard to imagine now that there was a time when charicatures of New Zealand politicians were never seen in our newspapers. That change can largely be credited to Tom Scott, who turned both cartooning and political journalism on its head in the early 1970’s. Tom is New Zealand's leading satirical cartoonist who tells it the way he sees it. He is an award winning author, film director and playwright who has written a documentary film on Sir Edmund Hillary. He was educated at Fielding High School and Massey University where, much to his relief, he was expelled from Vet School. Tom, one of New Zealand's greatest characters, commenced his academic career studying to be a vet and ended up with a degree in anatomy and philosophy. More importantly, he began working for Massey University’s capping magazine, where his drawings were even then a quantum leap ahead of anything anybody had done before. It wasn't long before he decided to pursue his love of journalism and current event commentary and develop his unique cartooning talents.
In the early 70's Tom turned cartooning and political journalism on its ear with his cartoons depicting political figures and events. Tom's run ins with the late PM Sir Robert Muldoon took much of centre stage during Sir Robert's political career however there is no doubt that both respected each others talents albeit from different perspectives.
After a distinguished career with The Listener and The Auckland Star, Tom joined the Evening Post in Wellington where he is now their political cartoonist. In addition to his cartoons, Tom co-scripted the very successful film version of Footrot Flats with Murray Ball and has written several television plays, a television series and several books
Journalist, cartoonist and humourist, Tom has won awards for excellence in political journalism, cartooning, documentary film making, television script and feature film screenplay writing. His work has taken him to the UK, Yugoslavia, Australia, India, the USA and the South Pole. He recounts tales of being on the road with various politicians, pitching screenplays in Hollywood and sitting round blazing fires at the base of Mt Everest.
A very talented New Zealander who is passionate about New Zealand and what it stands for, his passion has brought him in touch with Sir Edmund Hillary and in 1996 Tom wrote a biography on Sir Edmund. In 2004 based on a four-part documentary series shown on TVNZ, Everest - View from the Top has been adapted for Channel 4 and Channel 4 International by Peter Williams Television and Tom Scott Productions. Tom Scott is the Producer/Director. Tom also has written a play based on his father's life called The Daylight Atheist. This, the first play by Tom, received critical acclaim in New Zealand and in June 2004 opened in Australia to great reviews.
Not only is Tom a great after dinner speaker where his humorous observations are hilarious but he can also add to your next conference by depicting each of your speakers and providing a cartoon portfolio of the characters and highlights of the event. These cartoons are retained by you and presented to the "victims" as appropriate. They are also a great way to raise money for a specific charity.

Presentations:

Topics:
• Keynote
• After Dinner