Simon Bridges can't connect | The Jackal

7 Apr 2020

Simon Bridges can't connect

We all know that Simon Bridges has, at the best of times, an intermittent relationship with the truth. However you would think that during a pandemic and economic crisis the current opposition leader would pull his head in and start to do the right thing.

Obviously leading by example should be of high priority for officials at the moment. Unfortunately for the right wing, Simon Bridges was anything but convincing when he claimed that he had to travel half way across the North Island just to get a good Internet connection.


Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:

'My internet doesn't work': Bridges defends commute between home and Parliament 

Bridges told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he does not have the same resources at home - including internet connection.  
"About 50 per cent of the time my internet doesn't work." 

This is a blatant lie! Tauranga has been connected to ultra fast broadband for some time now and we all know his Internet connection is working fine because he’s already video conferenced from home without any issues.

Bridges also cites that the media and Press Gallery are not based in Tauranga, and he wants to be part of that. 
He says that the committee is doing an important job in holding the Government to account, and being in Parliament is important part of that. 
"I can do a much better, more professional job at Parliament. There may be no Parliament, but I am there doing that job."

In other words, Bridges is selfishly promoting himself during a pandemic because he isn’t getting enough media attention at home. In effect he's breaking the rules and putting his family and other people in danger for the sake of his own political career. He also doesn’t want to be sidelined by the great job Jacinda Ardern is doing in her essential role as Prime Minister of New Zealand.

But where exactly is the mainstream medias call for him to resign? We’ve had a full week of them screaming for the head of Health Minister David Clark (who has now been demoted), because he went for a mountain bike ride. If these two cases don’t highlight the blatant bias of certain journalists, whose opinion is largely irrelevant anyway, I don’t know what will.

The right wing evidently isn’t handling the stress resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown very well. Instead of working to help New Zealand get through the crisis, they’ve been ignoring the rules and making a number of ridiculous and untruthful claims to cover-up for their indiscretions.

They’re also using the pandemic to try and score cheap political points against a Government that clearly has things under control. In my opinion this continued electioneering won’t be playing well with the voting public.

Even if Bridges was telling the truth, by not being able to organise a working Internet connection he looks decidedly incompetent! Therefore what faith can people place in him to lead the COVID Select Committee, let alone run the entire country? The very simple answer to that pertinent question is absolutely none!