Former Hutt City councillor Chris Milne has slithered back into the spotlight, not as a principled dissenter, but as a vindictive puppeteer of digital venom. The revelations from a recent court case paint a damning portrait of a man whose departure from Hutt City Council in 2022 was merely the prelude to a campaign of calculated online malice.Let’s unpack Milne’s despicable behavior for a minute. After being ousted from council for breaching its code of conduct—twice—he didn’t take time out to contemplate his behaviour or life choices. Instead, he weaponized social media, orchestrating a page that was designed to destroy careers with defamation so vile that even The Jackal isn't going to quote all of it.
Posts didn’t just criticize the Mayor’s policies; they invaded his personal life, smeared his wife Laura’s professional reputation as a solicitor, and even encouraged violence against Barry's family. One gem from Milne himself suggested the Mayor should be “worried,” threatening that “Mossad always gets its man”—a chilling nod to assassinations that no amount of “context” can sanitize. This wasn’t political discourse; it was a digital witch hunt, designed to intimidate and degrade opponents that Milne had already lost to.
Yesterday, The Post reported:
Hutt mayor Campbell Barry wins case seeking Facebook page takedown order
Former Hutt City councillor Chris Milne has been unveiled as the person behind a Facebook page that mayor Campbell Barry says exposed him and his family to sustained online abuse.
The page, Hutt City Council - The Truth Exposed, was active for a number of years, before Barry and his family became the subject of what they say was sustained abuse between January and November last year.
The page made a number of allegations against Barry, which he said had “sought to exploit [his wife’s] sensitive and complex personal family circumstances”.
Barry told the court the posts contained “false allegations and threats”. It had drawn attention to a complaint made to MPI about the treatment of alpacas and sheep on Barry’s property, which Barry told the court had been unfounded and he believed malicious.
He had gone to police about a comment Milne had made on one of the posts, saying Barry should be worried and “Mossad always gets its man”. Police had warned Milne, according to Barry’s affidavit to the court, and the post was removed.
Milne’s ties to the Free Speech Union add a cynical twist to this saga. The FSU, quick to cry “censorship” at any slight, has rallied behind the online troll, framing the court’s very reasonable take-down order as an assault on liberty. But let’s call a spade a spade: their support isn’t about principle...it’s about pushing a narrative that shields bad right wing actors under the guise of free expression as long as they're attacking progressives. Milne’s not really interested in open debate; he’s a board member of the Taxpayers’ Union, another right-wing echo chamber, where grievance politics and anti-establishment posturing thrive. These groups don’t champion speech for all...they amplify negative voices like Milne’s, who use “freedom” as a battering ram to bully and harass those they target.
The court’s ruling exposes the hollowness of Milne’s crusade. Judge Kevin Kelly lifted suppression orders, revealing a man who, despite his claims of transparency, hid behind anonymity to dodge accountability. The unmasking of Milne as the Facebook page’s admin shattered his veneer of plausible deniability. Yet, true to form, he’s doubling down, refusing to apologise or cover the Barrys’ legal fees, insisting his posts aren’t “harmful. Thankfully he's not the judge of that either.
Milne’s antics aren’t just a personal failing; they’re a symptom of a broader rot. Right-wing organizations like the Free Speech Union, the Taxpayers’ Union and the Act Party thrive on deluded figures like him, who cloak spite in the language of liberty. Their selective outrage ignores the real harm they cause...families targeted, reputations besmirched, and public discourse poisoned. Milne’s not a hero of free speech; he’s a cautionary tale of when Dirty Politics goes too far. Let's hope this fool stays in Spain, because Lower Hutt deserves better than the likes of Chris Milne and his bitter legacy of online hatred.
