NZ First Resorts To Dirty Politics 2.0

It’s a grim day for New Zealand when the stench of dirty politics once again wafts back into the public domain, and NZ First, under Winston Peters’ befuddled leadership, appears to be at the heart of it. An exposé by The Post today lays bare a coordinated campaign of online vitriol and personal attacks, with right-wing disinformation bloggers seemingly enlisted to smear anyone daring to criticise the coalition of chaos and their socially destructive policies.

Clearly, this isn’t the politics Kiwis voted for. No one ticked the box for underhanded digital attacks or the resurrection of Cameron Slater’s infamous “Dirty Politics” playbook to once again infect our political discourse. Yet here we are, watching a desperate right-wing stoop to new lows, targeting critics with vicious online vitriol designed to defame and discredit, including an extended attack on a 25-year-old student who was driven to suicidal despair. It’s another shameful chapter about the right-wing's disinformation tactics, and NZ First’s fingerprints are all over it.
 

Today, The Post reported:

Inside the murky evolution of Dirty Politics 2.0

A Sunday Star-Times investigation reveals how keyboard warriors have found a home in NZ First’s orbit, reviving attack-style politics, report National Affairs Editor Andrea Vance and investigative reporter Charlie Mitchell.

 

...

 

The journalist hung up, unsettled by the conversation. He chose not to follow up. But in the days afterwards, it became clear the tip was linked to a loosely coordinated, fiercely partisan network of online accounts that had formed in the orbit of NZ First.

…

The caller was Rhys Williams, a Taranaki businessman behind an influential X (formerly Twitter) account. The account had previously targeted Green MP Benjamin Doyle, sparking a wave of backlash that at times veered into personal abuse.

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Others joined in. Sean Plunket, founder of The Platform media outlet, who has tangled with the student online, taunted him with a cryptic jab on X. Political operative Glenn Inwood and property developer Vlad Barbalich — both known associates of Williams —shared similarly veiled references. There appeared to be foreknowledge.

That evening, Williams named the student publicly.

…

The online reaction was swift and vicious. Commenters called the student “sick” and “deranged”. One post, shared by Williams, likened him to serial killer Ted Bundy.

Inwood and Barbalich shared the post, as did Cameron Slater, the former Whale Oil blogger once synonymous with such attacks.

So much for freedom of speech.

The extended Post article pulls no punches, detailing how NZ First appears to have tapped into a network of online operatives to silence online dissent. This isn’t speculation, it’s a pattern echoing the dark days of 2014, when Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics exposed Cameron Slater’s Whale Oil blog as a weapon for National Party insiders. Slater, a self-styled attack dog, was paid to churn out defamatory hit pieces, often with direct input from National Party MPs including the likes of Judith Collins, who had to resign her portfolios as a result.

Fast forward to 2025, and the tactics haven’t changed, just some of the players. NZ First seems to have adopted this same cynical strategy, weaponising social media to crush critics and protect the current government’s fragile grip on power.

At the centre of this latest storm is Rhys Williams, a figure now scrambling to distance himself from NZ First after The Post blew the lid off his campaign against a young student. This 25-year-old, whose only crime was voicing criticism of NZ First, became the target of a relentless online onslaught, orchestrated through shadowy right-wing channels and employing the services of experienced propaganda operatives. Although he broke the first rule of combating the political fascists in New Zealand, to not have anything they can use against you, the 25-year-old student really shouldn’t feel bad about how effective their strategy of hatred towards opponents is. New Zealand would be astounded to learn about the number of people who have been destroyed by the right-wing in their attempt to hold onto power.

The result of their latest campaign of hatred? A young Kiwi pushed to the brink of suicide, their mental health collateral damage in the right-wings' quest for total control. Williams’ attempt to backpedal, claiming no formal ties to the NZ First party, reeks of disingenuousness. The Post reveals his deep connections to NZ First’s inner circle, and his sudden plea of independence feels like a panicked attempt to dodge accountability and retain whatever semblance of credibility he has remaining, which is very little after the Benjamin Doyle scandal he created fizzled into nothingness.

🚨 Rhys Williams last week revealed as the individual behind the @2ETEKA account that led the failed takedown attempt of Green MP Benjamin Doyle is as we now also know the one and the same person behind last year’s controversial Inflection Point conference which featured a who’s… pic.twitter.com/FBxaWkvBlm

— Kelvin Morgan 🇳🇿 (@kelvin_morganNZ) April 16, 2025

Winston Peters should know better than to associate with such discredited muckrakers. For decades, he’s positioned himself as the maverick outsider, the voice of “the people” against elite machinations. Yet here he is, seemingly endorsing the same underhanded tactics he once decried. Kiwis didn’t vote for this. They didn’t sign up for a government that bullies its citizens into silence or outsources its dirty work to online attack squads. Peters’ legacy, already a patchwork of populism and pragmatism, risks being further tarnished by this descent into the gutter. If NZ First is so confident in its mandate, why resort to such desperate measures? The answer is clear: they’re rattled, and they’re willing to sacrifice decency to cling to power at any cost.

The right-wing’s reliance on coordinated online attacks is a sign of weakness, not strength. As The Post notes, these tactics are a “murky evolution” of the Dirty Politics era, leveraging platforms like X to amplify smears and drown out dissent. It’s a coward’s game to do the dirty work while politicians like Peters maintain plausible deniability. But the public isn’t stupid. The backlash against this campaign, especially after its devastating impact on a young student, will show that most right-minded Kiwis reject this brand of sewer politics. The right-wing’s desperation to control the narrative only exposes their fear of accountability.

This isn’t just about NZ First or Rhys Williams’ convenient amnesia. It’s about a broader rot in our political discourse, where critics are fair game for destruction, and mental health is just collateral damage. Cameron Slater’s shadow looms large, a reminder of what happens when attack politics and online defamation festers unchecked...even by our courts.

Some may have thought we’d moved past these types of tactics after 2014, but NZ First’s apparent embrace of Dirty Politics 2.0 proves otherwise. If Winston Peters had any morals left he would come clean, disavow these underhanded tactics, and face the public he claims to serve. Anything less is a betrayal of the trust some voters placed in him and NZ First. He won't of course. Because he's essentially a coward! But in the long run that won't matter. The right-wing’s digital hit squads might be loud, but the voice of the voting public will always be louder.

Cameron Slater's New Website: Same Old Defamation

You’ve likely noticed that the disgraced blogger of Whale Oil Beef Hooked infamy, Cameron Slater, is still slithering around the internet, peddling his bile on a shiny new blogsite calling itself The Good Oil. If you thought bankruptcy, defamation rulings, and a near-fatal health scare would teach this idiot a lesson, think again. Slater’s lurking in the digital shadows, undermining New Zealand by running another attack blog which is less about journalism and more about settling political scores.

Slater’s rap sheet reads like a cautionary tale for wannabe keyboard warriors. Back in the bad old Whale Oil days, he was slapped with three hefty defamation rulings that would make any sane person think twice. The courts weren’t buying Slater's “I’m just a blogger” shtick when he smeared innocent folks for cash. His underhanded tactics, exposed in Nicky Hagar’s excellent book Dirty Politics, tanked his reputation, and by 2019, he was bankrupt, owing creditors a small fortune. We all hoped that’d be the end of it. Nope. Enter The Good Oil, where Slater’s back to his old game: defaming people under the guise of “free speech” for money.

Despite those significant defamation rulings, Slater’s still thumbing his nose at the law, using The Good Oil to sling mud at his numerous enemies. Sources whisper he’s targeting old foes with the same reckless abandon, even though court orders have already explicitly penalised him for this type of nonsense. It’s like watching a bloke drive a car after his license got revoked for drunk driving, then act shocked when the cuffs come out. The question isn’t if he’ll get sued again…it’s when. And with his track record, the next payout could make the $700,000 previously awarded against him look like pocket change.

This month, the NZ Herald reported:

 

Winston Peters to deliver ‘roast’ as Whale Oil’s Cameron Slater celebrates 20 years of blogging

Defamation losses, awards and bankruptcy - 20 years of 'Whale Oil' blogging celebrated.
Former Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater will celebrate 20 years of blogging with a party in July - and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has agreed to deliver the “roast”. “When I asked Winston if he would do it, he asked me if it was an all-day event,” Slater told the Herald. The party is being held at Leo Molloy’s Headquarters bar in Auckland’s Viaduct, with tickets to attend costing $50. The fact he has given Peters a starring role appears a dramatic volte-face for Slater, who in years past was known for taunting the politician, including referring to him as “Winston Raymond Peters, 65, pensioner of St Mary’s Bay” as if he were a criminal.

…

Later - amid revelations he had taken cash to target people - the Whale Oil blog collapsed and Slater lost three defamation actions, went into personal bankruptcy and suffered a serious health event. Having recovered his health, he is now on to his third blog “Good Oil” which he bills as “News and Commentary from a Conservative Point of View”. The promotional material for the 20th anniversary party says: “Join us for a night to remember as we celebrate 20 years of blogging, breaking news and holding the powerful to account. “For two decades, Cam Slater has been at the forefront of fearless journalism: challenging narratives, exposing hypocrisy and keeping the establishment on its toes. Now, it’s time to raise a glass and mark this milestone with friends, supporters and fellow truth-seekers.” · NZ First leader Winston Peters being interviewed by Cameron Slater before the 2023 election.

Then there’s the dodgy money trail. The Good Oil runs on a subscription model, receiving cash from readers who lap up Slater’s venom. But as a bankrupt, Slater’s legally required to declare all income to the Official Assignee. Is Slater forthcoming about those subscriber dollars? Probably not, which would be a breach of the Insolvency Act. Hiding income while crying poor to creditors? That’s peak Cameron Slater. If the Assignee catches wind, he could be receiving more than just a stern letter.

What’s galling is the sheer hypocrisy of this right-wing operative. Slater’s out there preaching about the “truth” while dodging accountability for his numerous lies. The Good Oil might look like a fresh start, but it’s the same old tired playbook: defame, deflect, and dodge. New Zealand deserves better than his brand of recycled muckraking. So, here’s a tip, Cam: the courts already told you to pack it in. Keep defaming under your numerous pseudonyms and proxies, and you’ll be back in the dock before you can check your secret bank accounts.

Winston’s Mate Rhys Williams Has Been Unmasked

Most people wouldn't have heard of a little worm like Rhys Williams, a so-called businessman and former NZ First member, who has recently been unmasked as the venomous troll behind a relentless online campaign unfairly targeting Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle.

According to reports, Williams has been slinging mud at Doyle under the pseudonym @2ETEKA since 2023, with thousands of posts laced with abusive and defamatory language aimed at left wing politicians—Doyle being his prime target. His mission? Apparently, to give Winston Peters something to attack the Greens with and drum up votes for NZ First.

But here’s the rub: while Williams has been outed as an anonymous hurler of unwarranted online vitriol, Winston Peters, NZ First’s fearless leader, stays conveniently silent about his mate’s antics, yet clutches pearls over Doyle’s use of the word “bussy” a term that even Wikipedia knows the true meaning of. Winston, however, hasn't accepted common definitions or Doyle's explanation. Instead, the hypocrite has slunk off overseas in the hope that people won't look into his association with a homophobic campaign that was unfairly trying to destroy a persons political career.

 

Last Wednesday, The Post reported:

 

Businessman behind toxic online Benjamin Doyle campaign

The anonymous online account that helped spark a political firestorm over Green MP Benjamin Doyle’s past Instagram posts is run by a businessman who is a former NZ First member, The Post can reveal.

Rhys Williams, from New Plymouth, is behind the inflammatory X (formerly Twitter) account @2ETEKA, which last month unearthed posts from Doyle’s pre-Parliament Instagram page, “BibleBeltBussy”.

The controversy centred on a post where Doyle, who uses they/them pronouns, juxtaposed a photo of their child with explicit sexual terminology. The posts were amplified by NZ First leader Winston Peters, who called for a police investigation into Doyle.

Now exposed into the glaring light of media attention, Williams’ dirty little campaign against Doyle is a masterclass in dishonesty and bad faith. His posts brim with derogatory slurs, misrepresentations, and outright conspiracies, painting Doyle as a danger to children and society in general. Along with his accomplices, most notably Ani O'Brien, William's twisted screenshots from Doyle’s private Instagram account into a narrative so toxic it’s sparked death threats against the MP and their whānau.

Compare this to Doyle’s use of the word “bussy,” a slang term used playfully within queer circles, often as a cheeky nod to self-expression. Doyle’s explained it as a nickname, a bit of wordplay riffing on Goldfinger’s Pussy Galore—hardly the sinister plot Williams and Peters made it out to be. Yet, Williams’ language? It’s a cesspool of hate, with terms far cruder than “bussy” delivered with an intent to cause harm. Where’s the outrage from Winston over that?

Peters, ever the tactician, has fanned the flames of hatred against Doyle, questioning the “appropriateness” of their posts while completely ignoring his mate Williams’ dishonest digital muckraking. This is peak hypocrisy. NZ First’s leader has no qualms about his associate’s derogatory campaign...yet he’s quick to cast Doyle’s use of a slang word in a private forum as a moral failing. It’s a classic double standard: one rule for NZ First’s mates, another for everyone else. Peters even distanced himself, claiming no memory of meeting Williams, despite the businessman’s clear NZ First ties. Convenient amnesia, Winston? It's well past time you hung up your boots.

The real issue here isn’t Doyle’s Instagram. It’s the dangerous precedent set when a Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand tacitly endorses a troll’s vendetta. Williams’ attacks aren’t just personal; they’re a calculated assault on queer representation, amplifying hate under the guise of protecting values.

Doyle’s post using the word “bussy” was a private joke, shared among friends, not a public manifesto. Williams’ bile, meanwhile, is on public record as a call to arms against the left wing and LGBTQ+ community. Yet, despite the virtue signalling about Doyle, Peters stays entirely mum about his associates dirty political scandal. Why? Because it suits NZ First’s culture-war playbook that was largely written for them by seasoned and entirely discredited troll, Cameron Slater. Stir division, dodge accountability, and repeat.

This sad saga exposes Peters’ selective outrage for what it is: a political stunt to besmirch the Greens while taking the focus off of his smaller ferries fiasco, which was announced on the same day that the Doyle story broke. If Winston’s so offended by words like bussy, let’s see him call out Williams’ vile rhetoric with the same zeal. Until then, Winston’s just another geriatric hypocrite who should be entirely ignored. He should be viewed as the sad old man that he is, cheering his idiot mate’s toxic crusade from the sidelines while pretending to stand for decency and democracy. Aotearoa deserves better than the type of divisive nonsense we hear from the likes of Winston Peters.

The real reason Jacinda Ardern resigned

You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling the unprecedented levels of abuse Ardern has unfairly received during her tenure as Prime Minister of New Zealand.

In light of the vile threats that have plagued her, Ardern’s decision to resign is entirely understandable. Some of these threats were even directed towards Ardern's young daughter Neve, making it a decision about serving her country or protecting family. It's therefore doubtful that any level-headed Kiwi, particularly those of the female persuasion, would begrudge such a difficult decision to make.

Today, RNZ reported:

Jacinda Ardern will need 'more ongoing protection than any PM in NZ's history'

Departing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will need more ongoing security and protection than any former New Zealand PM, according to political scientist and former intelligence worker Paul Buchanan.

“Let’s start by saying things have changed dramatically since the day John Key stepped down, and one might say fundamentally,” Buchanan said.

“The security requirements for ex-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are going to be far tougher than any previous prime minister – by a lot.”

Threats against Ardern are well documented and were recorded to have tripled between 2020 and 2022. In mid-January police started investigating after leaflets threatening to “eradicate” Ardern were delivered to houses in Northland.

A good example from the various articles written by those trying to absolve their role in provoking this unprecedented amount of resentment being directed towards Jacinda Ardern, which has ultimately resulted in the Prime Ministers resignation, is this piece from 1 News reporter Jessica Mutch McKay.

 

Last Thursday, 1 News reported:

A surprise Ardern’s resignation came so soon

She said that being prime minister takes a lot of hunger, and "the prime minister has decided today that on her own terms, she's just not anymore".

Mutch McKay entirely ignoring the real reasons for the resignation and claiming that Ardern is no longer hungry enough to be Prime Minister is another misdirect to take the focus off of her own misreporting.

And here is muckraker Tova O'Brien claiming that Ardern has resigned simply to save face.

Jacinda Ardern wouldn't have quit if she genuinely thought she could win

Cut out the poison and all will be well but I struggle to truly believe that. Elections are presidential - the likely candidates for her job Hipkins, Wood and Allen are all good but they aren’t Ardern good.

She was the reason there was still a real contest in this election - she was the star power despite many in the country turning on the government.

Like John Key before her, Jacinda Ardern has chosen to protect her legacy and save face in the face of a loss.

So, Ardern is apparently something to be cut out, but also the only chance Labour had of winning the next election. Talk about a ridiculous contradiction in terms and a sickening way to describe a world-renowned leader. I mean how exactly does the largely irrelevant O'Brien even begin to justify likening anyone, particularly a Prime Minister of New Zealand, to cancer?

Of course they, like most of the right wing propagandists who are trying to reclaim the narrative, are at pains to avoid the real reasons for Ardern stepping down. In effect dirty politics has won again, which is why the right wing keep using such underhanded tactics to undermine the left.

The deluded O'Brien also likening Ardern’s justifiable decision with Key’s downfall is laughable, being that the mainstream media has never divulged the real reason behind his resignation. But sure, rewriting history as well as looking at the tea leaves to predict the future apparently now passes as political analysis in this country.

Even the usually level headed Duncan Greive decided to have a brain fart about the mainstream medias continued biased reporting against Jacinda Ardern.

On Saturday, The Spinoff reported:

Jacinda and the media: a very complicated relationship

For years, her extraordinary communication skills buoyed her leadership. But then the public mood changed – and the media followed suit.

 

Obviously much of the mainstream media has been terribly negative towards the Labour Party and Ardern throughout their previous two terms of governance, even when the Prime Ministers public opinion polling eclipsed that of any previous or likely future leaders.

As well as the bad takes from a large number of New Zealand’s biased political commentators, a few American fools and other offshore based idiots have been trying to interfere in our political discourse. In particular Australian magnate Rupert Murdoch’s gang of disinformation merchants have been attempting to sway public opinion against the New Zealand Labour led Government. But thankfully not everyone is putting up with this kind of unjustified political shenanigans.

Here is some good fact checking by Alan Austin, who debunks a number of their preposterous claims.

Also on the other side of the coin, Alison Mau penned an excellent article about the misogyny all female leaders face, and the abuse Jacinda Ardern in particular has endured.

 

Yesterday, Stuff reported

Shame on our misogyny: It's no wonder Jacinda Ardern was driven from office 

Even as she announced her resignation, the pack was howling about the emotion she struggled to contain. The common denominator being hate directed at her personally, rather than the actions of her government.

As she resigned, Ardern avoided naming the wave of abuse as a contributing factor. She has not talked about the toll these vile attacks have taken on her and her family - indeed, she cannot talk about the thing that often drives women from positions of public power.

She can't name the evil as she steps down because If she does, she loses. Her attackers would have whipped her for it. As Massey University School of Management Senior Lecturer Dr Suze Wilson put it, she could not admit to it, because it would have told the trolls they'd won.

 

In my opinion, it seems likely that the vast majority of voters will correctly understand Ardern’s predicament and in light of the unwarranted abuse she’s received provide Labour with a third term in power. It will certainly harden the left wings resolve in the lead up to the next election.

We may even see some steadfast right-wing supporters change their voting preferences, being that their wealth has in recent years markedly increased thanks to Labour and the tactics from the right wing are largely unpalatable. Obviously most business leaders wouldn’t have prospered if a National government were mismanaging the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And that’s where the right wing’s problems generally reside. Not only is the opposition leader entirely flat footed and promising economic death by a thousands cuts, most voters will likely sympathise with a left wing leader who has always had Aotearoas best interests at heart and clearly deserved far better treatment from the fourth estate.

We obviously have political parties in New Zealand with vested interests who’ve been actively undermining the current government via the mainstream media. They’ve effectively been sabotaging our progress in order to benefit themselves and bolster their own political prospects.

The irony is they’ve got what they wanted, but the fallout from their continued negative campaigning may just upset their chance to once again cook the countries books. So let's not have anymore premature narratives solely bassed on the right wings' dodgy polling. The election isn’t a slam-dunk by any means and the National and Act Party's don't have it in the bag, because as we all know, a week can be a very long time in politics.

Wayne Brown - Arsehole of the Week

You’ve got to wonder at the mental capacity of Auckland Mayoral candidate, Wayne Brown, after he was exposed airing his childish grievances about senior NZ Herald reporter, Simon Wilson. I mean what exactly makes Mr Brown think that such disgusting comments are warranted, let alone to Newshub reporters who are duty bound to expose the arrogant narcissist for what he truly is?

Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Auckland Mayoral candidate Wayne Brown caught on camera saying he wants to glue pictures of journalist on urinals so people can 'pee on him'

Auckland Mayoral candidate Wayne Brown has been caught on camera calling a NZ Herald journalist a "prick", saying he was going to glue "little pictures of him on all the urinals" so people could "pee on him" if elected.

Brown made the comments while Newshub was filming with him this week and were played during Newshub Nation's Auckland Mayoral debate on Saturday.

His comments were directed at NZ Herald journalist Simon Wilson.

When asked about the comments during the debate, Brown told host Rebecca Wright: "I didn't mean to say it and I certainly didn't mean to do it in a way that would become public... and I'm sure he's said a few things about me that he probably didn't want to have public either."

The comments were made while Brown was being filmed as part of an interview with a Newshub journalist and he was wearing a microphone at the time.

The really sad thing here is that Brown’s egregious comments aren’t going to automatically disqualify him from being a mayoral candidate. That’s the unfortunate nature of politics in New Zealand…that you only need to be a wealthy white guy to gain a large chunk of unwarranted and unearned support from a largely self-centered electorate.

However Brown’s advisors, Matthew Hooton and National Party aligned strategist Tim Hurdle, must be rolling in their ideological graves right now. With another campaign disaster on his hands, Hooton in particularly is getting a name for himself as the man without the Midas touch. In fact the only good campaign move Hooton has ever made was to resign from Judith Collins’ clutches.

The right wing obviously has a serious problem with online campaigning, which seems highly adept at exposing their inanity and defunct belief systems. However the power of the Internet is somewhat limited when we’re talking about a NewstalkZB listening voter base that prefers to reside in privileged ignorance!

There’s no doubt that right wing supporters will dismiss Brown’s juvenile statements just like they ignored National Party MP Michael Woodhouse’s similar immaturity. But only the truly deluded could forget how Woodhouse proudly posed with a toilet seat that displayed former Labour MP Clare Curran’s face on it.

In 2020, the NZ Herald reported:

Labour MP Clare Curran reveals 'traumatised' impact of 'dirty politics' campaign

Outgoing MP Clare Curran says an image of a National MP posed with a toilet emblazoned with her face on it left her feeling "traumatised" and suffering from "humiliation".

Curran announced last year she would not re-stand at this year's election, closing a 12-year career in Parliament.

The outgoing Labour MP has revealed the alleged dirty politics she said was targeted with, and the toll it took emotionally as her political career came tumbling down, in an interview published today on The Spinoff.

The worst of it was in 2012, when she was sent photos from the National Party's Mainland Region conference, one showing fellow Dunedin-based MP, National's Michael Woodhouse, posed with a blue toilet seat with her face emblazoned on it.

The seat was reportedly used as a trophy for a debating competition.

In my opinion, those who revel in the sewer should have no place within our political institutions. In fact such gutter politics must be relegated and consigned to history. That’s why Wayne Brown should do the right thing and bow out of the race to become Auckland’s next Mayor. He won’t, which clearly makes him a complete and utter Arsehole!

The opposition is in disarray

What on earth is going on with the main opposition parties at the moment? Both National and ACT have been making numerous flip-flops and miscommunications, clearly indicating that they aren’t a viable alternative to the current Labour led Government.

Of particular note is the duplicitous reasoning given for why they support wealthy property speculators being able to vote in multiple local body elections, while arguing that Maori shouldn’t be allowed to have any say in how our water resources are managed.

'One person, one vote' is David Seymour’s racist campaign slogan; a rule that the ACT party now says shouldn’t apply to wealthy and predominantly white property speculators. It’s pretty obvious that allowing property owners to have multiple voting rights in numerous districts is unjustifiable, and also the main reason why councils have an overabundance of white representatives on their disproportionate boards.

Chris Bishop explaining why the principle of 'one person, one vote' should not apply to property speculators who can vote in multiple local elections: pic.twitter.com/Kgb2vivBaw

— antihobbes (@antihobbes) August 2, 2022

Then we have Christopher Luxon similarly looking like a fool by trying to keep his trip overseas secret. Instead of being upfront about his holiday in Hawaii, presumably to receive advice from John Key, Luxon’s social media "team" misled the public into thinking that he was hard at work in Te Puke.

In fact, the National party is currently all over the place, not only with their online campaigning, but also with their very limited policy announcements.


Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Act, Labour, Greens accuse National policy of stoking inflation as National drops tax policy

National has copped friendly fire from its likely coalition partner, Act, which is arguing that National's tax plan would stoke inflation by cutting taxes and increasing spending at the same time - sending a wave of cash through the economy.

Act isn't alone - nearly every party in Parliament has lashed out at National's bracket indexation policy, which would reduce income tax by raising tax thresholds, for being inflationary.

National disputes the idea that the tax cuts would be inflationary, but its finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis has confirmed the policy was on the bench for now, with the party working up a new tax policy for the next election.

Obviously providing the wealthy with another windfall would be inflationary. Invariably that’s one of the main causes of inflation. It's not just overseas headwinds. In New Zealand the business assistant program provided companies with billions of taxpayer dollars recently. They then posted record profits from what is essentially price gouging. These profits end up in wealthy people’s savings accounts...rich people whose main pastime is to over-inflate the price of our essential goods and services, such as housing.

The National party claiming that it doesn’t need to be consistent with its tax policy is as stupid as claiming women who have abortions should be imprisoned for ten years or that the wealthy should have more voting rights than the rest of us. It’s bad politics and indicates that the opposition will turn on a dime with even the slightest change in the wind.

Winston Peters - Arsehole of the Week

Politics in New Zealand isn’t in a very good place at the moment. Not only do we have the opposition once again undermining our response to the Covid-19 pandemic, right when the number of cases are exploding, we also have former MPs thumbing their noses at the law and claiming that they’re exonerated simply because a judge has failed in his judicial duty.

Yesterday, 1 News reported:

NZ First Foundation donations accused found not guilty

The pair were charged with obtaining by deception and faced a three week trial in the High Court at Auckland.

The Serious Fraud Office revealed details of $750,000 given to the New Zealand First Foundation - a separate entity to the New Zealand First party.

It alleged the men had fraudulently obtained the money.

Through the trial, the court heard from over 40 witnesses about how the foundation had been set up, and from donors who at times said they didn't realise they weren't donating directly to the New Zealand First party itself.

The money had been used for items like a campaign office space on Lambton Quay in Wellington, a software system and an appearance fee for boxer Joseph Parker at a party conference.

The SFO alleged the funds were kept secret from party leader Winston Peters and the board.

Winston Peters then appeared on 1 News admitting that he knew all along about what the NZ First Foundation was up to, after previously claiming he didn’t know.

Justice Jagose released his reserved decision today.

He ruled the money was not a party donation, where the money needs to have been donated to any person who is involved in the administration of the affairs of the party.

The donors obviously believed that the money they were donating was going to the NZ First party. If it was not a party donation, then the accused were misleading donors and therefore committing fraud.

However most of the $750,000 donated was used by the NZ First party and should therefore have been declared. It wasn’t, and therefore the NZ First party is in breach of the Electoral Act 1993, which states:

Party donation means a donation (whether of money or of the equivalent of money or of goods or services or of a combination of those things) that is made to a party, or to any person or body of persons on behalf of the party who are involved in the administration of the affairs of the party.

Obviously somebody working in an organisation set up to accept donations on behalf of a political party should be considered an administrator of the affairs of that party. This is particularly the case when the leader of that party, Winston Peters, has now admitted to knowing that the NZ First Foundation was accepting donations on behalf of his political party.

The Foundation was also misleading donors into believing that their donations were going directly to the NZ First Party. These donors didn’t need to formally complain about being misled, as the defense argued, for this to be considered fraud.

That’s what makes Justice Jagose’s decision here so perplexing! He didn’t bother to get Peters on the stand to either admit his knowledge or commit pergury. If he committed pergury then the accused would have been found guilty. If he admitted the truth under oath then NZ First would need to be charged under the Electoral Act. Instead Jagose failed in his duty and misinterpreted the law, which has clearly allowed for an incorrect ruling to be made.

This travesty of justice has also allowed Peters the chance to again grandstand, even though NZ First, via their foundation organisation, clearly accepted and hid substantial donations from wealthy individuals, bribes that were given in order to influence the Government’s decision-making process.

So while Winston Peters is gloating, New Zealand is still suffering because of his corruption.

Unfortunately the lynch pin position he held in the previous Government meant that Peters was able to strong-arm Labour into forgoing a Capital Gains Tax, which undoubtedly made the housing crisis exponentially worse. Since then entry level property has become twice as expensive, ensuring that the Kiwi dream of owning a house is just that...an unattainable dream for many. Peters was also able to keep cameras off commercial fishing vessels, which ensured the fishing industry were allowed to continue in their dangerous and environmentally damaging fishing practices.

Many people in New Zealand are worse off because of Winston Peters, which in my book makes him a complete arsehole!

Amateur hour with Christopher Luxon

You’ve got to wonder why the National Party, in the face of a worldwide pandemic that has killed approximately 6 million people, is continuing to be so terribly dysfunctional? Perhaps it’s a symptom of their upper management, who despite numerous party leaders coming and going, never actually changes.

Unfortunately for the right wing a lack of discipline has now become a feature of the National Party. Not only were the previous four leaders an utter disaster in terms of their ability to unite what is a very tired and worn out institution, the current leader is doing nothing to invigorate his fellow neoliberal MPs and often promotes archaic beliefs that leave most voters with a bad taste in their mouths.

Christopher Luxon, who the mainstream media attempted and failed to promote as the National Party’s saviour, has been provided with ample opportunity to gain the narrative and failed miserably each and every time. Not only does the oppositions new leader appear to be a novice when it comes to all things political, he’s also unable to communicate properly even when our invariably biased mainstream media help coach him along the way.

This is in stark contrast to National’s previous leaders and Luxon’s apparent mentor John Key, who used to court controversy in order to attain media attention. While it’s commendable that Luxon isn’t following entirely in their misguided footsteps, that lack of coverage provides the public with a sense that the blue team, after being thoroughly beaten, has now decided to just lie down and die.

Last week, Luxon had another opportunity to become the leader National so desperately needs.

On Saturday, RNZ reported:

Covid-19: National Party MP attends second anti-lockdown and mandate protest

A National Party MP who attended a Covid-19 vaccine mandate protest today has deleted pictures she posted on Facebook.

Whanganui List MP Harete Hipango posted a picture of herself on Facebook, at a rally in her electorate today.

The post showed protesters carrying placards reading "lockdowns destroy livelihoods, truth will prevail and it's not about health, it's about control".

In text accompanying the images, Hipango wrote about freedom and choice and criticised the label anti-vaxers.

…

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said he had had a word with Hipango.

"I have talked to Harete and she has taken her post down. The views of the group she was with do not align with those of the National Party.

"I am strongly supportive of vaccination, as is the National party. I encourage everyone to take that step as the best protection, for themselves and their family, against Covid."

However, instead of rising to the occasion, Luxon simply rolled over and let one of his misguided MPs again appeal to the anti-vaxxers. If the new leader of the opposition was truly in favour of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, which has in fact saved Aotearoa in terms of our well-being and economy, he would have forced the dishonest Hipango to resign, or at least publicly and properly admonished her for attending numerous anti vaccination protests.

The fact that Luxon has failed to act in accordance with his party’s supposed position and instead implied support for the anti-vax movement, which represents less than 2% of the voting public, shows that he’s not really in control at all. In deed it seems that others are pulling the strings while Luxon appears to still be a backbencher whose name most Kiwis will likely struggle to remember.

Combine this weak and ineffectual approach with Luxon’s previous ‘abortion should be treated as murder’ statements, a position supported by less than 4% of the voting public, and it’s clear that the deluded fundamentalist who's obviously suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect will never come close to being able to challenge a progressive and popular leader like Jacinda Ardern.

New Zealand has moved on and if the National Party wants to remain relevant they will as well.

The end of a toxic leader

If there's one thing that Judith Collins is usually good at, it's using scandalous information about other people to her advantage. Not above undermining her own political party, Collins has been known to even leak against her fellow MPs, particularly those who posed a threat to her as the leader of the beleaguered National Party.

That’s what makes her downfall so extraordinary. By attempting to sanction Simon Bridges using a complaint about inappropriate behavior from five years ago, Collins has appeared the political novice, and not the cutthroat operator that we’ve all come to know and despise.


Today, Stuff reported:

Live: Judith Collins rolled as National leader

Judith Collins is out as National's leader after her demotion of Simon Bridges threw the party into disarray, Stuff understands.

Bridges was to be demoted and stripped of his portfolios in response to a complaint about comments he allegedly made to a female colleague a number of years ago, it was announced on Wednesday night.

The complainant is understood to be MP Jacqui Dean.

You’ve got to question Collins’ faculties here. Firstly, she has failed to accept that she's the main cause of National’s polling slide. Evidently a majority of voters don’t support the vexatious nature of Collins and her chief advisor Cameron Slater and any attempt to paint them in a different light was obviously a folly only the most deluded right-wing propagandist would believe in.

But by attempting to use a dirty tactic to fend off a leadership challenge, even if there is merit to the initial complaint, Collins appeared incredibly arrogant, even by her standards. Collins even claimed that she had the support of the board to demote Bridges, a bold faced lie that also sealed her fate. In effect there was no other option left to her colleagues other than to end her short tenure as the so-called leader of the National Party.

Collins issued her press statement at 9.24pm, including claiming she was unanimously backed by the @NZNationalParty board.
Only after she was rolled did the President correct the record, around 18 hours later.
Had Collins prevailed, Goodfellow would have gone along with the lie.

— Matthew Hooton (@MatthewHootonNZ) November 25, 2021

In fact the blue “team” has been nothing more than a shambles since Collins and her forlorn entourage obtained the opposition benches last year, particularly during the Delta outbreak whereby they still appear conflicted about the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.

However it’s the desperate attempt to hold onto her unwarranted power that has ultimately resulted in Crusher's downfall. Besmirching Simon Bridges with an old complaint is one thing, but trying to convince a predominantly male dominated caucus that she wouldn’t use similar underhanded tactics against them is quite another.

Clearly this total failure to read the room is a huge misstep showing that Judith Collins has no place leading a political party, or a place in Parliament for that matter. In my opinion she should do the right thing and resign entirely before the next election.

Chris Bishop swallows a dead rat

You’ve got to wonder why Chris Bishop decided for a career in politics? It’s obviously not because of some sort of altruistic belief system. After all the former tobacco lobbyist clearly doesn’t give a damn about helping other people to better their lives. Instead, according to his own statements, Bishop is in Parliament to make it more difficult for the current Labour led Government to govern.

Often touted as being an integral member of the National Party's liberal wing, Bishop's most notable transgression was when he got caught using Snapchat to send inappropriate messages to teenage girls. At the time Bishop said he was simply campaigning on behalf of the National Party. But it's doubtful the parents of the numerous girls he contacted would have complained if that were truly the case.

However despite many questions going unanswered during that controversy, it appears Bishop’s position within the blue "team" has in recent weeks become even more tenuous, mainly because he inadvertently undermined the authority of his own ignominious leader, Judith Collins.

Apparently Crusher became furious during a recent meeting because leaked messages revealed Bishop's lack of support for her caucus decision to blanket vote against a bill banning gay conversion therapy...legislation that passed its first reading despite National's chaotic opposition to it. The National Party clearly lost the moral high ground as well as the debate, and Crusher was not pleased that the party's disunity had played out so tragically in the public domain.

On Thursday, the NZ Herald reported:

Knives out in National, as caucus struggles to show unity despite obvious division

Collins was unhappy with the way some MPs had publicly suggested they were less than supportive of the caucus' decision to vote against a ban on conversion therapy.

Collins allegedly unloaded on one of the most high-profile detractors, Covid-19 spokesman Chris Bishop.

Bishop, along with Nicola Willis and Erica Stanford, is considered a standard-bearer of the caucus' liberal wing.

One source told the Herald that Collins "completely lost it" at Bishop. Another source described her tirade as "f***ing ballistic".

…

Following the conference, Collins wanted to remind her caucus that becoming a member of Cabinet means swallowing a lot of dead rats. A minister won't always get it their own way, but they have to sell the Cabinet line all the same.

Bishop's great sin on the conversion therapy issue vote was a leaked exchange between himself and a woman, where he revealed he was unhappy with the way the party voted on conversion therapy.

The Herald was told Collins was furious about the way the party's conversion therapy spat had spilled out into the public domain – and one source said it would not be surprising if disciplinary action followed it.

 

Of course Bishop shouldn’t be considered admirable for his views on gay conversion therapy, because he didn’t actually intend for his lack of conviction to be leaked to the public. Instead, Bishop was happy for voters to believe that his silence showed support for his party’s repressive and thoughtless political direction concerning LGBT matters.

Collins set a low bar for taking disciplinary action against her caucus. Former leader Todd Muller was forced to announce his retirement after being outed for briefing the media.

But unlike Muller, who had already retreated from frontline politics, Bishop is one of National's top performers, and, as Covid-19 spokesperson has done a good job at rebuilding National's tarnished reputation on the most significant political issue of the day.

The problem with Thomas Coughlan’s argument here is that Bishop hasn’t really performed very well at all. In fact he was the ringleader in National’s recent disastrous Twitter misinformation campaign concerning an alleged lack of Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.

Over the last few weeks, National and their propagandists have incorrectly argued ad nauseam that the booster shots weren’t the same Pfizer vaccine formula that’s currently being administered throughout New Zealand and the world, which is entirely wrong and made National look like a bunch of ignorant and unread fools!

Excess vaccine stock are not boosters. Boosters are intended to prevent a drop off in efficacy by covering subsequent strains. The US intends to make boosters available in September.

— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) August 23, 2021

On Wednesday, Newshub reported:

Coronavirus: Scientists correct National Party tweet accused of spreading 'misinformation' about COVID-19 vaccines

Alison Campbell, honorary fellow and biological sciences lecturer at the University of Waikato said boosters were a "nudge to remind the immune system about what it's already learned".

"It's an additional dose of an existing vaccine. The pertussis booster I had a couple of years ago would be an example, as is a third dose of the existing Pfizer vaccine. Something that's been reworked to cover additional variants is not."

Newshub has contacted the National Party for a response. At the time of writing on Wednesday morning, the tweet hadn't been removed or corrected. Several Twitter users accused the party of spreading "misinformation". 

Although Bishop's gay conversion therapy debacle was bad, it’s the numerous factually incorrect statements by right-wing politicians and their media lackeys that is likely losing National support at the moment.

The opposition’s failure, along with an effective Covid-19 strategy, has effectively provided Jacinda Ardern with 85% public support for her Government's scientifically based response to the pandemic. This success makes National’s idiotic blunder concerning the 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine already ordered (including around 3.6 million potential booster shots) even more damaging to Bishop's credibility on all things Covid-19.

This also begs the question, why exactly should the voting public take the National Party seriously when their campaigning is such a complete shambles? I mean how exactly is the National Party going to hold the Government to account when they cannot even get the basic facts about Covid-19 vaccines right?

Despite this incredibly embarrassing brain fart by Chris Bishop, he surprisingly hasn't lost his position as National’s Covid-19 spokesperson. Instead, Crusher took away his portfolio as Shadow Leader of the House, apparently because Michael Woodhouse of all people can do a better job.

Talk about Chris Bishop swallowing a very large dead rat.

It's supposedly not a demotion either, because according to Crusher Collins, her reprimanded MP apparently needs to spend more time on National's Covid-19 campaign, which is clearly thus far only helped to bolster support for the Government's elimination strategy.

Yesterday, Stuff reported:

National Party reshuffle: Judith Collins strips Chris Bishop of key portfolio

Most notably Chris Bishop has lost his Shadow Leader of the House portfolio, a key role that saw him involved in much of the party’s Parliamentary strategy.

…

Bishop is understood to have pushed for a conscience vote on the gay conversion therapy bill, which National opposed on-bloc at first reading. A private message to a member of the public where Bishop made clear his distaste for this vote was subsequently leaked.

Unfortunately for Bishop, that wasn't the only leak he's had to worry about lately.

Chris Bishop says he wants to make the country ungovernable during a pandemic
WOW! pic.twitter.com/yhPSdwIG6g

— Aotearoa Aotearoa (@rugbyintel) August 25, 2021

If Bishop truly believes that his time is best spent trying to “gum up the works” to stop “the Government from governing” properly during a pandemic, then it’s clear that he’s wasting Parliament’s time as well as his own.

In fact trying to cause administrative problems during a deadly virus outbreak essentially shows that Bishop has absolutely no concern for public safety whatsoever. He is therefore not fit to represent the people of Aotearoa as a Member of our Parliament.

Because making it more difficult for the Government to govern is the exact opposite of what any duly elected official should be doing, particularly during a pandemic that, despite the best efforts of the National Party, New Zealand still has a decent chance of beating.

Carter sees the writing on the wall

If there’s one positive thing you could say about the previous John Key led Government, it’s that his MPs generally towed the party line. In fact compared to what’s been happening within the National Party lately, they looked downright disciplined.

However, with Judith Collins at the helm, that’s clearly not the case anymore. Over the last year or so the blue “team” has become splintered into factions and is falling apart. Infighting is obviously a major problem, with Crusher banging heads with anybody who dares to question her authoritah.

It’s a strange dynamic, whereby National MPs who back a leader with very little public support have been handsomely rewarded, while others are ousted or are left to resign in disgust!

Yesterday, 1 News reported:

'No confidence' - David Carter explains exit from National Party

Former long-serving National MP David Carter has quit the party’s board in disgust at the re-election of President Peter Goodfellow.

The National board voted Goodfellow back in this morning, despite loud criticism of his involvement in the selection of some controversial MPs and candidates.

Carter has been on the board for nine months and told 1 NEWS he “hasn’t enjoyed the culture of the board”.  It’s believed he’d stood against Goodfellow.

“I have no confidence in the leadership of Peter Goodfellow,” he said.

“It’d be hypocritical for me to stay on when I have no confidence,” he said in a brutally honest interview with 1 NEWS.

The “inner sanctum” of the board works in a way he disagrees with and he never felt like he received the acceptance he felt he deserved.

In my opinion, Goodfellow should have been fired after it was revealed that he personally selected a Chinese spy to be a National Party MP.

Goodfellow was widely seen as an excellent fundraiser for the party.

But Carter disagrees, telling 1 NEWS while he remains the President, National will struggle to get the donations that it needs.

“Until there’s some change, we won’t have the dollars to win (the next election). National need support from corporate New Zealand and he hasn’t been successful at getting that.”

David Carter isn’t the only one to see the writing on the wall. Indeed, Chris Finlayson also recently left the party with a similar bad taste in his mouth. In fact the former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations didn’t mince words when he said that the National Party had become a “disaster” under Collins’ so-called leadership.

In June, Stuff reported:

National Party is self-destructing, former minister says

Former National minister Chris Finlayson has lashed the current National Party as a disaster, placing the blame squarely on the leadership – both in Parliament and the wider party organisation.

He says the party leadership “deserve everything that’s come to them” after self-inflicted “brand destruction” over the past couple of years.

The comments will put more pressure on party leader Judith Collins who is already facing internal scrutiny over the resignations of former MP Nick Smith, and the current MP for Bay of Plenty, short-lived party leader Todd Muller. They will also pile pressure on current party President Peter Goodfellow.

Obviously not enough pressure otherwise Goodfellow would be gone by now.

 

Finlayson, who served as a National Party MP from 2005 to 2019 and held a number of ministerial portfolios, was scathing in his assessment of the current party. Speaking from his law office in Auckland, he said that the party didn’t need a detractor as it was doing well enough destroying itself.

“I don't think I've ever seen, in my life, brand destruction as devastating as that,” he said.

The same month, Stuff reported that Todd Muller was resigning as well:

Todd Muller resignation followed admission about anonymous article

National MP and former leader Todd Muller announced his retirement at the next election after admitting to his party he had been an anonymous source in an article criticising returning MP Harete Hipango.

…

But it has subsequently emerged that Muller’s resignation followed a late-night admission to his fellow National Party MPs that he had been one of the anonymous sources in a Newsroom article criticising Hipango, who is returning to Parliament following Nick Smith’s resignation.

It’s understood that this made National leader Judith Collins furious, and there was a threat that Muller could be expelled from caucus.

The caucus meeting was sparked by a different story concerning allegations of inappropriate spending by Hipango, which Collins has put down to an innocent “coding error”.

Collins was coy when asked about whether she wanted Muller to resign on Wednesday, saying the decision was not in her hands.

By rewarding a thief while punishing the whistleblower, Collins displayed a level of contempt for her party’s supposed Christian values rarely seen in New Zealand politics.

Crusher was also obviously lying when she claimed that Muller leaving had nothing to do with her. She is after all the National Party's current leader, and has subsequently also barred Muller from even attending caucus meetings.

Although they won’t directly say, Carter, Finlayson and Muller exiting National is all about who’s currently in charge of a party that’s stagnating at around 28% support. And with no end in sight to the backstabbing, there's no sign of their chances at re-election improving either.

Today, Newshub reported:

National Party 'letting it all hang out', losing public faith - political analyst Bryce Edwards

The conference saw the National Party lose another member - former Speaker and Cabinet Minister Sir David Carter - who resigned after challenging the leadership of party president Peter Goodfellow and losing.

"He says 'he's got better things to do with his time, he's not going to waste his time on the Nats', so that's a stinging review of the National Party," Edwards said of Sir David's resignation.

There was also the issue of the National Party voting unanimously against a Bill which will ban conversion therapy, despite MPs saying they support banning the practice.

…

Dr Edwards acknowledged being in Opposition is difficult for any political party and it can lead to negativity and "finger-pointing".

"It creates its own momentum of disaster - there's leaking to the media, infighting, no one pulls together."

Dr Edwards pointed out other parties disagree and have infighting too - the difference is they keep it under wraps.

"They keep it out of the public arena - National is letting it all hang out and it doesn't give the public much faith."

A political party that was once dominated by alpha males now rewards weak and ineffectual suck-ups who have become nothing more than Judith Collins’ errand boys. 

Take Simeon Brown for instance, who has been promoted well above his station simply because he regurgitates Crusher’s online propaganda without question. Then consider Christopher Bishop, who doesn’t even have the willpower to vote for what he actually believes in anymore.

This doesn’t bode well for the National Party, particularly when Judith Collins is effectively culling her own party of anybody who might have the slightest inclination about challenging her for the leadership position.

Pretty soon Crusher will be seeing allies as enemies and all that will be left of the National Party is a bunch of sycophants who won’t even be able to hold their own party to account, let alone mount any proper opposition to the current Government. And that’s not just a bad thing for National; it’s a bad thing for accountability within other New Zealand political parties as well.

Simon Bridges cannot be trusted

You may recall former National Party leader Simon Bridges gaining a lot of public attention last month after claiming he was a witness to a gang fight. The former Crown Prosecutor made a huge song and dance about it all over Facebook and Twitter while also attacking the Government with allegations that Labour was allowing the gang problem to get out of control.

Bridges dominated the news cycle for weeks with his political attacks and elaborate story telling, and even after the Police went public to categorically state that there wasn’t a gang fight as Bridges alleged, he continued to assert that a violent incident had definitely occurred at the Tauranga hospital carpark.

However what was even more of a political misstep was that after a few days of Simon Bridges doubling down and digging himself into an even deeper hole, the current leader of the National Party also got in on the act by trying to back up her embattled MP, which in hindsight was indeed a very foolish thing for Judith Collins to do.

In June, Newshub reported:

National leader Judith Collins defends Simon Bridges from 'extraordinarily unkind far-left' over gang fight claims

Bridges has the support of his boss, who told Magic Talk the backlash was a result of "the freedom that the far-left gives itself to be extraordinarily unkind". 

Collins says she believes Bridges that a violent gang fight occurred in the car park. 

"Simon's father is clearly very unwell and if Simon says he saw a gang fight going on, and his wife saw it too, I believe him. I can't understand why people would think that someone would make that up," she said. 

"I also find it just deeply offensive that people who came in after or didn't see it suddenly say they know what happened when they weren't there. If he says it happened, in my opinion it did."

 

Unfortunately for Collins’ credibility, a report into the incident has found that the 'extraordinarily unkind far-left’ were absolutely correct to call Simon Bridges a liar, because there was in fact no gang fight at all. It was a completely made up scenario by a politician who has a history of lying…a fiction so that Bridges could score cheap political points with the get tough on crime crowd.

Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:

Investigation documents on Simon Bridges' hospital gang brawl claims released

An investigation has found gang members were not involved in a carpark scuffle at Tauranga Hospital last month.

The incident gained national attention after Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said on social media he witnessed a fight between gang members at the hospital on June 12.

Bridges' account of events differed from other witnesses who told the Bay of Plenty Times gang members were not causing trouble and a separate incident over a car park had taken place. Police also had no details of gang members being involved.

The timeline was released to the Bay of Plenty Times under the Official Information Act. The health board would not release video footage, citing privacy reasons.

Between 2.14pm and 2.58pm, a patched Mongrel Mob member and a person in a brown hoodie helped a female jump-start her car parked outside the emergency department.

By 3.11pm all people involved had driven away. The DHB report states this was "not deemed an incident as neither security, nor the hospital co-ordinator were aware of anything untoward".

Get that...a gang member at the hospital was helping a woman to start her car, and Bridges embellished that good deed into a gang fight where someone was being badly beaten up. This just goes to show what a terrible judge of character Crusher Collins truly is, especially now that a thorough report into the incident has been released which categorically shows that Bridges was lying simply to gain attention, a bit like a petulant child.

But what’s really off about all this is that the mainstream media isn’t going to pressure Collins into holding Bridges to account for his calculated deceit. Instead, all we’ll get is this one NZ Herald report that's behind a pay-wall, which is a clear sign that the biased MSM is trying to bury the story.

In contrast, if a left-wing politician had been caught misleading the Police about violent gang members, the MSM would be dragging on them for months. In fact with blood in the water, they wouldn’t stop until there was a resignation.

If the shoe were on the other foot, Crusher Collins would be demanding that charges be laid against a politician who was clearly wasting Police time by making false statements.

What this goes to show is just how terribly duplicitous National Party politicians really are, especially when it comes to all things concerning law and order. According to them, the rules of accountability simply don’t apply to the right wing. 

Despite this injustice, the court of public opinion won't be so kind when judging the corruption of Simon Bridges, who has most definitely brought Parliament into disrepute and therefore should resign for his continued and unrepentant dishonesty.

Crusher’s fear-based leadership is unpopular

Not that long ago, in what many considered a poignant moment, Judith Collins once said; “if you can't be loved, best be feared". Of course she stole this saying from Niccolò Machiavelli, which is apt being that a Machiavellian is someone who is cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics.

Perhaps there’s no more befitting description of Judith Collins, who seems to exemplify the nasty side of the National Party, a cutthroat side that the public doesn’t always get to hear about.

The kind of fear-based leadership that Crusher revels in doesn’t however always command loyalty from those not directly under her control, namely most voters. They simply don’t have the same fear-based response as people within her direct vicinity. The general public instead has everything to lose and nothing to gain by supporting the current National Party under Judith Collins, who is a far right politician that believes in austerity and governing with an iron boot to the throat of our hard won civil liberties.

Often modelling herself on Margaret Thatcher, but looking more like Piggy Muldoon every day, Collins is the take no prisoners kind of politician. The type of pistol-wielding, car-crushing politician you cross the street to avoid. Of course Crusher’s combative style is something that your average Joe Blogs might not even notice. However it’s a ruthless feature of Collins’ authoritarianism that former and present National Party MPs know all too well.

Last week, the NZ Herald reported:

National Party leaking: Ex MP Chris Finlayson says Todd Muller 'ritual disembowelling' a lesson to others

Asked about Judith Collins' move to force Todd Muller to resign after he was dobbed in for making unflattering comments about Harete Hipango to Newsroom, Finlayson told the NZ Herald that MPs had to learn "to stop sniping about your colleagues".

"There needs to be a bit of discipline brought to the show and if there needs to be a ritual disembowelling from time to time, then that's the way it goes.

Actually, Muller was right to inform the public about one of his colleges using the Parliamentary expense account to furnish her own houses. The only reason Muller got the chop instead of Hipango is because she’s within Collins’ inner cabal. What this shows is that if you’re loyal to Collins, then you'll get away with just about anything, including theft.

"Of course everyone talks to journalists, but if you're going to have a gripe about your colleagues say it to their faces."

"How many times do the National Party and its caucus need to be told to stop the leaking?

"Why are they so stupid that after a cataclysmic defeat in 2020, they haven't got that basic message?"

He pointed to the cases of former Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon and Upper Harbour candidate Jake Bezzant, both of whom were accused of inappropriate use of social media or texting.

If you were to critique those cases then you would have to conclude that Collins handled them very poorly. Not only must she have known that a Police investigation was being conducted into Falloon for his inappropriate behaviour, the former Minister of Police must have also been aware of Bezzant’s strange sexual proclivities prior to him being ousted.

Besides, it’s the fact that Collins still has faith in those who were embroiled in the Dirty Politics debacle, the very same people who selected numerous inappropriate candidates, that puts into question her ability to lead the National Party into the next election.

If there was ever a television program made of Crusher’s life in Parliament, perhaps it should be called knives at noon or pistols at dawn, because when Judith Collins is around, politics becomes a blood sport. In fact a litany of destroyed careers now lies in her wake, which is one of the reasons there are so many internal leaks looking to undermine her regime. National MPs are simply trying to get rid of her to save their own skins, and perhaps their party in the process.

This disunity has clearly taken a toll on National’s support base as well, so much so that Collins has now fallen behind ACT Party leader David Seymour in the most preferred Prime Minister stakes. 

Unfortunately for Collins, it’s not just her venomous nature that’s turning people away either. Her proclivity to support extreme viewpoints is also a problem, and couldn’t have been better exposed when Collins recently came out in support of a well-known TERF called Rachel Stewart. She's an outspoken bigot that rightfully had her guns confiscated by the Police for making numerous death threats online.

This may have become a career defining misstep for Collins if any mainstream media outlets had actually reported on it properly, however I suspect that they also fear the consequences of telling the truth about National's current leader. Many have certainly been scrubbing their websites clean of any incriminating articles that paint Collins in an unfavourable light.

Therefore perhaps the saying, “if you can't be loved, best be feared" should be Judith Collins’ political epitaph. Because without compassion or any new policy ideas, fear really is the only thing Crusher has going for her.