Herald helps Hooton to make a fool of himself

Matthew Hooton - Propagandist

We all agree that politics in New Zealand is generally very polarising. Although many commentators can appear reasonable at face value, their opinions usually belie entrenched and often dysfunctional belief systems. This is partly due to our isolation as a microcosm in the South Pacific, which makes Aotearoa the perfect controlled environment for political experimentation. That isolation also unfortunately means that politicians and their propagandists are usually the ones to determine the success or failure of their attempts at social engineering in Gods own.

That’s what makes independent commentary that challenges the status quo so important.

Yesterday, the Daily Blog reported:

Omicron in NZ – Political Winners & Losers

 

Look at Hooton’s Omicron spread this month using the Hootonian equation of 33% Omicron increase…

 

Of course Hooton is fear mongering with flawed data, so I'm unsure why Bradbury is taking old Hoots seriously here. However what Bradbury goes on to say in his Omicron in NZ – Political Winners & Losers post is for the most part accurate.

WINNERS:

Taliban – After Charlotte Bellis’s glowing reference, the Taliban are now woke as fuck and would like us to all know their pronouns are He-Him.

David Seymour – His line that Labour are subcontracting maternity leave to the Taliban was so hilarious, it hides the far right race war mongering of ACTs policies.

Death Cult Capitalists – They have finally won the day by demanding the borders open so that hyper tourism, migrant worker exploitation, International Student scams and death can re-enter NZ because nothing matters as much as the travelling class getting back to their winter holidays in Thailand.

Globalists at Stuff – The globalists at Stuff have won with their never ending sob stories to ensure their own global skill set can always travel.

 
LOSERS:

Luxon – He is screaming for MIQ to be closed and will have those words force fed back to him if Hooton’s numbers explode.

Labour – They are incapable of moving on the real issues their voters elected them for, Housing, Inequality, Poverty and meaningful climate change. Keeping us safe from Covid is yesterdays story, what have you done for me lately Labour? Where’s the vision? Their face masks have blinded them.

MIQ – It has served to protect us and is now more hated than Hitler. It has kept us safe and yet it has been denigrated, wait for the scream from Kiwis to shut it if Hooton’s numbers eventuate.

Domestic Kiwis – The hyper tourism market that exist to sell red bull to tourists are laughing. The industries that benefit from migrant worker exploitation laugh. All those kiwis stupid enough to travel during a pandemic are gleeful. The international student scam are dancing with joy. Welcome back exploited migrant workers and Students and tourists who will block our public transport, who will place rent pressures on domestic renters, who will crowd our groaning infrastructure! Expect house prices to explode. Weep dear Kiwi at the plague seeping in, weep at our Fortress NZ protection ripped away from us at a time when external shockwaves become the norm, weep that our quality of life plunges again.

There is however a pronounced difference between the current and previous raft of political experimenters, which provides perceivable and measurable results for the public to base their voting decisions on. For instance, the difference between John Key and Jacinda Ardern’s governance is entirely discernible, even to those who don’t really follow politics.

In fact the contrast couldn't be greater. Instead of numerous stories about homeless people living in cars or dying on park benches towards the end of Key's nine long years in power, during Ardern's tenure the mainstream media has instead concerned themselves with rich people who’ve been slightly inconvenienced by MIQ. Far from being a left wing conspiracy, this improvement is simply because there are less homeless people under this Labour led government. We all know Kiwis have died from Covid-19 in New Zealand, but the MSM is rightly having a difficult time blaming Labour for these deaths, which they would do so if they could.

Housing and inequality are clearly still pressing matters, but it will be difficult to raise much concern with middle New Zealand when their paper wealth has increased, their lives have improved and the Labour administration has stopped them from dying en masse during a pandemic that is still decimating many parts of the world. Covid-19 is anything but yesterday's news and voters have generally understood that it could be a lot worse and probably would have been if a right wing government were in charge.

The outcome to Labour's Covid-19 response has been so great that a majority will side with Labour again rather than risk their lives with a return to a National led government. The right-wing would evidently prefer to let people die rather than have any supposed reduction in economic activity from saving lives. What the public understands and the right wing stupidly fails to comprehend is that preventing people from becoming unwell and saving lives provides better economic returns than simply letting the virus run rampant.

However that won’t be the main reason Labour governs again after the next election. The Maori vote will be pivotal in determining who leads us, and much like Winston Peters did in 2017, it's likely their party will effectively decide who holds the reigns of power. In fact if Maori voters split their votes between Labour and the Maori Party, the next coalition would also have a clear majority to govern.

Maori Party's Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

There is of course a stark difference between NZ First and the Maori Party, who would take a much more egalitarian approach to issues concerning social justice. The mainstream media might include them in their right wing polling, but it’s more likely that the Maori Party will side with Labour when all the cards are on the table.

Likewise, the Greens could hold considerable sway within the next Labour led government, including Cabinet positions. The right wing might claim that an administration involving these three centre or left wing parties is unworkable, but we only have to look at Jacinda Ardern's remarkable skill set and grasp of complexities across numerous issues to understand that she's the right person for the job to ensure unity of purpose in any future government she leads.
 

Luxon on the other hand has numerous problems hindering his ability to challenge for the top position. The National Party, who still doesn’t have any clear policy direction, continues to suffer from numerous self-inflicted wounds. Without first cauterising the rot within National, it and Luxon’s own awkward style will provide oxygen to his rivals leading up to the next election.

 

The Act Party may have capitalised the most on National's decline so far, but David Seymour looks set to undo their gains by falling back on outdated and racist political tropes that only people like Don Brash could identify with.

The divisive right wing invariably has a majority of the mainstream media on their side, but this is doing little to promote any alternative vision to what is or has already been tried. In fact being entirely negative and constantly flip-flopping on any given issue will only encourage intelligent wealthy voters, who’ve also done well during the last few years, to not rock the boat.

This all makes Hooton’s flawed reasoning in his (Pay-walled) Herald article entirely ridiculous!

Can Christopher Luxon become PM - and mend a divided NZ?

All the major polls are narrowing, with National and Act tracking towards parity with Labour and the Greens.

While Jacinda Ardern remains comfortably ahead as preferred Prime Minister, she is increasingly polarising. When both their positive and negative ratings are taken into account, the 1News-Kantar poll showed Ardern's all-important net approval rating below Christopher Luxon's.

…

The divisions are not just economic. Māori aspirations to exercise full sovereignty or at least share power in 50:50 co-governance models are well beyond what tauiwi will accept.

Unless narrowed in one or the other direction, or preferably both, that gap will lead to political violence. Rural and provincial New Zealanders think those in the cities undervalue both their economic contribution and the environmental improvements they have made.

Obviously Hooton is ignoring the facts again. For starters he’s promoting an incorrect belief that Aotearoa is badly divided along rural and city lines, which simply isn’t the case. He’s also overstating the number of racists (approximately 5%) who, like himself, cannot accept that Maori have been in co-governance within political parties since 1868.

In my opinion, the Maori Party's expectation for increased representation within central and local government is politically expedient for them as well as being highly achievable.

Biggest load of bullshit I couldn't read on the Herald today. pic.twitter.com/US2jIEDFwH

— Melanie D. (@melulater) February 4, 2022

Likewise, the number of farmers concerned with vast swathes of productive land being converted into forestry, which is entirely incorrect, is being badly overstated by a deluded propagandist whose opinions invariably render him obsolete as a political commentator.

Hooton is clearly letting his own prejudices govern his belief that National already has the numbers. These are not touchstone issues that have relevance for a majority of voters. Instead they’re the concerns of a fool grasping at the right wings’ failed propaganda campaigns against the government, campaigns that have already fallen over because they don't align with the facts.

With the long four-month lockdown, Aucklanders have had a different experience of Covid than the rest of the country and think their sacrifices were taken for granted by the rest.

The Wellington bureaucracy has never been more out of touch from the people it is meant to serve.

 

The ever-fictitious Hooton thankfully doesn't speak for all of Auckland. He's also forgotten the numerous times that Key would take off to Hawaii to avoid scrutiny here in New Zealand. Remember when over 67% of the public didn't want National to sell our assets, but they went ahead and did it anyway?

To claim that the current Labour led government comes anywhere near that level of arrogance and obfuscation, which is still being displayed by the blue team, is incredibly obnoxious!

I mean nobody is arguing that Hooton shouldn’t be allowed to peddle his pro National Party propaganda, but the NZ Herald should at the very least attempt to help him make his inane blathering somewhat believable.

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.

National aligns with the anti-vaxxers

What is it about the National Party that’s causing them to look so indecisive at the moment? Not only do they often criticise the Government for implementing policy that they themselves have previously promoted, National also seems to have no firm stance on important topics such as MIQ facilities, which they previously wanted to build but now want to demolish.

This indecision is causing very large amounts of confusion for journalists and voters alike, who cannot decipher exactly what National actually stands for. I mean contradicting themselves because they simply forgot what their position previously was is one thing, but contradicting the party line when it comes to things like vaccines should be ringing some large alarm bells.

Perhaps the worst flip-flopper amongst the blue “team” is none other than their leader, Judith Collins. Although she tries hard to appear reasonable, Collins has been caught out a number of times sabotaging the Covid-19 health response and supporting anti-vaccination protests.


Last week, the NZ Herald reported:

Judith Collins on Groundswell NZ protest and James Shaw's COP26 trip

National Party leader Judith Collins says she will attend Groundswell NZ's "Mother of all Protests" on November 21 to show her support for Kiwi farmers.

Groundswell NZ is the farmer-led group behind the successful "Howl of a Protest" in July when rural people took to the streets in tractors and farm vehicles to show their concerns over Government regulations and the "ute tax".

Unfortunately a few regulations and the “ute tax” aren’t the only things these farmers are protesting about. And just like the Destiny Church, Groundswell is clearly a politically motivated movement that will encourage anti Government sentiment wherever they can, even if it means aligning themselves with the anti-vaxxers.

Here’s a photo of Crusher Collins’ mates Brian and Hannah Tamaki, who have been organising numerous anti-vaccination protests around the country despite court orders banning them from doing so. They’re having a meeting with Leo Molloy and Groundswell organiser Scott Bright on the right, who earlier this month gave gifts of food to people attending an anti-vaccination protest organised by the misnamed Freedom and Rights Coalition.

But that’s unfortunately not the only indication that Groundswell organisers are against vaccines.


On 2 November, Stuff reported:

Groundswell NZ denies being anti-vax after founder shuns vaccination promo video

Meanwhile, a photo of Groundswell's Pukekohe and Auckland co-ordinator, Scott Bright, sitting at a table alongside Brian and Hannah Tamaki has been shared on social media.

Hannah Tamaki has previously stated in a Facebook post that she would choose not to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Her husband, Brian Tamaki, has also said in a social media post that the long-term effects of the vaccine were “unknown” and claimed the vaccine was “untested”.

In fact, the vaccine has been extensively tested and any side effects happen within days and weeks, rather than in the long-term.

Bright has also provided fresh vegetables to the Freedom and Rights Coalition protests, but told Stuff he attended the protest in a personal capacity.

Of course Collins isn’t the only National Party MP who has aligned themselves with the anti-vaccination crusaders. Harete Hipango was also recently caught supporting a protest against a vaccine clinic in Whanganui.


Last week, Newshub reported:

Whanganui COVID-19 vaccine protest: Kaumātua felt 'sad' seeing 'our families out there'

The Prime Minister's day began with heated protests outside a vaccination bus in Whanganui on Wednesday, where she was scheduled to visit a vaccination clinic.

"I feel sad when I hear our families - they're our families out there, our nieces, our mokopuna," Whanganui kaumātua John Niko Maihi told Newshub.

"I'm surprised at how many people don't want to be vaccinated."

…

Another politician visited the protest - local National MP Harete Hipango.

"I'm here to support my community," she said, when asked if she was there to support the protest.

She left soon after Newshub clocked her, saying later she thought it was a protest about something else.

Then there's National Party MP Chris Penk, who has been liking numerous posts that promote the anti-vaccination movement in New Zealand.

What this shows is that a number of National Party MPs, including their leader, have stupidly aligned themselves with the anti-vaccination movement. There is no two bones about it. And with a potential 95% of Kiwis who will be getting fully vaccinated, that's going to be a hiding to nowhere for the main opposition party. As a result of their idiocy concerning Covid-19, the blue "team" will likely continue to poll very badly, particularly while Judith Collins is calling the shots.

Government funds vanity projects instead of the disabled

If there’s one thing that can damage Labour's brand, it’s misspending public money on vanity projects and unnecessary PR campaigns instead of funding things that really matter to everyday Kiwis. The opposition knows this, and often attempts to exploit a perception that Labour isn’t able to properly allocate taxpayer dollars in a way that truly benefits the entire country.

However, unlike the opposition, the vast majority of voters are thankfully a lot more reasonable, particularly in terms of the Government’s funding allocations. This is especially the case when you consider the considerable amounts of money being generated for the Government through our hard work and an export sector that is incredibly profitable.

Obviously we should all share in our mutually generated wealth, and one of the best ways to do that is by ensuring our infrastructure is functioning properly and everyone’s basic needs are being adequately met. However, the current Government unfortunately appears to have lost the high ground and has already become arrogant about where they allocate vast sums of public money. Not yet into their third-termitis, the Labour led Government's disconnect between what should and what is being funded appears to be getting worse, and therefore needs to be highlighted.

While MBIE is busy spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars on flashy new PR videos about climate change, that try to place responsibility for man-kinds biggest existential threat onto us mere individuals, inflation has all but wiped out any wage increases for low to middle income earners, ensuring that most will be without the financial means necessary to adapt to the serious consequences of climate change.

While the Minister of Energy and Resources, Megan Woods, is busy making excuses for another badly produced video that cost taxpayers $600,000, students are having to take the Government to court to try and halt new oil and gas exploration…polluting enterprises that will ensure New Zealand has already failed to meet our COP26 obligations before the ink has even dried.

While Minister Carmel Sepuloni is busy promoting a new so-called Ministry for the Disabled, which will be run by the same old dysfunctional Ministry of Social Development, she's also splashing $500,000 worth of public money on a badly designed book website, which has little to no value for most hard working Kiwis. Meanwhile, the re-allocated support for people who’re struggling to survive is almost non-existent.

Obviously the Government’s current incrementalist approach to beneficial social change isn’t going to fix the entrenched inequality that creates adverse effects throughout Aotearoa, whereby one in five Kiwi kids continues to go without adequate food or proper housing.

In fact the Labour led Government has decided, somewhat under the cover of Covid-19, to even start hassling disabled WINZ clients again, in order to make cuts to their welfare payments. Surely not I hear you say? But here’s a small sample of tweets from a recent online discussion by and for the New Zealand disability community, which clearly shows the Government isn’t being very kind at all, not even to our most isolated and vulnerable citizens:

Someone close to me had Spina Bifida (she passed away in 2019) & every year MSD/WINZ demanded a medical certificate from her to prove her condition had not miraculously "gone away"!?

I cannot over state the vileness of this cruel practice.

— Frank,Socialist Hermit Kingdom,sez get vaccinated (@fmacskasy) November 4, 2021

Have been doing this for my autistic son for 17 years.
Dr signed for 5 years and I had to asked her to change it to 2 as anything over that gets either declined/questioned etc. Plain &simple stupid.
My mum's cerebral palsy finally didn't need a Drs cert by the time she was 53!

— Jo politically homeless (@JoGillett4) November 4, 2021

My friend had to keep giving evidence that her son's arm hadn't grown back.

— Mrs W - vaxxed for Aotearoa (@teresanz68) November 4, 2021

My son has albinism. We go through this regularly as well. Like you don't grow out of Down Syndrome, albinism....or a host of other disabilities. I think they should have a list of disabilities that don't go away, but that would be too easy. My GP gets really mad

— Charlotte French 🇳🇿 She/Her 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ (@lottiefrench45) November 4, 2021

Oh for... @CarmelSepuloni this needs to be fixed!! One, dangerous to take a baby into a clinic RN, and two, most of the issues in this thread are permanent. Why WINZ needs to make people jump hoops is beyond me. Cruel, like waterboarding.

— scan, then stitch all the things BMLSc ✝️ (@paulainauckland) November 5, 2021

My grandmother who broke her spine in several places in a car accident in the 70s or 80s also had to suffer through this ordeal, wheeling herself in her MNUAL WHEELCHAIR the 10km to the local WINZ office to prove she hadn't suddenly decided to start walking again...made me irate!

— 𝓙𝓸𝓼𝓱 𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓪𝓼 ✌🏻 (@giosuelucas) November 5, 2021

I see nothing has changed since my daughter received CDA 20 years ago…nope her congenital scoliosis has not fixed itself, yes we are holding out for a miracle but they seem to be in short supply… like PICU beds…

— Jussi 💉💉 (@justjussi) November 4, 2021

Omg I gotta do my two yearly to, for my ASD boy and yup still there . 2 years later my boy is still himself but nope gotta do this stupid form again just in case he got cured from being himself lol

— T (@AnyaNaraya6) November 4, 2021

No different for me being autistic and having to explain that "no, my brain wiring hasn't changed"

— Katz (@CaelKatzi) November 4, 2021

My mother, who has been blind for 50 years, is going through this now with her disability allowance. I can totally empathize with your patients.

— Hayley ☀️ (@LadyHayley_) November 4, 2021

It’s the same for T1 Diabetes. Maybe they know something we don’t about a cure. pic.twitter.com/XWD095qq8A

— Haupᴉua Muɹu (@hpm_1) November 4, 2021

Yes it is so depressing, parents HATE doing it. Can my brain damaged child feed herself these days ? No. Can she walk? No can she talk? No. It is cruel.

— Anne Keith (@as_wk) November 4, 2021

This stuff is just heartbreaking.

My son fronts up every two years. No, his back isn't better, yes it has deteriorated further since he last was checked.

Inhumane, degrading BS.

Frankly, I thought a Labour government would put a stop to this dehumanising practice. Guess not😢

— DebNZ Vaxxed x2 (@DebNZ4) November 4, 2021

So dumb. My cousins son has Williams Sydrome that they had to affirm constantly for ORS I think. No he hasn’t grown his chromosome back again this year 🙄.

— JDF Hockey (@JulesFDF) November 4, 2021

My friend was tetraplegic, could not even move his head. When he told them he couldn't do the jobs they suggested, they then said - well what about this other job, how do you feel about climbing ladders?
!!!!!!!!!!!

— AliS (@AliS63206825) November 4, 2021

We were promised that this stupidity would stop several years ago but no.. Try this 1. My son had his benefit stopped because he didn't respond to a letter WINZ didn't send asking to prove his genetic syndrome hadnt suddely gone away.

— Broken (@Head_Weasel) November 4, 2021

Same for friend with multiple sclerosis. Ridiculous and time consuming and an unnecessary cost to provide medical certificates

— Satsuma (@Satsuma04523379) November 4, 2021

Of course it would be a lot worse for impoverished Kiwis, particularly those living with disability, under a National and ACT Government, especially one where Judith Collins was calling the shots. But that doesn’t excuse the Labour led Government or let them off the hook for continuing to persecute the disabled while wasting taxpayers money on PR vanity projects that have no cultural or societal worth whatsoever.

Dean Brosnahan - Arsehole of the Week

There's no question that someone who lies about having had a vasectomy to get unprotected sex is a complete A hole! But what really made Dean Brosnahan an Arsehole Award winner this week was that he repeatedly harassed one of his victims, who later fell pregnant to him, with further sexual assaults and death threats to her and her baby.

Brosnahan, who had been charged with raping a tenant of a property he managed, then went on to work for the Ministry of Social Development for four months, also matching tenants to potential rental properties. This raises serious concerns about a sexual predator who may have also been forcing other vulnerable females, namely WINZ clients, into having unwanted sex with him to get a house to live in.


Yesterday, Stuff reported:

Police didn't tell Ministry of Social Development its job applicant was being investigated for rape

Stuff this week reported that in 2020 the ministry (MSD) hired Dean Francis Brosnahan, who was under police investigation for inducing a woman into sex by lying to her about having had a vasectomy. He had pursued her through a listing made through the company he worked for, Oxygen Property Management. She fell pregnant.

Brosnahan left his role with Oxygen – Stuff understands other tenants also made complaints about Brosnahan to the company – and was quickly hired by MSD as a housing broker. Oxygen and MSD were both unaware that Brosnahan had also resigned from a previous role at Corrections, facing allegations from three women relating to sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour.

In late May, MSD learned Brosnahan had been charged with rape – through Brosnahan and his lawyer rather than through a second vetting – and Brosnahan resigned three weeks later. Wellington regional manager Jamie Robinson said that after learning of the charges, MSD took immediate action to meet with Brosnahan and raise concerns. Over three weeks, two attempts to meet with him were delayed by Brosnahan, Robinson said.

You’ve got to wonder why he was allowed to resign and wasn’t immediately sacked instead?

Victims adviser Ruth Money said police were negligent to not reveal the information, particularly given Brosnahan had pursued the victim through his role as a property manager. It is understood part of Brosnahan’s role at Work and Income was matching tenants to potential properties. MSD said that when it became aware of the charges, Brosnahan had no further face-to-face contact with clients.

 

Of course an incomplete Police report the Ministry of Development initially received and the Police direction that the Ministry should reapply for another background check at a later date certainly should have made them think twice about employing Brosnahan. I mean why would the MSD ignore such glaringly obvious red flags like that for four months?

Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said MSD had “acted on the information it had, as soon as it had it ... MSD has HR policies it must follow when someone employed by them is accused of a crime, especially if they maintain their innocence. MSD correctly followed these processes.”

MSD clearly didn’t act on the information it had as soon as it could have. Because if it did, Brosnahan wouldn’t have been hired and then placed into a position of power where he could potentially take advantage of other vulnerable women.

However the real kicker here is that in 2015 Brosnahan was allowed to resign as a Corrections Officer after an internal investigation found that he had sexually harassed numerous women there as well. For some reason though the file containing his misdeeds simply disappeared. How often are these types of things covered up I wonder?

Unfortunately we will likely never know who exactly has been paving the way for this sicko for all these years? But what we do know is that Corrections, the Police and the Ministry for Social Development has failed miserably here to protect numerous vulnerable women from a known sexual predator.

Robinson previously said that neither of Brosnahan’s two references gave MSD cause for concern.

Honestly! Like a sexual predator is going to put ‘accused of rape’ on their references.

The complainant told the court that she felt Brosnahan was in a significant position of power, given he could help put a roof over her head, or not.

After she fell pregnant Brosnahan had repeatedly urged her to “kill the baby” while lying on top of her, or pushing her towards traffic.

Disgusting! And to think that the Ministry of Social Development is more concerned about their reputation than this guys victims. Instead of launching a proper in-depth investigation into what Brosnahan got up to while in their employment, they have instead launched a PR campaign to try and absolve themselves from any wrongdoing. No wonder most people think that the culture within many Governmental departments is rotten!