General Debate 16 August 2022

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slightlyrighty

Dr Sharma has opened a window as to how the Labour Party operates.

One has to openly wonder what sort of a person rises to the top of such an organisation.
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August 16, 2022 8:04am
- lastmanstanding
  
  The evidence is piling up. For the Prime Minister to say there is no bullying then either her eyes and ears are painted on or she is in denial.
  
  As with all scandals its not the scandal that does the damage its the attenpt to cover it up.
  Fringe Labour voters will be turned off by this. Bullying and the mental health issues it causes have been highlighted over the past few years ironically by the Labour Government. They are now hoist by their own petard.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:02am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  So I see Jaspinda is being very nice to Dr Sharma when the TV cameras are around.
  It’s sickening to watch the crawling and groveling.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:06am
  - JJ56
    
    In the end the PM and her team were very caring, leaving options for reconciliation open at every opportunity. She did it very well.
    
    But rather left with the feeling that we’ve been there done that, and she’s just become a one trick pony, as it were.
    
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    August 16, 2022 6:21pm
  - hullkiwi
    
    Steve, and this evening on TV nonews we were forced to suffer Maiki Sherman beating our ears with….
    
    “….and reinforcing the Prime Minister’s kindness towards him (Sharma), the Labour Party will review his suspension in December, subject to his conduct”.
    
    She said it with a straight face, and seemed completely oblivious to the irony of what she had just said.
    
    Obvious mquestions to a Labour troll, where is the “kindness” in the suspension? And did nobody realise the process that Sharma is being put through is what he has been complaining of, bullying?!!
    
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    August 16, 2022 7:30pm
    - graham
      
      Seriously? Did she REALLY say that?
      
      Thanks goodness I wasn’t watching, I think the wife would have been quite shocked at my outburst.
      
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      August 16, 2022 8:16pm
Lee C

In my view Dr. Sharma represents the second (after Louisa Wall) leak springing from the Labour Party Dyke.

Ardern has only two left thumbs – it’s going to be entertaining watching her try to paper over the inevitable cracks that will emerge with her own special brand of ‘kindness’ as Labour MPs start to realise their days are numbered.
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August 16, 2022 8:05am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Readers with long memories will remember Hamish McIntyre, Gilbert Myles, Michael Laws, Cam Campion and others, who caused Jim Bolger no end of trouble after the 1990 election.
  
  A large caucus, with many MP’s under-employed, can be as much of a curse as it is a blessing, especially when back-benchers look at the polls, and see their re-election chances melting away. That would appear to be the case right now in the Labour Party, and in trying to silence Dr Sharma, Jacinda Ardern should be careful what she wishes for!
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:22am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    I am not so sure that is right, he doesn’t like the smell of the swamp snd wants to disinfect the scum on the surface
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:27am
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      Brilliant choice of words.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:12am
  - pdm
    
    Inv – I cannot help thinking that there are increasing numbers of previously disinterested people cheering Dr. Sharma.
    
    Jacinda Ardern – you reap what you sow.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:29am
    - Suze Wainwright
      
      Hmmm, will the Labour caucus ‘do the right thing’?
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:01am
      - Loddenthinks
        
        They’ll most likely expel Dr Sharma in the hope the noise will go away, while simultaneously “finding” people to come forward against Uffindell and pay more money to the MSM to run with that instead.
        
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        August 16, 2022 9:23am
      - Paulus
        
        The Labour Caucus will do as they are bloody well told.
        Ask the nice Trevor Mallard.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:22pm
    - Souvlaki
      
      Agree…I hope he’s got a ‘ live’ wire at caucus ….or will the whips demand a ‘cavity search’ before the meeting?🤣🤣
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:03am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        He will be able to record the zoom
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:20pm
  - Suze Wainwright
    
    Tony, with all due respect, I think you’ll find that Ardern governs for all New Zealanders…
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:00am
    - Suze Wainwright
      
      Heh
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:33am
    - slightlyrighty
      
      Does Ardern know this???
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:34am
      - Suze Wainwright
        
        She said it!
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:38pm
    - rouppe
      
      She doesn’t govern for me.
      
      #notmypm
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:55am
  - Sacha
    
    We were just talking about this a week or two ago, and wondering where/when the split would occur. Too many inexperienced people with unexpected power and nothing to do with it, leads to scrapping and discontent.
    Oliver Harwich nailed it: The Ardern Experiment.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:23am
- Monty
  
  Cindy only has “kindness” as a brand. That is now is tatters. Kindness has always been a fraud. She does not have the cunning or intellect to shut down the Sharma Drama. Robertson (the cunning bully behind the scenes who gets others to do his dirty work) is desperately trying to shut this down, but what evidence has Dr Sharma kept in the gunpowder safe on the abuse and bullying. The drip feed is hurting. Labour cant haul this back.
  
  How much has this #SharmaDrama hurt Labour in some of their core constituencies (such as the Indian community, and every person who has ever been bullied (or mum of a child who has been bullied) – I think by the time this has played out Labour could be down 3-5%
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:27am
  - pdm
    
    Sharma Drama – love it!!!
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:50am
    - RightFirstTime
      
      Sharma Karma!
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:13pm
  - slightlyrighty
    
    “Kindness is the excuse that social justice warriors use when they want to exercise control over what other people think and say.”
    
    Dr. Jordan Peterson.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:55am
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:22pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Ardern is the most fake politician in a life time. It is astonishing that so many people fell for this incompetent, plastic fraud.
    A dangerous narcissist and she is destroying this country for her misguided (or evil) ideology. I don’t say that lightly.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:16am
    - yossarian
      
      According to Verity on Stuff, we all still love her.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:02pm
      - hullkiwi
        
        Really, that is why there are people leaving the tag…
        
        “JA f**k off” on any spare surface they can find around the Rodney area.
        
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        August 16, 2022 7:33pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Gurav might tear her a new one !
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:21pm
- Deane Jessep
  
  Her acolytes this morning are saying they won’t vote Labour any more, and Jacinda should cut and run for her own reputation. It seems lost on the author that what she proposes is narcissistic and repugnant. Yeah, Labour’s finally baked.
  
  https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129578804/verity-johnson-is-jacinda-ardern-prepared-to-go-down-with-the-labour-ship
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:29am
  - pdm
    
    DJ – Verity Johnson still made sure she did not jeopradise (jeopardise) her share of the next $55mill by putting the boot into Luxon for having the temerity to own 7 houses. Then add his views on abortion as a bonus.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:32am
    - gravedodger
      
      I wonder if staying with the abominable Jeopradise might not be the only dam thing that woman is remembered for pdm, everything else is eminently forgettable.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:10am
    - RoboRob
      
      Those with longer memories than Verity and her ilk will remember such ancient governments as the ‘Helen Clarke’ government. In this government (of academics and unionists) most MPs owned plenty of rental properties. I believe Helen herself owned 9 properties. The only reason JA doesn’t own rental properties is her relative youth and financial literacy. I don’t recall labour supporters, complaining about that as an issue.
      
      Obviously Verity was too young at the time to have paid attention. That’s the problem with political reporters and commentators under 30, no historical perspective or understanding.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:31am
    - Prince
      
      Johnson says one of Luxon’s sins is that he ‘doesn’t believe in abortion’.
      
      Imagine expecting someone to ‘believe in abortion’.
      People may reluctantly accept abortion as a last resort, lesser of two evils, or none of their business, but to ‘Believe in Abortion’ ? What a distorted, revolting set of ethical standards that portrays.
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:08am
      - Philview
        
        Abortion appears to have become a badge of honour to some liberals. Celebs announce their past abortions with pride. Weird times.
        
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        August 16, 2022 11:26am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      He actually hasn’t got 7 houses, it’s 4 and his apartment in Wellington which he bought snd requires, I thought he had a couple of other buildings, he only has 3 rentals
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:23pm
  - Sideoiler
    
    Verity Johnson, why would anybody care what that vacuous bint had to say.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:35am
    - Hard Cheese
      
      She won’t vote for Luxon because he owns 7 houses and because of his views on abortion. Clearly how well New Zealand is governed doesn’t feature much in her limited thought processes, confirming her status as an envious, shallow nitwit.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:32am
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        Wait till she hears how much Cindy is worth after 5 years at $550k/yr plus perks, extras and enormous pension fund (and free car plus $50k/yr for life). The hate will flow through her envious little dark journalistic soul.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:26pm
  - mandk
    
    It’s interesting that Verity has likened Ardern to the lead (i.e. an actor) in a drama.
    
    Verity lives up to her name and speaks the truth – Ardern is an actor, a role player, a fake, not to be believed in the real world.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:58am
    - Clownworld
      
      Is Ardern a soap opera drama queen…aka a bad actor OR simply a UN endorsed woke puppet bad actor?
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:00am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      She still thinks the poisoned queen is much loved ffs
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:24pm
  - hullkiwi
    
    It was the most disingenuous article I’ve ever written.
    
    Why didn’t she just say:
    1. Jaspinda is going down with the Labour ship;
    2. I hate National, Act & Luxon,
    3. I suffer rich prick envy; so
    4. I urge you to vote Green.
    
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    August 16, 2022 7:40pm
- Scooter
  
  Jacinda can’t help herself and has yet again made it all about herself. It’s now all down to the caucus, nothing to do with her, her office knew about his issues but nothing was brought to her directly. Word soup. This really has made her out to be the most inept PM ever.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:33am
  - Sacha
    
    Of course she would blame the ‘office’. We know by now that she will never admit to being in the wrong. And probably the office staff avoid her temper by accepting the blame.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:28am
    - Tricati
      
      Just like she threw the young KFC worker under the bus. Ardern was clearly wrong, but didn’t have the integrity to admit it – Nasty person.
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:06am
  - Paulus
    
    Have heard that Young Chippy will be leading the Labour charge against the Dr. this afternoon.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:11am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      He is one of the nasty scum, funny Robertson is well out of it
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:28pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Ardern is all Labour have got and as the country is now finding out to its collective horror, she is a complete fraud and a dangerous narcissist.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:22am
  - Clownworld
    
    Not a sign of a good leader.
    
    Either she is not lying and knew nothing ( Schultz I know noooothing) which means her office knew and didn’t tell their leader…as they don’t trust her… or she is lying and throwing innocent staff under the bus.
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:04am
- Scott
  
  We are all prisoners in Jacinda’s world. That world is controlled by the local media who decide what is news and what is not. The National MP Uffindell was a four alarm fire over every news platform for days. People pointed to a culture of bullying within National. Chris Luxon was harangued on every news channel by reporters demanding what he was going to do about this? The charges against Uffindell happened 20 years ago when he was a 16 year old high school student and then when he was at university.
  
  Contrast this with the treatment of the bullying allegations by a sitting Labour MP, Sharma. He says there is a culture of bullying within Labour. He names names, one Kieran McAnulty for example, as a bully.
  How do the New Zealand media respond? Well the headline on Monday from stuff is typical – “Sharma’s misusing money tax player claim was just normal travel – Parliamentary service.” In other words a cleanup on aisel 5. The media rush to the defence of labour, they minimise the charges of bullying and they call Sharma’s claims an “outburst”. So he is not a whistleblower. He is not speaking truth to power. He is having an outburst.
  
  https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129573930/parliamentary-service-says-gaurav-sharmas-claim-of-staff-misusing-taxpayer-money-was-staff-travel-and-normal-practice
  
  This is why I say we are all prisoners in Jacinda’s world. The media just cover for her 24 hours a day. We have no debate on substantive issues anymore. We are prisoners of the socialist ideology that our Prime Minister openly espouses, as does McAnulty.
  
  We need to eject these people from office at the next election before it becomes too late. We need to reinstitute free speech in our society. We should be able to freely debate issues like bullying, sex, race, United States politics etc etc etc.
  
  Some will be offended. So what? To live in a democracy means there will be people who disagree with you on really important issues. You have to accept that you will be offended.
  
  The culture of political correctness that is stifling free speech must go. We need to break out of the prison of Jacinda’s world. Before it’s too late.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:41am
  - gravedodger
    
    The MSM continue to refer to Dr Sharma as a rogue MP talk about setting up public opinion for when he is before the firing squad so no one will be unduly alarmed.
    Yes there are rogues involved, a coterie of them in fact, however imeho Dr Gaurav Sharma is not one.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:14am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yes, it’s a very deliberate and sick use of the adjective
      
      Here’s NZ Herald referring to the rogue MP:
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pm-jacinda-ardern-responds-to-latest-claims-from-rogue-mp-gaurav-sharma-confirms-labour-party-caucus-will-meet-on-allegations-this-week/W2Z57PC34JK4BL76OGI2WXY6W4/
      
      And here’s a NZ Herald article today discussing rogue cancer cells:
      
      rogue breast cancer cells can break off from even tiny, early tumours, sneak into the bloodstream or lymphatic system and set up home in another part of the body,
      
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/why-some-cancers-keep-coming-back/J75M4I47AP5TNCGV4OBAMRHZZQ/
      
      Sick, sick, sick journalism
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:13pm
    - Chris R
      
      Yes; they’d moved him from being a “rogue” to a maverick earlier today. Biased?
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:36pm
    - blue collar
      
      Give sharma a national seat to run in 2023 in Hamilton
      
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      August 16, 2022 6:05pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Nothing happens when someone is ‘offended’ They just stay ‘offended’
    Offended – Steve Hughes. It’s a beauty.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceS_jkKjIgo
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:48am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    I thought Luxon showed up the [deleted] how to deal with these issues, and I think of Dew finds the student flat thing bullshit as it looks, Uffers may well survive
    
    [Mod note: horse references to the PM are not acceptable as per the comments policy]
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:29pm
- kowtow
  
  Days numbered .
  
  Last Saturday in the Herald Claire Trevet was saying that Labour’s polling was getting “perilously close to the death spiral”.
  
  The Media pack can see it too . And it won’t take a couple more poorLabour polls to tip it over the point of no return ( hopefully)
  
  The hilarios thing about her article was her analysis of different polly’s leadership styles , honeymoons etc but she said of Ardern ;
  
  ‘Ardern will now not be able to recapture what Bill English called “stardust” that attracted voters to her back then . Stardust is a honeymoon thing .But she doesn’t necessarily need to either.She now has a track record instead.”
  
  I don’t know what planet Trevett lives on , but what track record does Ardern have ?
  
  Seriously .
  
  Unless its the track record of a scorched earth policy for New Zealand’s economy , society and constitution.
  
  Do these ‘senior” reporters actually believe the crap they print ?
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:54am
  - Paulus
    
    With more money the media will continue its claims against Uffendell as told by Cindy.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:13am
  - hullkiwi
    
    ….and there was Mike Williams on Sunday while being part of the panel on Newshub Nation telling anyone listening that on current polling numbers that Labour will win the next election.
    
    Usually, he is very astute, but his commentary on Sunday was in the realms of the “Emperor’s New Clothes” fantasy material.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:49am
    - Lance
      
      Yes very astute Mike (ah hemm).
      You know, like the Neutron Bomb he announced that was going to sink John Key one election.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:36pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    I think she meant lots of air-miles and kindy visits.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:31pm
krazykiwi

Hello from London. A few years ago, I had a job that required me to travel to UK and/or Europe every 6-8 weeks. Most of my UK time was spent in Newbury, Berkshire and only a small amount of time was spent in London itself. One of my trips was literally two days, one night at a conference centre near Heathrow then back to NZ. The last time I spent more than a couple of days in London was in 1989, so this trip – almost 4 weeks here – represents an opportunity to make some first-hand observations. Mrs kk are I are staying in Dalston which is in east London. The area is highly populated with folks of Caribbean descent. Collectively, and preferentially, everyone ‘of colour’ is referred to as ‘Black’. Some observations:
1. I’m sure there is loads of knife crime in Khan’s London, but I’ve not seen any. Plenty of coppers on the beat though. Very visible
2. The city is awash with cyclists, and I have literally seen zero aggression from motorists. The same motorists are really courteous to pedestrians, but that could have just been the pushchair in which our grandson was cocooned.
3. The local authorities seem to be really engaged in the communities they serve. There’s lots of evidence of community-building initiatives in the streets and parks near us.
4. Across the street from our apartment is church with a predominantly Black congregation. There are regular choir and musical jam sessions, and I can say with some certainty that I have been disabused of the notion that all Black people can sing well. The noise emanating from across the street on Sunday afternoon was that of 100’s of cats being strangled. Criticism aside, I’m also sure their signing is better than my own.
5. For Ted Lasso fans .. I went to the pub used in the series. And like 100s of others that evening I got my pint in a plastic glass to took it across the road to sit in the park. Again, I’m sure the UK is a nanny-state of the worst type, but their liquor licencing laws are brilliant. No drunken louts in the park either. Just picnicking families and groups of friends enjoying sunshine and a few drinks.
6. Went to Kings Cross railway station today. An underground, National Rail, International Rail hub. It was teeming with people. I calculated that 0.5% were wearing a mask, and at least half of those had it covering their chin and/or mouth, but not their nose.
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August 16, 2022 8:06am
- Lee C
  
  Heh – I just remarked to yesterday that It had been years since anyone had said ‘Dalston’ in my presence and here you are…. I do miss my old stompng grounds – although Dalston just represented a month-long temping stint…
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:12am
  - zulumonster
    
    Lee, I had a similar reaction to the reference to Newbury … the location of my first 6 month contract in the UK in 1985 …
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:17am
    - krazykiwi
      
      Vodabury 🙂
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:25am
- Debsta
  
  Excellent! I’m off to Rome on Monday and hope to find similar as you report BY.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:34am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Wasn’t me.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:49am
  - Lee C
    
    Heh – if you’d said Streatham…
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:49am
    - G152
      
      Bingo.
      Streathhams my goto
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:53am
      - Lee C
        
        That’s ‘St. Reatham’ to you G152!
        
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        August 16, 2022 2:17pm
    - hmmokrightitis
      
      Used to play squash at a club in Streatham – owned by one of the big banks, cant remember which. Great club, cheap pints, wonderful facilities. Ah London, I do miss you. Going back next year to do some walking (Hadrian’s Wall etc) but will have a few days in London – focused around Ronnie Scotts 🙂
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:28am
  - Debsta
    
    Sorry guys, I was of course responding to KK 🤪
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:53am
Pongo

Moderna,s new covid jab approved and ordered in the UK, this one actually works against Omicron.
Has our utterly incompetent government ordered any or do we continue pretending the current one is fine.
Has the National Party got out of bed yet to push the government and remind the populace how slow NZ was originally or is that a bit too political for them.
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August 16, 2022 8:07am
- JimBobJoe
  
  Why bother when Omicron is a big fat nothing?
  
  No more money to Big Pharma for pointless vaccines that will only drive more variants…
  
  Definition of Mad: Doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome aka We will do Socialism/Communism right this time….
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:21am
- Loddenthinks
  
  I don’t care if the new “jab” comes with a free beach house and 100 BTC – I’m not having it.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:29am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    While the population is likely to be basically immune (or at least not suffering overly) from nasty bouts of Omicron stuff in future, I suspect there is a good chance that earlier more dangerous strains and sub variants will re-emerge as threats as our vaccine granted herd immunity to them fades. Hope I am wrong and Omicron immunity gives some broader protection to more dangerous covid strains, but…
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:35pm
    - krazykiwi
      
      Sadly we do not have vaccine granted immunity. Far from it. The vaccinated had, for a short period, narrow spectrum protection to one element of a now obsolete variant. Some fascinating, if concerning, research is starting to point to repeat Covid-19 sufferers showing signs of symptom tolerance (think Aspirin dulling pain but not fixing to pain source) while the disease damage continues.
      
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      August 16, 2022 7:34pm
  - Observer of Life
    
    Lod: Comment of the day for me. 👍
    
    4 1
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    August 16, 2022 5:41pm
  - krazykiwi
    
    Think laterally, Lod. I’d take the beach house and offer the vax administrator 25 BTC to verifiably administer saline 🙂
    
    2 2
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    August 16, 2022 7:42pm
    - Loddenthinks
      
      Well played kk, well played
      
      3 1
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      August 16, 2022 8:49pm
- Sacha
  
  I think that Omicron has been and gone – a hot shower, a couple of Panadol and an early night in a nice warm bed is a good foil for the ‘flu’.
  
  28 4
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  August 16, 2022 9:35am
- curry4me
  
  Does the new jab come with a 59 Cadillac, or a one way ticket to Florida? Asking for a friend. -;)
  
  16 2
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  August 16, 2022 9:37am
- Zero Kindness
  
  Just stop jabbing, Omicron is a mild cold, not the Spanish flu. Moderna is evil.
  
  22 6
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  August 16, 2022 10:22am
  - riffer
    
    For most people; yes. For about 12 every day it isn’t.
    
    If 12 people a day were dying on the roads, imagine what would be happening.
    
    8 13
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    August 16, 2022 12:11pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      People are dying of old age on the Road?
      
      17 1
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      August 16, 2022 12:27pm
      - Opie
        
        I think thats what they are trying to achieve by lowering the speed limit to 80 km/h everywhere…
        
        12 1
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        August 16, 2022 1:44pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        And everyone should wear helmets inside cars. Even 5-years-olds. Even if they don’t stop accidents.
        
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        August 17, 2022 12:57am
    - Humble Capitalist
      
      Imagine if 12 people a day were dying from heart disease. That would be a quiet day.
      
      19 0
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      August 16, 2022 1:22pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Humble: Quite so.. and for “heart disease ” substitute emphysema, COPD, heart failure; stroke….all the diseases of old age…
        
        16 1
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        August 16, 2022 2:33pm
    - blue collar
      
      12 a day ….. been happening for ever , annual flu toll 500
      
      4 1
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      August 16, 2022 6:22pm
      - PaulL
        
        And how many days in a year? I don’t thing 500 / 365 = 12.
        
        2 0
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        August 16, 2022 8:15pm
    - rouppe
      
      At 12 a day we’d have had 4380 in the last year.
      
      We’ve had 1750. Total. So you know… Math.
      
      Plus:
      9773 deaths in 2019 from cancer. That’s 26 per day.
      4729 deaths in 2019 from ischaemic heart disease. That’s 13 a day.
      
      And nothing is particularly happening about those, is there
      
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      August 16, 2022 8:25pm
- ClanMcleod
  
  None of the jabs “work”. You are living in fantasy land if you are still believing any of this insane narrative.
  They are experimental. They potentially give protection, but for a very limited time. They come with serious risk of injury and death. That is indisputable now. Particularly for the under 50s.
  
  The vaccines are driving the variants. You should never vaccinate during a “pandemic”. This is a “pandemic” of the vaccinated. Watch the numbers over the next year.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:32am
- krazykiwi
  
  There are only two good reasons for taking these shots:
  
  1. You like Covid-19, and you would like the chance to have it more often
  
  2. You don’t like life, and you would like the chance to end it
  
  Seriously, no person with a functioning cerebral cortex would be taking these shots, nor anything else from the criminal pharma organisations.
  
  29 11
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  August 16, 2022 10:32am
  - John Pakes
    
    On any platform other than this one Krazy, or perhaps the VFF one as well, you would be considered to be suffering from a seriously dysfunctional cerebral cortex yourself.
    
    7 29
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    August 16, 2022 11:57am
    - ClanMcleod
      
      Pakes – KK has presented volumes of evidence to support their viewpoint. You have presented nothing but sarcasm and vitriol. Put up or shut up. What part of what was said is wrong and why. Otherwise your “opinion” is meaningless and a waste of everyone’s time including yours.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:08pm
      - John Pakes
        
        McLeod, the volumes of evidence is simply that the vast majority of the population, something like 95%, I think agree with me as they have all done the same as me.
        You are only an outlier, as is Krazy.
        Pardon, but you thrive on your own sarcasm and vitriol.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:15pm
    - Matt Long
      
      We get it JP, the vax is great because Jacinda said so. And the team of 155 million, so it must be true.
      
      23 3
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      August 16, 2022 1:11pm
      - John Pakes
        
        No, the vax is great because the vast majority of world wide health leaders say it is, or are the all lying?
        
        5 26
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        August 16, 2022 1:16pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “the vax is great”
        
        Ah no, at best, the COVID vaccines have been utterly disappointing. Over the last 18 months I have posted probably 100 comments all with credible sources about the vaccines. I am not going to repeat all that here – you can look for them if you like.
        
        And the ’95 percent think it is great’ is crap. The take up without coercion would have been about 65 percent at best (the numbers who had the third shot is a good guide).
        
        Then there are the children. Despite millions in advertising, less than 30 percent of parents fully vaccinated their kids.
        
        Disclosure: I have had three shots.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:29pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        Yes, they are lying.
        
        20 2
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        August 16, 2022 1:32pm
      - Aunty
        
        “Ah no, at best, the COVID vaccines have been utterly disappointing.”
        
        And so too has natural infection, Benedict, that’s utterly disappointing as well. It’s not stopping people getting reinfected either, is it? So what exactly is your point?
        
        I’ll tell you what the point is. The point is that the immune response to this virus is disappointing irrespective of whether the route to immune challenge comes from being naturally infected by it, or vaccinated against it. And the reason for that should be clear to everyone….. correct?
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:47pm
  - Lance
    
    A serious question KK
    Do you think the Polio vaccine is another hoax?
    
    5 13
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    August 16, 2022 12:40pm
    - mawm
      
      You have a serious lack of insight to ask that question. There is a vast difference between novel mRNA technology encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles, which have previously been shown to be both toxic and able to spread throughout the body, and tried and tested attenuated virus vaccines.
      
      8 4
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      August 16, 2022 2:08pm
    - David Garrett
      
      Lance: Answering for myself… NO…but if you are even moderately intelligent u should know that re the polio vaccine ONE (or perhaps two at most) dose provides 100% protection for life…none of that is true of the Covid “vaccine”
      
      Disclosure: I have had three shots…I won’t be having any more
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:41pm
      - rouppe
        
        Same.
        
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        August 16, 2022 8:42pm
    - ClanMcleod
      
      Lance – your comment is the most inane I have read in quite a while, and I’ve read a lot.
      This isn’t the same planet as traditional vaccines.
      The Pfizer jab isn’t a “hoax”. It’s an abject failure. It doesn’t do close to what it was claimed it would do. We were lied to, we were bullied and coerced. People have lost jobs, businesses, relationships, their sanity. For what? This is NOT about “anti vax”. Even though that label is thrown at anyone daring to dispute Ardern’s “only source of truth”. It is bullshit, it is deflection and it is fraudulent.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:10pm
    - MikeMan
      
      Ask the early recipients of that vaccine how effective it is?
      
      For an uncomfortably large amount you will need a shovel or an Ouija Board.
      
      https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-polio-vaccination#:~:text=Salk%20tested%20his%20experimental%20killed,licensed%20on%20the%20same%20day.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:22pm
    - krazykiwi
      
      I’ve not looked at the Polio vax. There’s a bit happening in London on this front right now. Might investigate.
      
      1 1
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      August 16, 2022 10:46pm
  - Fuzzysnuggleduck
    
    Your list is incomplete.
    What about those that got the jab so they could have the rights of a citizen (the vaxx passport).
    And what about the truly vulnerable, where their specific condition makes it the better bet?
    One thing to give mRNA shots to young people and children, but if someone is over 70 or has an issue that makes the virus itself a worse bet, why pretend anyone who took the vaccine is doomed to die/wants to die, or that they are going to get more sick and more often sick?
    It is one thing to say there are some risks from the jab, or that it is not effective – but the ‘you will die’ extreme is about as rational as nutty people who are scared of the unvaccinated.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:54pm
    - ClanMcleod
      
      Stop listening to the bullshit on the TV and radio. Have a look at the real world data rapidly emerging.
      
      https://dailysceptic.org/2022/08/15/why-are-all-cause-excess-deaths-in-the-under-45s-so-much-higher-this-year-than-at-the-height-of-the-pandemic/
      
      It was always going to take time for this to happen. We have been lied to, gaslit, propagandised for almost three years. Nobody is saying everybody who got a jab will die, but what is becoming clear is that the risk of death and injury from this jab is of a magnitude never seen before in the history of vaccines.
      If I was jabbed I wouldn’t be terrified at all, but I would be a bit concerned and I would be totally pissed off at what I’ve been exposed to for no gain.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:19pm
- Harry Knuts
  
  unlikely. their still peddling the original jab which you could argue would be pointless and out of date and ineffective.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:24pm
- TS Child
  
  Those of us who work in jobs where we will be forced to vaccinate are watching events with considerable interest and very little hope.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:55pm
Yvette

“Co-governance”
July 2, 3022, Newsroom –
Jackson not ‘comfortable’ with co-governance draft
The completed draft plan was scheduled to go before Cabinet for approval this month so the rest of New Zealand could then be consulted on the proposed recommendations. Māori were consulted first and the feedback received from the 70 hui across the country was used to inform the proposals.

But on Wednesday, Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson told Newsroom he is delaying taking a paper to Cabinet because he’s not comfortable with about 20 percent of what has been proposed.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/jackson-not-comfortable-with-co-governance-draft

So Jackson presents material (1st selection process) to targetted Maori elite entities (2nd selection) who make their responses (3rd selection) which Willie Jackson will now collate and “water down” (4th selection) to present to Cabinet, which will consider (5th selection) matters to cherry pick, and sloganise for public consumption and a “national conversation”.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that public consultation on co-governance with Māori will begin later in 2022. “Phase one of consultation is going out to all New Zealanders and that’ll be happening over the course of this year,” Ardern said on Tuesday.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/03/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-confirms-public-consultation-on-m-ori-co-governance-will-happen-in-2022.html

The point is that “3 Waters” legislation, with “co-governance”, is being put through Parliament now, so where is the “consultation with all New Zealanders”?

Next steps in action plan for indigenous rights kicks off
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson has today meet with more than 30 national Māori organisations in an online hui, kicking off the process to develop a plan for New Zealand to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration).
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/next-steps-action-plan-indigenous-rights-kicks

That was 14 October 2021.

“3 Waters” controlling bodyTaumata Arowai was fully established 15 November 2021 – just over a month later

So the first step to “co-governance” was in place when Maori elite consultation still had 5 months to go.
The Government has therefore pre-empted Maori consultation as well as certainly avoiding, so far, ant 84 percent electorate – non-Maori voter – “conversation”

~~Integrity, honesty and transparency, in fact simple democracy~~

_________
Taumata Arowai now new water services regulator
The Board was appointed on 17 February 2021 by the Minister of Local Government and is chaired by Dame Karen Poutasi.
The Māori Advisory Group was appointed by the Acting Minister of Local Government on 20 May 2021 and is chaired by Tipa Mahuta. Established under the Taumata Arowai–the Water Services Regulator Act 2020 the Māori Advisory Group advises on Māori interests and knowledge as they relate to the objectives, functions, and operating principles of Taumata Arowai and the Board’s collective duties.
https://www.taumataarowai.govt.nz/news/articles/taumata-arowai-now-new-water-services-regulator/
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August 16, 2022 8:10am
- Yvette
  
  Oops – “ant 84 percent electorate” above should be “any 84 percent electorate”
  That is what you get when your numb near useless fat finger hits the ’t’ key instead of ‘y’ next to it . Bugger, and sorry :o)
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:31am
- Lee C
  
  What a shame I don’t give a shit about what Willie is ‘comfortable’ with.
  
  49 0
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  August 16, 2022 8:50am
  - Nickc2
    
    He’s an oxygen thief.
    
    34 1
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    August 16, 2022 9:00am
    - Sideoiler
      
      Oh I don’t think he limits himself to oxygen.
      
      21 0
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      August 16, 2022 9:19am
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        No, he has his sights on di-hydrogen monoxide too.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:40pm
- surfing
  
  Jacinda and Mahuta have gone through tremendous verbal manipulations to change the meaning of ownership regarding the Three waters debacle.
  
  According to Mahuta’s manipulations, councils will ‘own’ the assets but have no control , and iwi will not own assets but have control. It is farcical.
  
  This is quite excellent though. It means Maori cannot complain when Luxon dismantles three waters because maori cannot lose what they did not own .
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:41am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Good to see there is some light at the end of this horrendous tunnel we’ve been in for 5 years. It has been an incredible period.
    
    28 2
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    August 16, 2022 10:37am
  - Nickc2
    
    Ah, but how much money are we going to have to pay out for their loss of expected koha? IMO, it won’t be a pittance.
    
    4 1
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    August 16, 2022 2:02pm
- leoj
  
  Two points:
  
  Did NZ voters have any input re the UN declaration?
  
  Since when does the UN govern New Zealand?
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:36am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Point one. No.
    
    Point two. Already surreptitiously. Officially next year if Ardern manages to produce a miracle.
    
    19 2
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    August 16, 2022 12:10pm
- Philview
  
  In the meantime they are busy implementing it.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:26pm
  - Nickc2
    
    He’s not known as Red Willie for nothing eh?
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:47pm
Tony Stuart

Stuff reports that “At least five Christchurch City Council candidates are receiving help from an anti-vaccination, anti-mandate group – including a woman who once said Covid was a “giant scam”.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129577024/five-candidates-with-links-to-antivaccination-group-standing-for-city-council

So what if Voices for Freedom members are standing for public office without disclosing that link? Crikey, in Auckland and Wellington, there are candidates standing for the mayoralty who have been endorsed by the Labour Party, but who are listed as independents. One of them, Paul Eagle from Wellington, is even a sitting Labour Party MP. The other, Efeso Collins, was elected to Auckland Council on the Labour Party ticket in 2019.

Why have Collins and Eagle avoided any reference to the Labour Party in their nominations? Are they afraid of being tarnished by a fading Labour brand, or do they really think that the voters are stupid enough not to notice?

I don’t have much time for Voices for Freedom (or for the Labour Party, for that matter!) but Stuff’s jihad against them through the blatantly partisan, taxpayer funded Fire and Fury “documentary” is getting tiresome.
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August 16, 2022 8:13am
- Lee C
  
  Oh my Gosh!
  
  Are the people who yesterday accused people of being ‘conspiracy theorists’ now complaining about ‘conspiracies’?
  
  How amusing.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:20am
- Ross Campbell
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  One of VFF’s main platform for recruitment is the narrative that there are forces at work behind the scenes to stop the truth coming out but then they themself are being elusive with the truth so don’t you think that’s rather a contradiction that is valid to highlight.
  If your constantly going to start conspiracies about others then a bit of sunlight on your own activities should not be a problem unless your not as pure as your masquerading to be.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:28am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    I’m not defending VFF Ross. What I’m saying is that Paula Penfold and co are so eager to vilify VFF that they can’t see a similar lack of transparency going on right in front of them.
    
    It’s a bit like Stuff’s editorial position on Climate Change; they will accept no contrary arguments. In this instance, they have invested a significant sum of OUR money (from the Public Interest Journalism Fund) in proving that those who attended the occupation in Wellington were evil, right-wing extremists, when we all know that was not the case. But they won’t even contemplate that they could be wrong.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:04am
    - Yabster
      
      Front page headline in the Press “Extremist links to candidates” ffs I would have thought Extremist would be used to describe suicide bombers , terrorists etc the VFF may have some different views but describing them like that is pathetic – our MSM in action.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:36am
    - Ross Campbell
      
      I really don’t think that is an accurate description of the documentary Tony.
      Yes it focused on the charlatans involved and outed all their lies and distortions but it also profiled a couple of very ordinary old ladies who attended who came across as naive but very scared also but it never painted them as evil right wing extremists, that’s just hyperbole.
      However even if I accept the premise portrayed on here all the time that the protest was one big family fun day out and no one saw any shady characters there the fact is unfortunately it will always be remembered for the orgy of violence and destruction at the end and no amount of airbrushing and rewriting of history will make that go away.
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:29am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Nobody has ever denied that there were some unsavoury elements at Wellington, they were a very small minority.
        
        The violence was a deliberate plan to end the protest using planned psychological manipulation and physical provocation.
        
        Those in government and the police knew the only possible way this was going to end that still allowed the police and Ardern to emerge with ANY credibility, was to paint those involved as “violent extremists”, “far right”. “anti semites” and “misogynists”. It was a malicious and fraudulent narrative.
        
        This process was observable. I watched it unfold. I have witnessed similar strategies used many times overseas. By creating a narrative and illusion via the the shills in the mainstream media, they created the pretext for their violent response. It fired up the small percentage there who weren’t smart enough to see they were being played. But it was a tiny minority.
        This is a factual account of what happened in Wellington.
        
        “…….no amount of airbrushing and rewriting of history will make that go away.”
        
        Thanks for the closing line.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:18pm
    - Bullion
      
      There are no credible anti climate change positions, you don’t need to give those points of view a voice (if someone says its raining outside and another says its sunny, you don’t report both points of view equally you go and look outside).
      
      How to tackle the climate change issue should be, and is discussed.
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:23pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Bullion – I am no fan of pollution or environmental degradation, but the climate change movement has become irrational and is now a cult not based on any sane or rational logic.
        Jordan Peterson has written a superb article on the subject.
        
        https://dailysceptic.org/2022/08/15/peddlers-of-environmental-doom-are-closet-totalitarians/
        
        The “green” movement in NZ who have decided that the current blip in the millions of years of evolution that have occurred so far is the pinnacle of our achievement as a species are equally deulsional. They believe they can protect every species of snail, frog, bird etc etc and keep it as it is forever. A seemingly noble idea, but it is in fact, narcissistic wankery.
        We are a species with a lifespan equivalent to a fraction of a millionth of a second in the greater scheme of things. Who do these people think they are to halt the natural evolution that got us to this point? Yes, mankind have “interfered” in nature. So have meteors crashing into this rock. So have tsunamis and earthquakes and volcanoes. So have wars and famines.
        The “green” movement is beyond arrogant. It is becoming increasingly dangerously deluded.
        
        Climate has always changed and always will. Right up until our sun burns out and our rock turns into another piece of space debris looking for something else to collide with in the universe.
        
        In the meanwhile, buy another EV and take another subscription out with Greenpeace. You’ll be “saving the planet”. Legendary.
        
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        August 16, 2022 9:41pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Ross – give examples or stfu. Your constant ad hominem without example is getting very, very tiresome. Give examples. Stop throwing volumes of excrement hoping it will stick. It’s mostly hitting the fan in front of your face.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:39am
    - Ross Campbell
      
      I’m not answerable to you or your self appointed blog monitor status.
      Your always on about free speech so get used to it.
      
      4 15
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      August 16, 2022 10:53am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Oh I’m used to it. It’s all you have. You’re almost more transparently a fraud than Ardern. Almost.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:21pm
  - leoj
    
    Union leaders and communists are perfectly fine, aren’t they Ross……..
    
    Labour’s ship is sinking under Ardern and co. Like a good little Labourite, you must stay on board.
    
    16 1
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    August 16, 2022 10:44am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  You only have to look at Collins polling, he is only one person on the left, he has about 25% support, when Beck stands aside the left eill be left wallowing in their own petard
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:31am
  - Nickc2
    
    Will Wayne Brown commit to reverting Akld roads to their intended purpose – MOTOR TRANSPORT?
    Fuck Bicycles!
    
    47 5
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    August 16, 2022 9:09am
    - Paulus
      
      Nevertheless the Mayor still only has one vote – everything else is controlled by the Labour Councillors and the Council Staff with their lobby groups.
      Wayne Brown will make a difference I would expect as he is used to the rough and tumble of Local Government, and will not be bought off by the Labour Party.
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:20am
      - Nickc2
        
        I hope you’re right Paulus. With this Mayoral Election now turning into a two-horse, I could never see myself voting for Efeso Collings.
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:58pm
    - mawm
      
      What should we do with the hundreds of thousands of cars using these precious roads for parking rather than transport?
      
      Without them at the side of the road and drivers with an irrational hatred for bicycles, distracted drivers, uneducated drivers and bullies using their 2 tons of steel to intimidate cyclists we probably would not need separated cycle lanes. Just a thought.
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:34pm
- Deane Jessep
  
  I got the VFF “stand for local government” email. Say what you like about the organisations viewpoints, it’s still very impressive old school grass roots campaigning. At least this LG election cycle could be a bit more interesting than watching moss grow in the shade.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:32am
- Gravelroad
  
  Yeah, it’s almost like $tuff is running multiple “concerned citizen” stories about all the terrible people involved in protests as a cheeky diversion for the Labour Party’s current situation/s.
  But that wouldn’t be trustworthy and ethical, would it?
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:41am
- Yvette
  
  The theory on conspiracy theorists is here –
  Anti-vax group wanting to make NZ ‘ungovernable’ targets local body elections
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/stuff-circuit/300660552/antivax-group-wanting-to-make-nz-ungovernable-targets-local-body-elections
  
  “A new violent, misinformed New Zealand … I’m not scared of blood … the media in this country needs burning …”
  – the video is excellent but could have been more tightly edited
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:44am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    That whole article is lies and misinformation.
    VFF did NOT play a leading role in the Wellington protest. It was possibly the most generic protest in this country in last 30 years.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:47am
    - Ross Campbell
      
      No of course, VFF just provided the picnic blankets and the cordial right…
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:31am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Ross – present something that remotely resembles evidence. I’d really love to have a discussion with you. But this sarcasm is inane and gets us nowhere.
        Seriously, if you have some information about wrongdoing then present it. I’ll be keen to see it.
        
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        August 16, 2022 9:49pm
    - John Pakes
      
      Brian Tamaki has claimed some credit for it.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:00pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        JP – Tamaki would do, he’s almost as narcissistic as Ardern. He may have been responsible for a single figure percentage. But it was hugely representative of everyday NZ.
        That some fringe elements tagged along was beyond the control of the others involved.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:25pm
    - Bullion
      
      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/melanie-reid-a-visit-to-freedom-village
      
      These are the actual people core to the protest’s cause and movement from a small but not insignificant minority of Kiwis who feel marginalised by government orders. Who are they, what do they say has gone on, and how do they say it ends?
      
      Melanie Reid talks to the leaders of Voices for Freedom who say they represent more than half of the protesters at Parliament.
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:25pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    The video is a taxpayer funded, horrific propaganda piece and a dangerous, unwarranted attack on normal, everyday people. It couldn’t have been “cherry picked” any harder. The editing was specifically done to paint ANYONE concerned with the losses of freedom endured under Ardern’s tyranny as a “far right” “anti semetic” “mysoginist”.
    There was zero balance.
    
    The only part of the video that was “excellent” MIGHT have been the production. But the use of “scary” music to sell the “violent domestic terrorist” narrative was transparent dog whistling. Inane, childish but expensive propaganda, funded with taxpayer money. Amazing.
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:26am
    - Jack5
      
      Leftist blogger Chris Trotter says the video relies much too heavily on what he describes as the “expert” commentary of Kate Hannah, a principal investigator and director of the Disinformation Project.
      
      The State-funded research is run out of Te Punaha Matatini.
      
      A department or project of Auckland University, Te Punaha Matatini is probably best known for its link to Ardern’s Covid policy via two of its academic associates: Shaun Hendy and Siouxie Wiles.
      
      Trotter’s views on the Fire and Fury video, which he says has left him “feeling vaguely uneasy”:
      
      https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/08/too-many-angels-and-devils.html
      
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      August 16, 2022 4:49pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Good on Trotter for speaking the truth. It is undeniably government (taxpayer) funded propaganda, pure and simple. Zero balance. No effort to present any counter pov.
        A reprehensible hit piece on the average citizen of this country. It is abhorrent and it is dangerous.
        
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        August 16, 2022 10:06pm
- kowtow
  
  Didn’t Labour stand a whole party without disclosing intentions to radically change the constitution.
  
  I’m open to correction here , but didn’t they say it was all about covid ?
  
  That’s why they got so many votes, off the back of their scare campaign and a bought and paid for media.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:01am
- Surely Knott
  
  And in the article, the Candidate’s pilloried for a controversial facebook post which she should have stood behind and defended.
  
  The post was in response to a doctor saying that they were warming up gloves to mimic the feeling of human touch in isolation wards, patients were dying alone and relatives denied entry as these patients were dying with covid. The VFF candidate outraged response was to this gross situation of allowing patients to die in these inhumane conditions with out their loved ones or any human touch or contact when at the same time she said “the cdc had downgraded it to nothing more than the common cold/flu last april, the uk announced the same thing april 1 this year. People have died like this.” She should have apologised for calling it a scam. But stood behind her statement that the banning of relatives to say goodbye to terminal loved ones was inhumane. Remembering that the vast majority of the covid deaths turned out to be other kinds of deaths WITH covid.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:11am
- John Pakes
  
  Look deeper Tony.
  The VFF brigade, those who are actively working to destroy our way of Government, who block motorways and occupied our Parliaments grounds, are trying to destroy our democracy as they have identified local body politics to be easy pickings.
  Stuff is quite right to point out the threat. VFF are themselves doing it by stealth.
  What do you think of Phillip Arps, the man who delivered pigs heads and Nazi salutes to the Al Noor mosque. and is now standing for a local schools board.
  Should the press not call him out as well?
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:32am
  - leoj
    
    And co-governance (16% of the population having 50% of the power) is not destroying our way of government?
    
    Get your head out of your arse.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:51am
    - John Pakes
      
      Get your own fucking head out of your own fucking arse.
      I am talking about the Stuff article that is specifically about VFF and local body politics.
      Please argue on that issue alone if you can.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:03pm
      - Observer of Life
        
        Hmm.. BLM March during a Covid lockdown anyone? They were ok though, right?
        
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        August 16, 2022 5:54pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      It’s different when the left do it.
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:43pm
  - Surely Knott
    
    1. Philip Arps has no links to VFF. So not fair to associate them in any way. He’s gross. Don’t vote for him
    
    2. “VFF are working to destroy our way of government.” How so? Evidence? Examples?
    
    In reality they are democratically protesting, in peaceful marches and sit ins and sharing information. They have stood up for our democracy against bill of rights abuses and supporting candidates who believe in the right to refuse medical treatment and right to privacy. Arguably they are standing up for our democracy and have used democratic means to do so. You may want to have a look but the courts actually found in a few instances that it was the govt who had over reached and acted illegally and infringed our democratic rights “The High Court upheld the challenge, finding that the Order imposed an unjustified limitation on the applicants’ rights, and that the limit was not demonstrably justified.”
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:07am
    - John Pakes
      
      I did not say that Arps is a part of VFF. But stuff was quite correct in pointing out that no matter who or what he says the Local Government rules cannot prohibit him from standing. The same rules allow VFF to wander around saying any bullshit that they like.
      The evidence is in the numerous reports in the media that have been written by independent people in independent organizations who are not colluding together and who are quite rightly concerned about an insidious trend that is happening in our local body elections.
      Stop trying to justify what they do, or are you a supporter?
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:11pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        John only wants ‘approved’ people to stand for Government.
        Cant have those who dont have the ‘approved’ viewpoint.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:25pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        JP – reference some of this “evidence”.
        
        What bullshit are VFF saying? Let’s discuss it. This is what the blog site is supposed to be about. The sarcasm and petty sniping is childish. Let’s get down to real, adult debate. What have VFF said, in your opinion, that is bullshit and why?
        
        You need to be specific, with so many vague accusations you are starting to speak the same sort of word salad as Ardern. It is meaningless waffle and it adds nothing to our daily lives.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:31pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Maybe the press should call out the liar Michael Baker who stated he didn’t say masks don’t work when he provably did?
    Rather than cherry picking one extreme person out of 100,000 or more people? 99.9% of these people are representative of the population of NZ.
    Stuff is a complete and utter joke and whoever paid a dollar for it was ripped off.
    Maybe the press should call out Ardern for lying when she said the vax would be the same as the measles?
    Maybe they should call out Medsafe for claiming the jab was “safe and effective” when it patently isn’t?
    Maybe the press should call out Medsafe for saying the jab was “tested and approved” when we know now it wasn’t?
    
    Picking out one person out of a minimum of 100,000 is a pathetic attempt to detract and deflect. But we’ve had almost three years of that from you, Labour, Ardern and the other fools who are helping in the destruction of our country and our society.
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:33am
  - Zero Kindness
    
    VFF are not trying to destroy our democracy, that would be the current labour government.
    VFF have been doing an excellent job supporting those who have been mandated out of their jobs, those poor kids having to wear masks and the many vaccine injured.
    The only reason they are being vilified by the MSM is because they are right over the target and getting traction. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
    
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    August 16, 2022 3:30pm
  - banksie
    
    Except the VFF didn’t block motorways. Groundswell did and The Freedom and Rights Coalition did (aka Brian Tamaki).
    
    VFF were helping with the parliament occupation, but a protest on the grounds is an entirely valid form of political action.
    
    And sorry but given we have one political party trying to cherry pick local politics then I don’t think VFF encouraging people to stand is a big concern.
    
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    August 16, 2022 3:35pm
- Philview
  
  I haven’t bothered to look at Fire and Fury. Stuff has already disappeared down a rabbit hole that the country is facing an existential far right threat so no doubt more of the same
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:33pm
krazykiwi

@Benedict, I recall you being the first person to cite ‘Simpsons Paradox’ around these parts. This substack post has a very good analogy showing how this paradox works: Never violate the golden rule! Excess deaths and Simpsons Paradox
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August 16, 2022 8:20am
Maggy Wassilieff

How reassuring..

A Stuff Journalist has been able to explain how Labour is REALLY concerned about Gauruv Sharma’s well-being, but poor Mr Sharma has been naughty and has rejected the wrap-around help he has been provided with by ever-so-efficient Labour bunnies.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/129583311/gaurav-sharma-and-the-labour-caucus-it-is-now-a-question-of-trust
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August 16, 2022 8:21am
- alex Masterley
  
  Wrap-around help = strangulation
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:26am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Being offered “wrap around help” from the Labour Party must be like receiving flowers from the mafia. 🙂
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:28am
  - pdm
    
    BY – probably less painful to get poked in the arse with a sharp stick.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:34am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Or a hug from an anaconda….
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:40am
  - Stellaboxer
    
    Benedict Yu or a cuddle from a Python
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:41am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    As the concrete mixer truck pulls up outside your home…
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:05am
  - gravedodger
    
    Alternatively Ronald Reagan’s “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I”m from the Government and I’m here to help.
    In this case from the “Party” applies.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:23am
  - Lee C
    
    I think ‘Reach around’ is a more accurate description of Labour and The Media…
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:22pm
- Raphael
  
  I can imagine the conversation now “Wot? Shwarma … Shaman … Sharma, whatever ‘is name is, is accusing us of bullying? You make sure he sees the error of ‘is ways”
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:29am
  - Raphael
    
    In my mind I am playing this as a scene from Snatch (the Guy Ritchie film)
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:32am
    - Opie
      
      Best movie ever made.
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:37am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Let’s hope he flicks the bird to their silencing tactics
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:36am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Verity Johnston also spouting will Cindy ho down with the ship, saying we still love Cindy but but but, I can’t find anyone with anything nice to say about the swamp creature, she goes on to say neither party can get the centre energised, even though Nats have taken 400000 of those votes back, oh and she says us centre left voters that put the witch back in can’t vote Nats cause you know he is not a charismatic leader, what waffle she talks, Ardern grand her ineptness is what is moving the support
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:36am
  - Loddenthinks
    
    Why do you even bother reading that tripe, let alone take the time and energy to analyse it?
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:52am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      The headline said will Ardern go down with the sinking ship
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:17pm
  - Philview
    
    Last week Verity was out of here because NZ is a basket case. I don’t blame her for wanting to travel but our current predicament is significantly due to centre left policy.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:38pm
  - Harry Knuts
    
    and that’s the exact problem with a Cindy fan club voter – they are going for charisma rather than results. they want people to say nice things all the time and not hurt anyone’s feelings.
    this approach doesn’t get anything done, hence Labour has achieved nothing of significance in comparison to their election promises in 2017 and 2020.
    I’m just trying to crystal-call gaze now what Legacy Labour will do before they get booted out.
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:41pm
- Deane Jessep
  
  Herald is playing similar contorted gymnastics this morning.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/the-front-page-how-the-sam-uffindell-and-gaurav-sharma-scandals-shows-the-risk-of-first-term-mps/YC5P3WKZ6PLU2CA4ONM3YLAYB4/
  
  “Don’t forget Uffindell! They’re both first term, it must be their fault, or politics, um yeah, politics! Not Labour or Ardern, politics!”
  
  If Sharma’s got more evidence, which he certainly has. The media party are at just as much risk of blow back as Labour. These people insinuating and outright repeating the trope that he’s the real bully put themselves at risk of defamation unless they can back it up.
  
  It feels like Jacinda and Robertson might be forgetting he’s engaged a lawyer, will be documenting everything, and they don’t have parliamentary privilege talking to the press.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:46am
  - I remember when
    
    Is Boomerang effluent the most dangerous kind?
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:03am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    They keep saying he will be gone as an MP after a bullying session in caucus, but they forget that he is an electorate Mp, he can’t be sacked, and if he pulls away from the Labour Party then they can’t wakka jump him, (wakka jumping I think is only for list MPs)
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:05am
    - peterwn
      
      My reading of the Electoral Act is the Waka Hopping provision applies to electorate MP’s as well. However in the JLR case Simon Bridges considered that JLR could possibly seek a successful judicial review against being removed from Parliament and hence Simon ruled out trying to remove him. Anyway as National had opposed the legislation, attempting to invoke it against JLR would have been hypocritical.
      It has just occurred to me that Simon’s view was in the context of an electorate MP (noting JLR, Sharma and Uffendell were/are all electorate MP’s). Perhaps removal of a list MP would be more difficult to challenge (ACT successfully had Donna Huata removed despite her appeals).
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:30am
  - hullkiwi
    
    Deane, since Friday morning the media (in all forms) have been working to protect Jaspinda and Liebore. We can only put it down to the influence of the pay off coming from the taxpayer. So of these people have gone out on limbs where there is no way back for their credibility & that even includes people like Fran O’Sullivan on Newshub Nation on Sunday).
    
    Reality is going to bite Liebore and the MSM hard on this one. At some point the boardrooms of NZME, Newshub, Discovery & even TVNZ will realise it will be cheaper to give back the bribe money than to lose corporate advertisers as the voting population turn them off.
    
    When that day comes there will be any number of woke journos and broadcasters left wondering about their futures, and serves them right!
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:06am
    - Deane Jessep
      
      Agreed.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:17am
- Ghost
  
  An interesting comment on newshub
  
  But someone involved at the time of those disputes told Newshub the complaints against Dr Sharma were never investigated. They said Dr Sharma goes above and beyond and they’ve never heard him raise his voice.
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/08/labour-s-dr-gaurav-sharma-releases-messages-allegedly-from-other-bullied-mps-as-source-comes-to-his-defence.html
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:47am
  - hullkiwi
    
    A comment by Erica Stamford on Newshub during the Political Panel spot was ….Sharma is one of the nicest people around Parliament.”
    
    Yet, some of the vindictive salvos against him are anything, but nice.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:55am
- Harry Knuts
  
  wrap-around-help = muzzle
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:27pm
Nickc2

A couple of questions for Wayne Brown (Akld Mayoral candidate):

1. Will he commit to returning our roads to their original purpose – MOTOR TRANSPORT, and

1, Will he commit to ceasing building consent for multi-story appartments on existing Quarter Acre sections?
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August 16, 2022 8:32am
- Ghost
  
  Ask him, and let people know the reply
  
  https://www.fixauckland.co.nz/contact
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:50am
  - Nickc2
    
    Done. TKS for the link.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:49am
- MCōs
  
  Times have changed since your day.
  Apart from that bicycles have always used roads. They’re prohibited from using the footpaths.
  With the advent of ebikes I’m picking there’s going to be a lot more bikes on the roads in the future.
  A quarter acre section is 1,011m² That’s big and I doubt if there’s too many of those around Auckland
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:58am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Yes, recreational biking has increased but not commuting by bike
    It just doesn’t work for the vast majority
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:23am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    What happens when we hit the middle of winter and it’s blowing 25kts from the SE and pissing with rain? How are all those cyclists get around? At what point will the suburbs have to have a timetable for who can charge their EV or bike and at what time? Is the coal to run the power station to charge the vehicles needed in this utopia still going to come from Indonesia? What is going to happen to all the batteries that are going to need replaced every few years?
    Interesting times. The ideology is much nicer than the reality. We might get there eventually, but it isn’t happening anytime soon with current technology.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:38pm
- NoFax
  
  Auckland is no longer a big town but rather a small city. If you want more and more NZers leaving then go ahead, stop apartments from being built. Housing is so expensive in NZ in part because of NIMBYs like you.
  Second, when I look at old photos of Auckland I see bikes, trams, horses, and people walking not so many cars.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:44pm
  - Nickc2
    
    I guess there are a great many people in Akld who like myself bought or built houses and or shops as an investment for our retirement and the last thing we need is for some low-life non-achiever to come along and take all that away.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:44pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Was that the 1880s or 1890s?
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:19pm
Nickc2

A couple of questions for Wayne Brown (Akld Mayoral candidate):

1. Will he commit to returning our roads to their original purpose – MOTOR TRANSPORT, and

2. Will he commit to ceasing building consent for multi-story apartments on existing Quarter Acre sections?
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August 16, 2022 8:34am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  You already said that.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:49am
  - nathie
    
    Well to be fair to Nickc2 it is worth repeating because those are important questions (as the alternatives – eg empty bike lanes & local shops closed due to lack of access – don’t bear thinking about)! 🙂
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:16am
  - Nickc2
    
    Yes, my mistake. ‘I received a ‘Heading information too large’ message and after I had cleared all cookies and looked again at KB, the post wasn’t there, so I sent it again. I think there’s another version on KB somewhere.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:23am
- H. Upmann
  
  3. Will he confirm he has no desire to promote construction of a waterfront stadium.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:14am
Deane Jessep

If they suspend him, he quits the party, waka-jumping forces a by-election, he becomes a referendum on Labour.
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August 16, 2022 8:39am
- Ghost
  
  Nope, he just becomes an independent like Jamie lee.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:52am
  - Deane Jessep
    
    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/19-10-2018/bridges-slammed-the-waka-jumping-bill-now-he-can-and-should-use-it-on-jami-lee-ross
    
    They chose not to.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:21am
    - peterwn
      
      Simon was of the view that if he did try and kick JLR out, JLR could successfully appeal. As an experienced courtroom lawyer he was well placed to form that view. He probably obtained legal advice on this as well. As I noted elsewhere it may be harder to try and expel an electorate MP than a list MP (as DonnaHuata was).
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:09am
      - Deane Jessep
        
        JLM’s legal advice was pretty rough and ready. Basically he was challenging this line in the purpose of the act:
        
        (b) enhance the maintenance of the proportionality of political party representation in Parliament as determined by electors.
        
        He said that if he agreed to vote the same way as National on every issue proportionality would have been unaffected.
        
        I think he would have failed. Though that is the acts “purpose”, there is no mechanism in the act to guarantee enforcement of his proposed interpretation. Whereas there is another way of achieving the purpose that does have a mechanism to guarantee enforcement. Getting rid of him.
        
        Challenges to act’s purpose’s normally only work if there is more than one way of interpreting the intent. I think the intent was pretty clear, even if I don’t agree with it.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:59pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      I think it changes when the electorate mp resigns form the party
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:20pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  No incorrect. The “Waka jumping” law only applies to list MPs. If he is suspended from the Labour caucus that will not trigger a by election.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:55am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Correct. He would need to resign more than six months from the election date to create a by-election.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:07am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      It is more complicated. As Deane points out below, the waka jumping law applies to electorate MPs. However – the ‘six months rule”… my understanding is that if an MP resigns within 6 months of the election, the seat can only be left vacant if 75 percent of MPs agree. So National would need to agree that there be no by election.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:25am
  - Deane Jessep
    
    I originally thought that too, as that was the state of play with the original (now expired) 2001 Waka-jumping legislation.
    
    The 2018 act however covers all MPs.
    
    I’ve been saying for ages that this is the real reason we don’t have a new minor party breaking away from Labour and collapsing this government. Also why we never saw dissenters on the handling of lockdowns.
    
    Heres the act (note it’s badly written on this point).
    https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2018/0039/latest/whole.html
    
    But here’s the mainstream interpretation at the time:
    https://www.1news.co.nz/2018/09/27/as-the-waka-jumping-bill-passes-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/
    
    Also, remember the discussion on Jamie-Lee Ross? National decided not to use the legislation because they were fundamentally opposed to it. But they acknowledged they could.
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:11am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Thanks for pointing that out. I was unaware.
      
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      August 16, 2022 9:23am
      - Deane Jessep
        
        No problems, The Act, Wikipedia, the media, and Standing Orders all go to great pains to hide this. It took me ages to work it out.
        
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        August 16, 2022 9:34am
    - peterwn
      
      Last sentence. Simon Bridges specifically stated that he had doubts whether attempting to remove JLR would withstand a judicial challenge. Admittedly he could have been of this view to underpin possible reluctance to invoke the provision.
      
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      August 16, 2022 3:07pm
      - Deane Jessep
        
        I call your last sentence; and raise it with this acknowledgement. 🙂
        
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        August 16, 2022 11:15pm
  - MCōs
    
    The doctor would need to resign his seat to trigger a by election.
    If there was a by election Labour would lose the seat to National & Dr Sharma would never be heard of again.
    Labour will lose the seat next year anyway whoever their candidate may be.
    Personally I don’t think he’ll have much support in the Labour caucus and he’ll be an independent by tea time.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:12am
    - Deane Jessep
      
      The act means he cannot be independant without Labour agreeing. And even then, it’s written in such a way that if the doctor resigns his membership he’s effectively quiting. Labour have to fire him, and then not write to the speaker asking him to be fired. Basically the same as National and Jamie-Lee Ross. The difference here is I think he could do more damage than JLM over time as the public don’t hate him.
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:54pm
      - peterwn
        
        Are you sure? He can go ‘independent’ without Labour agreeing. Labour would need to initiate the process for his removal as a MP which may or may not succeed. Simon Bridges was not prepared to try and remove JLR for whatever reasons. JLR as an independent could retain his electorate office and staffer and merely re-painted the front.
        All in all both Chris and Jacinda are on the horns of dilemmas as how to handle the situations. Jacinda would have the bigger problem.
        
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        August 16, 2022 3:17pm
      - Deane Jessep
        
        Peterwn. Other than noting the timestamp of your comment post dates your earlier “last sentence” by 10 whole minutes, it does raise a point worth checking and responding to:
        
        55A (2) The seat of a member of Parliament to whom this section applies becomes vacant if the member of Parliament ceases to be a parliamentary member of the political party for which the member of Parliament was elected.
        
        It would appear that this is the point we are all at cross purposes to the meaning of. It specifically says “ceases to be a parliamentary member of”.
        
        This is poorly defined. It would appear that they are refering to part 9 of the Labour party rules and constitution. (But I am not sure on this; as the act obviously applies to all parties and not just labour).
        
        https://elections.nz/assets/Party-rules/Labour-Party-Rules-and-Constitution-May-2020.pdf
        
        Their constitution refers consistently to “PARLIAMENTARY LABOUR PARTY CAUCUS”
        
        But the act refers to: “parliamentary member of the political party”
        
        So that leaves us with the question: Is a member of the “Labour Party” who has been suspended from the “Parliamentary Labour Party Caucus” still a “member of Parliament who is also a member of the Labour Party”?
        
        I think they are. If so then the only way the act can be inacted is if the membership overall vote to expel them from the party (not just caucus). Unless the member quits this is pretty much only covered by:
        
        2.10 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
        …
        (e) They are expelled from the Party under rule 11.5.1(e), in which case their membership
        is terminated from the date specified in the resolution expelling the member, or from
        the date of the resolution if no date is specified.
        
        &
        
        SUBPART 2 – INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION
        …
        11.3 ROLE OF NZ COUNCIL
        …
        11.4 PROCESS
        …
        11.5 FORMS OF DISCIPLINE
        …
        (e) expulsion from the Party.
        
        OK, so who are the NZ Council? Is it caucus? Nope:
        
        3.35 MEMBERSHIP OF THE NZ COUNCIL
        3.35.1 The NZ Council has –
        (a) The following members elected by the delegates entitled to vote at the Annual
        Conference:
        (i) the President of the Party;
        (ii) a Senior Vice-President of the Party;
        (iii) a Māori Senior Vice-President of the Party;
        (iv) an Affiliate Vice-President of the Party;
        (v) a Pacific Islands Vice-President of the Party;
        (vi) a Women’s Vice-President of the Party;
        (vii) a Youth Vice-President of the Party;
        (viii) a Rainbow Representative;
        (ix) a Rural/Regional Vice President;
        (b) 8 regional representatives elected in accordance with rules 7.3 to 7.7;
        (c) 1 Policy Council representative who is:
        (i) the person who is the highest polling candidate under rule 3.39; or
        (ii) the next highest polling candidate who wishes to be a member of the Council and
        who is not already a member of the Council in another position that the person
        wishes to retain;
        (d) 2 representatives elected by Te Kaunihera Māori, one of whom must be a woman;
        (e) The General Secretary of the Party.
        
        Yeah, no bloody way that’s going to happen.
        
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        August 16, 2022 11:42pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Wakka jumping is only for list mps
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:07am
- Paulus
  
  If the Dr resigns that will cause a Bye Election which is what should frighten the life out of Cindy and Grunter as Labour would get wopped.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:24am
Maggy Wassilieff

When is bullying not bullying?

While the allegations Sharma has made might not be the whole truth, it’s not impossible to believe that he and others in his class of 2020 have at times felt bullied simply by being told to put their head down and toe the party line.

After all, bullying can be subjective.

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/labour-caucus-walls-closing-in-on-rogue-mp

Isn’t it great that our MSM ~~concern trolls~~ journalists have the time to tell us how to interpret political events but are too inept to have got off their backsides and investigated exactly what Sharma has been up against.
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August 16, 2022 8:39am
- Ghost
  
  When is bullying not bullying? When it is carried out by labour. When the carefully manipulated and created caring image of jacinda is shown for what she really is.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:53am
  - Ghost
    
    Interesting, reading further I’m not sure now, but Barry Soper did say yesterday that they can on,y kick him out and make him and independent like Jamie lee
    
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    August 16, 2022 9:27am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      All commentators say they can not sack an electorate MP
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:23pm
- Deane Jessep
  
  As much as I am enjoying the show, this was my first instinct too. Everyone seems to be forgetting that he is a soft, conscientious, millennial lefty.
  
  I’m more interested in what the bullying actually consists of than his interpretation of what bullying is.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:58am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Is he a leftie? A lot of Indians are quite conservative, he comes across to me as being conservative
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:11am
- Deane Jessep
  
  Agree with the need for investigation though. Media continue to be useless talking heads.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:59am
cas

Lost opportunity 1.
Someone from Grenada is going to be the next UN Climate chief.
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August 16, 2022 8:39am
- Blog-aholic
  
  I think you spelt thief wrong.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:50am
cas

Doesn’t Sharma rhyme with Karma???
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August 16, 2022 8:45am
- Tony Stuart
  
  And drama. In fact some media are already using the hashtag #SharmaDrama
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:48am
  - I remember when
    
    Harma from SharmaDramaKarma.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:58am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    It’s a Cindy made leftie scum drama
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:11am
Tony Stuart

Question of the Day – if the Labour Party caucus votes to suspend or expel Dr Gaurav Sharma from caucus, can he reject the premise of the vote?
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August 16, 2022 8:47am
- Lee C
  
  He may be able to refude it, or accuse them of being too ‘judgy’.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:52am
- Ghost
  
  I wonder if a few of the other bullied mp’s will become independent as well.
  
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  August 16, 2022 8:56am
  - MCōs
    
    Which MPs would that be?
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:14am
    - Ghost
      
      Let’s see, the mp’s whose messages were released yesterday or even the map that talked to one news and said there is a bullying problem
      
      https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2022/08/second_labour_mp_says_labour_has_bullying_issues.html
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:58am
    - Paulus
      
      Many of the other Labour MPs who will lose their seats anyway next year cannot afford to lose the only income at that level they will ever get.
      Many will have difficulty finding another job anyway outside the taxpayer jobs.
      Currently it is estimated to be 21 Labour List MPs, then there are Elected Members who will get the boot.
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:41pm
- peterwn
  
  He can but it would be of little use. Parliamentary Security would be told to restrict his access zones so he can go nowhere near the Leader’s suite or caucus room. He will probably be relocated into a new office and relocated to a rear seat at the far end of the House. His big counter would be to threaten to resign and force a byelection and Labour would not want a byelection. This gives Jacinda and co a rather big headache – how to deal with him with minimum fallout.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:03am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    As long as the bastards can not silence him
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:12am
  - MCōs
    
    He can resign if he wants to, but he’ll never be heard of again.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:18am
    - Paulus
      
      Dr Sharma is a very highly qualified Medical Doctor – he would be very welcome in any Hospital or Surgery – a job with which he is familiar.
      
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      August 16, 2022 10:28am
      - MCōs
        
        Well
        What he doing in parliament as one of the bottom ranking government MPs?
        
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        August 16, 2022 11:13am
      - Matt Long
        
        He forgot to be a Union agitator or socialist hack so has no voice in Labour, see also Louisa Wall.
        Some foolish people confuse talent, ability and accomplishment with political advancement.
        
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        August 16, 2022 12:26pm
      - Ghost
        
        A hard working MP, new, usually is at the bottom. And more so when they have tried to raise concerns they have with the party over how people are being treated that goes against the PR perception
        
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        August 16, 2022 1:00pm
    - Right of way is Way of Right
      
      Unless he resigns and stand for National!
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:04pm
  - Paulus
    
    To help her she should make him Minister of Health as he has more knowledge and experience that the current Numpy.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:43pm
- nathie
  
  He can also say it is “unkind” and is therefore a violation against “Jacinda’s Principles of Kindness™”!
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:19am
- trout
  
  It is probably a relief to find that the Sharma imbroglio has not raised accusations of RACISM. If the Nats were in a similar bind the attack dogs would not resist the urge make the accusation. But the Labour Party need to be careful here; The Indian community support has been assiduously cultivated by Labour over the years; they will not take kindly to one of their own being railroaded out of Parliament.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:57am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    The National Party has a special interest group called the IndoNats. I am sure they would welcome defectors from the Labour Party, disgusted by the manner in which Dr Sharma has been treated, with open arms.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:30am
Maggie Pie

Looks like even the Aussies are on the ‘Resign-Jacinda’ bandwagon!

Scanning thru the comments, seems our Trans-Tasman cuzzies can be very very cruel. There’s a couple of memes you’ll really love 😀

https://twitter.com/RebelNews_AU/status/1559050299775791104
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August 16, 2022 8:55am
- Matt Long
  
  Great thread, this reply is a keeper.
  https://mobile.twitter.com/HollowsChris/status/1559119239696744448/photo/1
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:17pm
I remember when

“Fire and Fury.”
Rebecca Kitteridge said they had 40 to 50 under investigation at any one time.
Does this mean the number is stable, rather than the impression in the documentary of a rapidly growing number.
These are people having a violent ideology that they consider have the means to be a threat.
Some of these people, she said, took an active interest in the protest.
Sean Plunket drew attention to the use of music to increase the sense of violence.
Also, the fires on the last day seemed to be edited so as to suggest a much greater number.
While there was much mention of an American style white, far-right activism, this was not apparent in the violence filmed which showed, almost totally, Polynesian actions.

Nothing new.
They could have replayed segments of the TV News at the time.
A mish-mash rehash.
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August 16, 2022 8:55am
Warren

One News revealed a Kantar poll on National’s tax cuts last night and nobody even National Party voters wanted Chris Luxons tax cuts saying it was outrageous and disgusting that the wealthy wanted more money.
Now the Question I want ask is how Grant Robertson with the Prime Minister’s ok has been able to swindle money from the Covid-19 fund to pay for the Labour Party s bribes to stay in power, the Housing Excellaration fun, School Lunches , banning some fishing practices and a Olympic size swimming 🏊‍♂️ in the Hawkes Bay.
When is there going to be a poll on how Covid 19 funds were distributed and has it broken the law as it’s not Grant Robertson or Labour who will be saddled with this debt it is future generations whom there parents are happy to have them pay for the Government and Labour Party’s incompetence and lavish spending.
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August 16, 2022 9:00am
- peterwn
  
  As in that ‘Yes Minister’ episode concerning polls, it all depends how the questions were framed. If the focus was pulling back the 39%, then there would be popular negative reaction. If the focus was on ‘bracket creep’ then there may have been less negative reaction. Part of the problem with such a poll is those who effectively pay no taxes (beneficiaries and those receiving NZ Super only) would be unlikely to support tax cuts but would form a significant portion of those polled.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:38am
Ghost

Firefighters striking in Friday. I expect doctors and nurses won’t be far behind. Election year could become a strike year

https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/129557183/what-the-firefighters-strike-means-for-timaru-and-why-they-are-doing-it
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August 16, 2022 9:13am
- slightlyrighty
  
  Remember when Ardern promised there would not be widespread strike action?
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:59am
  - Paulus
    
    She said “Not on my Watch ” remember – I do.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:47pm
Maggy Wassilieff

I’m no fan of Rawiri Waititi, but I agree with him when he states this about NZs involvement with Ukraine:

“I do not agree that we should enter into this war, because we do not have a reason. We have nothing to do with this war. We must not choose sides and should stay neutral. We should be like Sweden. “The reason is, as far as I know, we are going there as slaves to America, Europe, Australia and England. We are tired of following their skirts, following their farts.”

https://www.teaomaori.news/fight-maori-world-view-here-stay-out-ukraine-waititi
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August 16, 2022 9:14am
- Ghost
  
  We’ve entered this war for jacinda’s resume for when she tried to get the top UN job
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:18am
  - Paulus
    
    The UN will not have her she has now proven to be a failure !
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:47pm
- westernScientist
  
  but Sweden isnt neutral on the Ukraine war….
  
  https://www.government.se/government-policy/russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:24am
- nathie
  
  I suspect the likes of Rawiri Waititi are simply against “Other People’s White Wars …. but let’s say international conflict was against “People of Colour” (or was anti-BLM) he would likely say the opposite (and probably travel there in solidarity – mind you he might have to leave his cowboy hat at home – might not be a good look)!
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:25am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  I disagree. it is very short sighted to not provide assistance to every country that resists the predations of militarised hegemonic superpowers. If we don’t hang together we will all slowly but surely hang separately, particularly now that USA is showing less and less inclination to provide (relatively benign) world policing.
  
  We’ve lost sight of reality during the pax Americana of the last 70 years
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:57am
- Right of way is Way of Right
  
  I disagree. Do we stand back and hope the expansionist policies do not extend in to a wider conflict, or do we acknowledge that making a stand against blatant expansionist powers is a valid response.
  
  Watching China’s move in to the South Pacific, the answer is clearly the latter, lest Rawiri and his ilk are willing to deal with a new group of ‘colonisers’ in the not too distant future.
  
  If it is slavery that he truly fears, he should perhaps consider the Uighur muslims, or the people of Tibet.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:13am
- rangitoto
  
  Sweden has applied to join NATO lol. Anyway, I disagree, we should be sending troops as should NATO to drive the orcs back into Russia.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:17am
  - Jack5
    
    The deal on joining Nato is that Sweden (and Finland, which also wants to join) hand over to Turkey some people the Turks want to get their hands on.
    
    The handover has already begun.
    
    https://www.reuters.com/world/sweden-agrees-extradite-man-turkey-wake-nato-deal-2022-08-11/
    
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    August 16, 2022 4:22pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  I think Rawiri is getting his Sweden and Switzerland mixed up`…….they are just white nations to him so they all look the same.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:02am
- Hard Cheese
  
  Rawiri Waititi would be singing a different tune if America, Europe, Australia and England weren’t standing behind Ukraine and it gave the China the idea that it was a piece of cake to walk into another country. Perhaps one day they’ll come knocking on our door, see how that neutrality works out for you then Rawiri – no co-governance for you. I don’t think they’ll take too much notice of the treaty of Waitangi either.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:35am
- ClanMcleod
  
  He is 100% correct. This is a US sponsored proxy war using NATO to do the dirty work for them.
  I know, there are plenty here who still live in the delusional world where the cool “Yanks” came to save us from the Nazis. Loveable rogues who stole the ladies.
  That was nearly a century ago. The current regime in the US is funding real Nazis in Ukraine. This is an unpalatable piece of information, it is a fact.
  Putin may be despicable, but his actions were a response to many years of US interferences in the region.
  I don’t like it any more than anyone else, but I’m at least able to recognise the truth of what is happening.
  NZ will do well to stay very clear of that particular mess.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:46pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Do you think that long term human well being will be maximised by Putin, head of a regressive mafia state with totalitarian tendencies and hegemonic militaristic ambitions (dreams of empire) winning control of Ukraine, or by Ukrainian people keeping self determination under the leadership of Zelensky, a corrupt but at least west aligned and nominally democratic leader?
    
    Zelensky seems to be the much lesser of two evils
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:59pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0BCt3SVZT8

He’s Actually Doing This… And It’s Just Beautiful!

The Gadsden flag is now part of the new FL licence plate. Wokesters are angry……. again. Governor DeSantis is ignoring them
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August 16, 2022 9:28am
Wayne Mapp

Seems Rawiri has not caught with the news;

“We should not choose sides and should stay neutral. We should be like Sweden.”

As far as I am aware we are being like Sweden. Standing up to the Russian invaders.
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August 16, 2022 9:28am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Maybe he is thinking of Switzerland. If so suddenly wishing that New Zealand can “be like [Switzerland]” is a bit of a stretch.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:32am
- Nickc2
  
  You can’t put brains in statues Wayne.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:56am
curry4me

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=604257641254422

Why are Your Tax Dollars Funding Government Propaganda?

First, the Wellington protesters were insignificant. Now they’re a threat to civilization as Cindy knows it.
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August 16, 2022 9:28am
mogg

None of this can be true, I have seen St Cindy on the telly, where she is eager to present herself as the very servant of kindness, with her implied claims of whiter than whiteness. The drip drip of innuendo laden claims of ‘support and mentoring’ may be unverifiable but she is only trying to save Sharma from himself, she refutes any suggestion that they are meant to undermine or ‘gaslighting’. The benefit of the doubt has to go to our ‘non-lying’ PM .
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August 16, 2022 9:30am
Maggie Pie

Heard that idiot Goof on ZB-Breakfast earlier.

He told The Hosk their polling showed…. “that the vast majority of Aucklanders wanted Council to move faster with Bike lanes and Pedestrian Malls – not slower”

Like to know where this so-called ‘Polling’ was carried out?
Nobody we know has EVER been asked 🙁

In fact I ran a similar question by the girls at Tennis a wee while back, when it was rumored Council wanted to extend the ‘T3 lanes’ along Remuera Rd .
Every one of them said they could go and get f**ked.

Just saying.
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August 16, 2022 9:44am
- ClanMcleod
  
  Goff is a liar. Or they are only polling around his kitchen table. There is not a chance that the majority of the people of Auckland support this waste of time, energy and money.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:59am
  - graham
    
    The cynic in me wonders as to the exact wording of the questions in these polls.
    
    If they ask people, “Do you think that the Council should prioritise investment in infrastructure, including bike lanes and public transport”, then you would probably get a fairly good response.
    
    Try asking them, “If the Council builds more bike lanes and invests more in public transport, would you personally use these facilities instead of your car; eg for commuting to work and shopping?”
    
    I suspect the number of people who say “Yes” to the second question would be considerably lower than those who said “Yes” to the first one.
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:28am
    - Hard Cheese
      
      It will be like their polls where you get two questions
      
      1. Do you support a rates rise of 3.5%
      2. Do you support a rates rise of 5%
      
      Nek minnit Goff is on the radio saying “People have overwhelmingly told us they support a rates rise”
      
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      August 16, 2022 11:43am
- Nickc2
  
  Lying, obfuscation and misinformation are characteristics of Labour Die-Hards.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:00am
- graham
  
  Phil Goff has this dream vision where everybody uses the bus or cycles everywhere. He stated that people are happy to walk to the bus stop if they only have to walk 1 km or so.
  
  I wonder if he’s ever tried walking 1 km back from the bus stop to home with a 5 kg sack of potatoes, assorted fruit and vegetables, six cans of cat food, four litres of milk, half a dozen tins of baked beans, bread, several jars of jam and peanut butter, laundry powder, dishwasher powder, beer, wine …
  
  I rather suspect not.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:01am
  - rouppe
    
    In the pissing rain, or 90% humidity
    
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    August 16, 2022 10:54am
  - Gravelroad
    
    @ Graham-
    with a toddler in a pushchair………
    And the dog.
    These numpties like Goff have been shielded from the realities of life.
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:01am
  - peterwn
    
    And remember that ‘All Animals are Equal, but some are more Equal than others’ as Squealer painted on the barn wall in the middle of the night. So one would never see Napoleon, Squealer or Phil Goff using public transport.
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:17am
  - Chris Nisbet
    
    In the article about his vision to have us all cycle and walk everywhere there was a mention of ‘carbon pollution’, which presumably refers to CO2.
    CO2 IS NOT POLLUTION.
    In a funny way I wish the NZ politicians would all hurry up and f*ck our electricity system like other countries have done, so we can then realise the idiocy of this climate crisis nonsense and put some rational thinking back into policy making.
    Jesus, what’s the latest idiotic prediction about sea level rise? 30cm by the end of the decade? I’d be surprised if it was as much as 30mm.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:07pm
    - Nickc2
      
      What really, really, really pisses me off is when pricks like Goff use terms like ‘everyone knows’, and states that he has had numerous emails/requests but won’t elaborate how this crap was obtained and won’t present a stack of information to verify such terms.
      This morning, I almost spewed up my breakfast when he said words to the effect “everyone knows climate change is upon us”.
      Nobody ever asked me, which is probably just as well!
      
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      August 16, 2022 12:55pm
      - Chris Nisbet
        
        It’s a dirty tactic. It casts anybody who doesn’t think ‘climate change is upon us’ as ignorant, an outlier, or misinformed.
        As it turns out, if you look closely/carefully, even organisations like the IPCC (or even our environment ministry) will admit that they’re not even sure about the sign of any future rainfall changes, let alone how much, so claims like ‘climate change is upon us’ are just nonsense.
        Pricks like Goff make me want to spit.
        
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        August 16, 2022 3:06pm
  - PeeJay
    
    A while back, pre-super (not) city days, I had the misfortune to attend a meeting with council planners, some very senior (up to general manager level) looking to get rid of parking spots in the city. Usual line of attack, shared spaces, cars are evil, people need to be forced to use public transport (PR speak is mode shift) etc. A colleague and I were there representing the evil transport department. I asked them innocently if public transport was awesome, how many of them used it to come into work every day? With an honourable exception, it was the usual ‘well I’d love to but i need my car….’. Typical one rule for thee and one rule for me.
    
    I dare say the faces will have changed but the same attitude will hold – public transport for the little people but for the important folks working at high levels in Council, their cars are obviously essential – for the greater good obviously.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:43pm
    - Batman
      
      You’ve hit upon the very point of mode shift though, which is the need to make public transport easier and more convenient than it is now.
      
      Annoyingly the greeny types want to make it harder to use cars as well.
      
      But the main part is still making it faster, cheaper and more convenient to use public transport to get to work or for social occasions etc
      
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      August 16, 2022 1:28pm
      - JimBobJoe
        
        Cant work wont work without truly colossal spending. Try getting from say Upper Hutt to Mana by public transport… Or Miramar to Wainui for a round of golf.
        
        Mode shifting works for inner city living government workers… Does work well for many living in the burbs or rurally…
        
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        August 16, 2022 5:13pm
      - PaulL
        
        I have no problem at all with making public transport better (within financial reason of course). I was quite taken with this analysis on LGWM, which I thought made total sense. If we’re gonna have light rail (trams), then they need to go do Lambton Quay, and no buses should duplicate them – all buses would run to the tram line, then we’d run really high frequency trams down the line. Much better than what the council have come up with.
        
        https://eyeofthefish.org/lgwm-3-big-flaws/
        
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        August 16, 2022 8:28pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Batman – when that miracle happens people will use it. “Build it and they will come.”
        I lived in Wembley in London for a few years, wouldn’t have ever dreamed of driving into the city. But there were tubes that turned up ever 15 minutes that got me there in a jiffy.
        You don’t punish people out of their transport, you build the infrastructure first. But this government can’t build anything. All the do is talk about doing things.
        
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        August 16, 2022 10:41pm
  - Paulus
    
    Presumably Goff is looking towards his Senior Diplomatic role in Washington where his flunkies will do his shopping !
    And he cannot get shot of the debacle he leaves in Auckland – as long as he gets his Knighthood, along with Trevor when he goes to Ireland.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:52pm
  - GJM
    
    Doesn’t he live in chevron, on a lifestyle block? Can’t see him cycling to the shops or work.
    That is only for the little people, not the elite who rule them.
    
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    August 17, 2022 11:28pm
- Ross Campbell
  
  Very strange, I thought regular users of the bus would be all in favour of T3 extensions.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:40am
- Ruawai
  
  Maggie it looks like they got the Upland Road murderer, now you can sleep a little easier.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:43am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Yes….whenever I’ve been home alone I’ve been sleeping with one eye open.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:18pm
- hullkiwi
  
  He consulted his two main advisors, these being:
  
  1. Nadine Walker (Mrs Clohe Swarbrick); and
  2. His Principal Transport Advisor, who (is a Gen Zero member, Greater Auckland Transport Blog writer) in turn consulted the Green Party and the Greater Auckland Teansport Blog.
  
  Simple really.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:50pm
ClanMcleod

Apologies if this has been covered, it has been a busy few days.
Someone linked this interview on The Platform between Michael Laws and Des Gorman from the University of Auckland. They are discussing the covid circus, the insane response and in particular, the abhorrent media fawning political coverage of it.

https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/professor-des-gorman-on-covid-and-mainstream-media

We know the government threw money at it, but it is nauseating how the media rolled over and acquiesced so easily. As Gorman also points out, the public response was also concerning, like Lord of the Flies. Indeed. People were prepared to let aged and infirm relatives die alone due to their own fear. A sad reflection of where this country is right now.
It can all be attributed to 3 decades of decline in education driven by left wing ideology. It has been a deliberate act of sabotage. That ideology is getting more “woke” and it is happening at a frightening rate. Our academia and bureaucracy are riddled with leftist ideologues.

I say this as someone who used to class themselves as a “leftist”, but one of the traditional kind. Brought up in a working class family in a poor industrial town in the UK. The cloth cap and the working man in factories and shipyards epitomised what the left was about. Not this bastardisation of woke, faux liberal, faux “left” morons who wouldn’t know a day’s work if it bit them on the arse. They are very dangerous people.
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August 16, 2022 9:52am
- Tony Stuart
  
  I note that Des Gorman told Michael Laws that he had been ill last year, which was partially why he had dropped from public view. I hope Dr Gorman is recovered, given he has been one of the few medical experts to offer an alternative scenario to Covid to that promoted by the Single Source of Truth.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:18am
- mandk
  
  Thanks ClanMcLeod
  
  Really interesting interview.
  
  It seems to me that, throughout the pandemic, Des Gorman has been just about the only high-ranking medic who has spoken with the voice of reason.
  
  I would like to hear more from him, and very much less from Michael Baker.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:20am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    You’re welcome. I believe someone on KB tagged me in it yesterday.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:55pm
Right of way is Way of Right

Would it be an interesting question to ask Dr Sharma if he could share the ethnicity of the Labour MP’s that have been subjected to bullying by Mr McAnulty?
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August 16, 2022 10:09am
- septic skeptic
  
  We should get past this current obsession with seeing everything through a racial lens. OK, IF it is racism then it should be called out, but it could also be that Sharma and others just aren’t the doormat party hacks that the Labour elite want them to be.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:39am
Yvette

Sharma
From Dr Sharma’s now infamous Facebook post –
I went the only place I felt I could to seek help in December 2021. The Prime Ministers’ Office. The advice was always clear – do not give anything in writing and do not expect anything in writing. Everything can be OIA’ed. So I met the Chief of Staff of PMO for over an hour of meeting which was supposed to be only a 30mins appointment. I took with me hundreds of pages of evidence – emails, timelines, issues etc to explain my case. [1]

So, while it is stated “do not give anything in writing and do not expect anything in writing. Everything can be OIA’ed”. can not the “ hundreds of pages of evidence – emails, timelines, issues etc” be “OIA’ed”?

… if there was just one investigative bone left in the media body?
____________
[1] https://www.facebook.com/gmsharmanz/posts/pfbid06VTMCS8Btvo2m7ean64W7wbFFkF6R2bEKzTuhSH5cBvU6XkTBZ3TzaMwnQc41WHKl?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZVCYBCBHMoOdD76ItS-WaFvEjy6H9NX3wHtg6_TbjPm_J9SIe1eb4u3sBpSqdGG-UN4KLh7XV9pTjcoGtzqg_4A2xBiCNt8OcPrOareqgpBVOPoTOe5Gf5LtB9I8cmDX9cBws-l5FU6x19wQQNVm06feqdUSTeo_UQqagZYaWMCxfK8n8WAlf4CJbZAC9DeMEeJszsB4NL2XP9cZvkqZUK_&__tn__=,O,P-R
(Krap – a URL nearly as long as his post)
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August 16, 2022 10:24am
- septic skeptic
  
  Also worth noting the above when Ardern asserts that she hasn’t SEEN anything to substantiate the allegations – not lying, but read between the lines.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:31am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  You can delete everything back to WHKL?
  Someone else on this blog showed me that.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:21pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  https://www.facebook.com/gmsharmanz/posts/pfbid06VTMCS8Btvo2m7ean64W7wbFFkF6R2bEKzTuhSH5cBvU6XkTBZ3TzaMwnQc41WHKl
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:24pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  “can not the “ hundreds of pages of evidence – emails, timelines, issues etc” be “OIA’ed”?”
  
  No Any ‘dossier’ of information held by Dr Sharma does not fall within the provisions of the OIA.
  
  https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1982/0156/latest/DLM64785.html
  
  This is the definition of ‘official information’:
  
  official information—
  (a) means any information held by—
  (i) a public service agency; or
  (ii) a Minister of the Crown in his official capacity; or (iii) an [specified in the Act ] organisation;….
  
  It applies to the “Executive Government” – i.e a Minister and the Minister’s portfolio agencies. It does not apply to the correspondence between (say) Labour Party Whips and MPs.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:46pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Ivana Trump was cremated and her ashes put in a large gold coffin which was buried at a Trump golf club.
Conspiracy nutbars want to know what else is in the coffin besides an urn of ashes. EVIDENCE? The aye talking about digging up the coffin to see.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/why-did-ivana-trump-s-ashes-need-a-gold-coffin-and-10-men-to-carry-it/ar-AA10FaCR?
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August 16, 2022 10:25am
CAKE FACE1

The team of $55 million are confused at the moment.

These lickspittles don’t know whether they are being paid to ignore Dr Sharma, or the bribes are for piling in on him.

Some hacks are doing the former, and some the latter. Either way, the team of $55 million are exposed as corrupt.

There is no question that the public are super interested in this scandal, because bullying allegations are very relatable. Ignore the public, and people go to blogs such as this. Pile in on Dr Sharma, and it gives further credence to his allegations.

The entire scandal is immensely satisfying for lovers of popcorn.

I hope this runs and runs. This afternoon promises to be hilarious.

Be kind!
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August 16, 2022 10:31am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Yesterday Lee asked about Ardern at full throttle.
My neighbour (moved now) works at Air NZ in the city. Her job is HR, dealing with staff problems including all sorts of things. She says a lot of incidents are staff having to deal with Ardern. Apparently she is quite a handful, yells and screams a lot, and just plain nasty. No cameras and mics around of course. Ardern is a real piece of work.
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August 16, 2022 10:33am
- rouppe
  
  It’s pretty easy to have a mic around. Every phone has a voice recorder
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:50am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    I think it is one on one, in an office somewhere, not on a plane.
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:07pm
    - rouppe
      
      What on earth has a plane got to do with anything?
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:21pm
      - PaulL
        
        Air NZ in the first comment.
        
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        August 16, 2022 8:30pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  That sounds a bit surprising. I would have thought that Jacinda screaming at Air New Zealand staff would have witnesses and become public. Not suggesting this person is making stuff up – only that it surprises me.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:57am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Gabby is not the sort of person to do that. She is a nice German Woman. We still keep in contact.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:26pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      Be careful about sharing personal details, Labour, the party of bullying and spiteful underperformance has teams of operatives that will seek out and destroy (cancel) people who threaten Cindy’s carefully curated public image, it’s their only asset.
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:01pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Our friends do not even live in Auckland now
        
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        August 17, 2022 9:10am
  - mogg
    
    We can all be sweetness and light when things are going well for us. On the other hand when many things are going wrong, and maybe after a long tiring journey, the red veil is never very far away.
    
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    August 16, 2022 12:53pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Not on a plane – in an office somewhere.
    Maybe when going through Customs?
    I must ask our friend
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:09pm
  - Matt Long
    
    I would tend to agree BY, however KK in an earlier post has a similar story from an Ardern staffer, and it’s on top of a lot of rumour.
    People tend to keep things quiet or covered up until someone blows the whistle. Like the Rolf Harris case, Epstein, Weinberg, Savile, etc., then all of a sudden it’s “me too.”
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:15pm
    - Matt Long
      
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/ferro-james-rotorua-child-murder-case-dad-william-sio-loses-fight-to-get-jail-term-reduced/RWZKIK2YUQS7XARN4ZBRHISUEU/
      For example in this case many people witnessed ongoing abuse but nobody thought to mention it to authorities.
      
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      August 16, 2022 3:54pm
- Ross Campbell
  
  Due to the obvious problems pointed out by others about this story I would give it about a 0/10 chance of being true.
  Probably in next months installment Gabby will be Scottish.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:39pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    There is a good chance that you will get enough downticks to just disappear
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:16pm
- Paulus
  
  Well it is well known she has a vicious temper if she does not get her own way.
  Many former staffers know that too well.
  There have been quite a number who can testify – if they dare.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:56pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Bullying – if they dare they will be ostracised, on the outside unless they have support
    
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    August 16, 2022 4:39pm
- Lee C
  
  I’ve heard ‘straws in the wind’ references to her behind-the-scenes behaviour.
  
  But it is unproven.
  
  I’ve personally seen a social media clip in which ((I’d say for legal reasons) a very realistic Ardern ‘lookalike’ was striking up quite a large doobie.
  
  But in the absence of corroboration, this remains hearsay, and should be treated as such.
  
  I cautiously predict some verifiable footage will emerge, if it is true – almost as a statistical certainty – if it’s happened often enough.
  
  I suggest it will be ignored by the MSM and mainstream politics out of some ‘deep’ mutual pact about personal issues.
  
  But there are alternatives fora, and this is why they are so afraid of alternative/social media, and seek to write up recommendaitons about curtailing thier ‘dis’ or mal’ information, in favour of ‘the sole source of truth’ run through the ‘accredited’ media..
  
  IMO.
  
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  August 16, 2022 2:38pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    “doobie” is small fish – I say no more.
    
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    August 16, 2022 4:41pm
- ISeeRed
  
  We need a Kiwi version of Project Veritas to secretly record and expose this.
  
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  August 16, 2022 9:14pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

A Grand Coalition, with Brian Tamaki as Kingmaker?
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/nats-labour-shouldn-t-rule-out-grand-coalition-to-keep-extremist-parties-out-of-power-commentators/ar-AA10H26u?
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August 16, 2022 10:37am
- Chris Nisbet
  
  A grand coalition with Labour wouldn’t be keeping extremists out. Labour _are_ extremist.
  Co-governance _is_ extreme.
  Declaring a little bit of gentle warming a ‘climate crisis’ _is_ extreme.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:00am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Indeed. I think we have more to be concerned about from the tribal zealots in Labour than the odd nutter in VFF
    
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    August 16, 2022 11:26am
- Ghost
  
  Na, labour enjoy forming a government with the extremist greens.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:52pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  I was thinking about all of the Partys (even new ones) without Labour and the toxic Greens.
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:13pm
Belinda

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300662529/man-charged-with-murder-over-death-of-auckland-woman-pauline-hanna

Wow what a surprise…not
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August 16, 2022 10:47am
Bobba Fret

An arrest in the Remuera case of Pauline Hanna!!!!
A 69 year old man.
How old is her husband?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/man-charged-with-murder-after-death-of-remuera-woman-pauline-hanna/AADVV7FHJ5F4WJBYIEUI76ELZM/
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August 16, 2022 10:58am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Last year he was 68 Years old.
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/remuera-surgeon-philip-polkinghorne-charged-with-careless-driving-over-crash/EH3THJY742ZZGJFLIQ4ISXDB5Y/
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:24pm
- Ghost
  
  Since they are not naming him and he is about to go before the court, be careful he doesn’t get name suppression.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:51pm
- Mags
  
  He has now been named
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:02pm
Ross Campbell

I see police have just charged a person with the murder of Pauline Hanna in Remuera.
So much for all the amateur detectives on here who were speculating that she died of the Covid jab and it was being covered up.
Back in the real world…
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August 16, 2022 11:03am
- ClanMcleod
  
  Ross – indeed, there was speculation. That’s what happens when the media become so one eyed and unreliable. Also, it was a very unusual case.
  
  In saying that, she will undoubtedly have been listed as one of the covid statistics. Well, that’s how they were doing it last year when a man was shot and killed? Covid……
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:02pm
  - Ross Campbell
    
    Oh here I was thinking that people desperately trying to prove their point were just clutching onto any available straws but instead you inform me it was the medias fault.
    Lucky we cleared that up…
    
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    August 16, 2022 1:31pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      You can really bend and twist things. The media did not shoot that guy – and he died of Covid anyway/
      
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      August 16, 2022 5:17pm
- kevn
  
  @Ross no mates… Most of us have had friends and workmates who have suffered from the jabs. Some can’t work again. I cannot claim a most unexpected probable jab bereavement in my circle but others I know, can.
  If you are so isolated you don’t know anyone affected, you just don’t know.
  
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  August 16, 2022 7:43pm
Yvette

Proposal for new role to investigate bully MPs
Parliament is looking to create a new job to consider complaints about MP conduct, nearly three years after a damning report described it as a toxic workplace.
In May 2019, consultant Debbie Francis identified a systemic bullying and harassment problem within the corridors of power. One of her recommendations was to set up an Independent Commission for Parliamentary Conduct to receive and investigate complaints or disclosures about MPs.
Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard said a new independent role may be established to consider complaints about MPs as part of a commitment to improve Parliament’s culture.
“An independent person would be appointed to receive, investigate, and resolve complaints about members’ conduct which does not align with the Behavioural Statements for the Parliamentary Workplace,” he said.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128231673/proposal-for-new-role-to-investigate-bully-mps

Ardern’s Labour Government fails with another non-delivery – and so an “own-goal” through non-fulfilment of a goal
Yet again … ‘bugger!’
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August 16, 2022 11:12am
greybeard

We are not “a team of 5 million”.
We are in fact 5 million Lab Rats in the largest petri dish in the world, a left-wing experiment on how to achieve total control of a country.

You must admit we are the perfect subject for such an experiment: geographically distant from any other country, dependent on just agriculture and tourism for financial existence and therefore vulnerable, a population of two main ethnic groups which can be divided at will, a government with complete power (unexpectedly) given to them by the voters, and the unexpected bonus of a global pandemic to add to the left-wing toolbox.
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August 16, 2022 11:21am
- Paulus
  
  Understand there are about one million New Zealander living overseasa so correct the maths.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:58pm
Captain Mainwaring

A 69 year old man has been charged with the murder of Pauline Hanna. No name mentioned.
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August 16, 2022 11:25am
Yvette

While …
A Voices for Freedom (VFF) Christchurch newsletter on July 26 confirmed five “voices” were standing in Heathcote, Coastal, Burwood, Linwood and Cashmere and one was standing for the Selwyn District Council.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129577024/five-candidates-with-links-to-antivaccination-group-standing-for-city-council

… the –
Māori Party president John Tamihere says this year’s local body election is a chance for Māori to break out of the tyranny of the majority.
https://waateanews.com/2022/08/15/maori-wards-set-to-break-tyranny-of-majority/

… and voters in Tauranga can not vote, can they
Yet again, once more … ‘bugger!’
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August 16, 2022 11:25am
- herb1
  
  Mr Tamihere wishes to replace the “tyranny” of the majority with the tyranny of the minority
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:50pm
- I remember when
  
  Are VFF making the media aware of a potential problem they should have been writing about a long time ago.
  This was the dangers of political party involvement in local body affairs.
  In many ways the local councils act as a form of upper house, by acting for the ratepayers, when government legislation strays into their realm.
  Has the ‘3 Waters’ saga exposed the danger when councillors fail to understand who they are representing.
  
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  August 16, 2022 2:10pm
MCōs

I see a 69yo male has been charged with the murder of Pauline Hanna.
Coincidentally her husband, Philip Polkinghorne, is 69yo. I wonder if he knows the guy.
Took a long time for the police to figure that out when they could have been better employed do other stuff.
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August 16, 2022 11:28am
- graham
  
  The police may, possibly, have decided that rather than listen to all the uninformed clowns who were gurgling, “We know who dun it, go on copper, arrest ‘im”, the age-old method of actually investigating the crime might be a more robust process to follow.
  
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  August 16, 2022 11:49am
CAKE FACE1

The Dr Sharma drama explodes two myths that are central to the Cindy brand:

Myth One – Cindy is kind. Her behaviour in this case has been extremely unkind.

Myth Two – Cindy is good in a crisis. In this case, she has been a train wreck.

The media is trying to brush this under the carpet, but I think this drama has some legs.

This is very damaging to Cindy.

Hohohohoho.
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August 16, 2022 11:37am
- Harry Knuts
  
  I think they under estimated Dr Sharma. they probably thought with enough of them saying “tow the party line” he would.
  Seems he’s quite a bit stronger than they realised. Cindy likely sent in her henchmen to sort it out. It’s failed and now exploded. there will be more rot to come out of this woodwork as they peel away the walls.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:39pm
ClanMcleod

If the CDC made electric cars…….

https://tinyurl.com/msddnt3n
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August 16, 2022 11:42am
CAKE FACE1

When Mr Uffindell was being bullied by the media, there was often five articles available to comment on stuff or the herald.

Now, with Dr Sharma, the legendary team of $55 million has approximately zero articles or comment sections open for views about this drama.

The team of $55 million give Cindy huge value for money!
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August 16, 2022 12:01pm
ClanMcleod

An excellent blog post from El gato malo re a movement to disband the CDC. The CDC very quietly recently dropped pretty much all restrictions and differences between jabbed and unjabbed. They also very quietly dropped the bit in their official advice that claimed that the jab stayed at the injection site when it doesn’t. It moves around and gets to other organs in the body and in particular womens’ reproductive systems.

“………they promoted the pseudoscience of lockdowns and masking trotting out study after study with cherry picked or outright fraudulent parameters.

they made up ideas like “6 foot distancing” that lacked any basis whatsoever

they failed to recognize or admit to airborne and aerosol transmission

they pushed over-sensitive and irrelevant testing and fruitless and impossible contact tracing

they claimed vaccines would stop spread

they claimed vaccines would be 100% effective vs hospitalization and death

they pushed 2 doses and done as the “path to get your life back” then 3, then 4, then booster forever all on the basis of shoddy science.

and they systematically refused to do their appointed job of monitoring the adverse events of the vaccines.

they destroyed schools and businesses and drove the US economy and society into a ditch.

they made the lives of american children into a misery and cost them years of education and development despite their never having been at material risk.

they vilified and attacked the sane and accurate folks like jay and martin and sunetra and the great barrington declaration which was, quite literally, just a simple and uncontroversial elucidation of 100 years of evidence based epidemiology.

and now they have finally come full circle and tried to slide into adopting the practices that the actual adults in the room had been advising all along.

it took the CDC years to finally be pummeled into arriving at the place the great barrington declaration started back in fall 2020.”

The same applies to the NZ government and Medsafe and the vaccination rollout here in NZ with one exception, they are still carrying on with the insanity in this country.
The problem for Ardern is it is the only small piece of control she still wields. As the focus moves away from covid she becomes more and more exposed as the fraud that she is.
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August 16, 2022 12:01pm
- ClanMcleod
  
  Just in case I didn’t edit the link to the article in time.
  
  https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/disband-the-cdc-goes-mainstream?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:05pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

I am reading website saying the FBI stole 3 of Trump’s Passports – one is expired. Do they think he is a flight risk?
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August 16, 2022 12:30pm
- mawm
  
  They’ve returned them.
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:10pm
- virtualmark
  
  If you’re under investigation for espionage it’s probably best not to make a big fuss about travelling overseas.
  
  (Realistically, the Secret Service have probably been told to not let him leave the country)
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:13pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    You’re going to look really stupid again.
    So funny.
    
    4 3
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    August 16, 2022 5:57pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

The United Spot –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGEdsSYLopI
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August 16, 2022 12:31pm
Maggie Pie

‘BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT’

Numbers 32:33 KJV
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August 16, 2022 12:41pm
- mogg
  
  Let she who is without sin cast the first stone.
  
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  August 16, 2022 12:47pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    My Bible says no such thing..
    
    It specifically references males who would cast stones at an adulteress.
    
    So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
    John 8:7
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:20pm
    - mogg
      
      Okay I have to admit I just made it up. Sometimes even Maggie has been known to bend the truth.
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:51pm
    - curry4me
      
      I bet there were some women in those stoning mobs with a false beard and lower than average voices. -;)
      
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      August 16, 2022 5:57pm
  - slightlyrighty
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ5YU_spBw0
    
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    August 16, 2022 3:06pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Liz Cheyney (RINO) going to lose by 30 points tomorrow? Wonder if the Dems will cheat for her? They have cheated before.
Two vid clips.
https://bongino.com/liz-cheney-poised-to-landslide-defeat-in-primary-tomorrow?
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August 16, 2022 12:44pm
- MCōs
  
  Why would they?
  She obviously loathes Trump, but she’s a dyed in the wool conservative with a father who was A debacle for America.
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:20pm
  - mandk
    
    Dyed in the wool conservative?
    
    Nonsense, she has been a RINO since forever.
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:09pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    She is a RINO. Doesn’t even live in Wyoming.
    She asked Wyoming Democrats to register as Republicans so they could vote for her – then become Democrats after the voting. How crook is that?
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/23/liz-cheney-asks-democrats-to-vote-for-her-in-wyoming-republican-primary/
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:13pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Cheney’s opponents set up a Liz Cheney for Virginia web site- as her family lives in Virginia
      Epic trolling
      https://www.lizcheneyforva.com/
      
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      August 16, 2022 2:34pm
      - curry4me
        
        That was very well organized trolling. She deserves every bit of it.
        
        7 2
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        August 16, 2022 6:01pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        That is excellent!
        
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        August 17, 2022 9:16am
    - royce987
      
      Donald Trump, the life long leftist is the definition of RINO. I am amazed when I see lefties labelling conservatives RINOs for criticising a leftists like Trump.
      
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      August 16, 2022 6:48pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Ivanka is
        
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        August 17, 2022 9:23am
- Vory v zakone
  
  Meanwhile her net worth has increased by 600% since she has been in the House. And her husband is a partner in the law firm representing Hunter Biden…
  #CorruptAF
  
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  August 16, 2022 4:52pm
Graham Sharpe

How come the “I wasn’t made aware of it by staff” and/or “This was a matter for my staff, not me” excuse works for Ardern but not for Luxon? Asking for a friend.
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August 16, 2022 1:04pm
- septic skeptic
  
  Hardworking and aspirational doesn’t sound like a good fit for Labour.
  Meant to be a reply to Maggie Pie below.
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:28pm
Maggie Pie

Jacinda fronting the media @ 4pm today following the Caucas meeting.

Have to wonder why she’d want to pick-a-fight with the Indian community? There are about 200,000 of them who are voting age.

And all the one’s we know are really hard working, aspirational, fabulous people.
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August 16, 2022 1:07pm
- Ghost
  
  Labour hoping for some sort of event to take place at 3.59pm to take the focus off of them?
  
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  August 16, 2022 1:29pm
  - mandk
    
    I expect they are also hoping that Sharma doesn’t have his finger poised over the nuclear button, ready to broadcast more damaging revelations, if he needs to.
    
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    August 16, 2022 2:05pm
    - info@cruzpro.com
      
      Dr. Sharma appears to be more intelligent than the average Labour party member. Too bad he’s not intelligent enough to have NOT decided to align himself with the Labour party.
      
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      August 16, 2022 7:12pm
thirteenstars

The Lotus Eaters podcast exposes British Police Community Support Officers in their role of *actual* Thought Police suggesting to citizens that they need to re-educate themselves about transgender, etc. issues and opinions should not be made public:

https://youtu.be/6x6Tz6zwCvk?t=69

The audio is a bit soft for a while but give it a chance. Truly chilling that the police have such powers and attitudes.
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August 16, 2022 1:16pm
I remember when

THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO PEOPLE:
Ran into an older family acquantance at the Supermarket.
She advised that she has had “THE COVID.”
Apparently she has been avoiding the vulnerable for the last three weeks, which shows the extent to which many fail to understand what the actual dangers are.
So much for the podium of truth dispensing all the relevant information to keep yourself and others safe.
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August 16, 2022 1:19pm
mogg

Now we see it, St Jacinda of the Covid has been leading us up the garden path, as Dr Sharma has found to his cost, scratch the surface and you will soon see red in tooth and claw.
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August 16, 2022 1:40pm
Libertarians are right

If you think about the Labour Party, their bullying issue seems like a natural issue for them to have:

Their hierarchy is based on ideology, not ability. Therefore, the people at the top simply don’t have the knowledge or skills to actively manage the more qualified people below them.

Those people also pose a threat to the senior politicians who are very unlikely to ever get a better job than the one they currently have.

Given all this, those MPs only really have one option – to bully and belittle their more qualified caucus mates.
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August 16, 2022 1:43pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Non-egalitarian hierarchies structured by seniority and infighting where everyone spends all their time focused on personal positioning rather than effective performance of their roles are particularly dysfunctional. They can’t compete with output and competence of organisations made up of people focused on doing a good job. It’s the explanation of why despotic totalitarian regimes have always performed so poorly. Probably explains a lot of why this Labour govt are so legenderaly shit at their jobs, and as always the problem is created by terrible leadership focussed on personal postion ratehr than organisational goals.
  
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  August 16, 2022 4:39pm
Yvette

Will Cameron now drop his own regular line –
For Less Than the Cost of a Whittakers Chocolate Block a month
No frills just Ad-free viewing and faster loading times
– OK: lines ?
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August 16, 2022 1:57pm
Maggie Pie

Clunt has gone sooo quiet today.

All he’s tweeted…. is how much he misses ‘i-predict’
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August 16, 2022 2:24pm
Maggy Wassilieff

How Kind..

Labour has already held a secret squirrel meeting of MPs about Sharma……and the F***wits sent him a clip from the Zoom meeting by mistake!!!!!!

The NZ Herald understands MPs met at 8pm, but Sharma was not told of the meeting.

He found out about it after a message – including a photo of Kelvin Davis on the zoom call – was sent to him by mistake.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/labour-party-held-secret-caucus-meeting-to-discuss-rogue-mp-gaurav-sharma/ZSFZKNAUPHMQFWOMHD4DVWFKUQ/
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August 16, 2022 2:53pm
- Ghost
  
  Are we surprised? This narcissist that masquerades as a Prime Minister is trying to save her international reputation. They’ve bullied and tried to silence him since he came forward, they will try to keep the fake image of the party and unity when we know he isn’t the only victim of bullying in this party.
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:05pm
- Yabster
  
  lol can’t even stab someone in the back without cocking it up -what a bunch of losers this shambles truly are..
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:26pm
- CAKE FACE1
  
  But…. but … but… Cindy is great in a crisis, I tell you!
  
  This is magical. They sent him the details about the meeting by mistake. This incompetence is astonishing, even coming from Cindy’s crew.
  
  I have a question for my doctor. Could too much schadenfreude be dangerous to my health?
  
  New Zealanders hate unfairness. This is becoming a disaster for Cindy…
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:34pm
  - Loddenthinks
    
    This is becoming just the latest disaster for Cindy.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:53pm
- Suze Wainwright
  
  Ah, so that’s why Kelvin Davis isn’t the Deputy Prime Minister…
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:40pm
  - Souvlaki
    
    Labour & NZRU have same PR company🤣??!
    
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    August 16, 2022 5:32pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  “F***wits sent him a clip from the Zoom meeting by mistake!!!!!!”
  That is hilarious….they really cannot do anything right. The Midas touch in reverse!
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:43pm
- Biscuit
  
  This gives the Party time to airbrush Sharma out of all the Party photos!
  
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  August 16, 2022 3:46pm
- Suze Wainwright
  
  And will Jacinda even be asked if the caucus met ‘secretly’ last night?
  
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  August 16, 2022 4:21pm
- Inandout
  
  Maggy, can we paraphrase Jacinda regarding caucus unanimity; ‘and I was unanimous in that decision’.
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:01pm
- SpencerArnold
  
  The media weren’t told either and Cindy tried to spin the meeting as private without Sharma to allow discussions to be free. Sorry, she has been caught lying by omission, this would be a sacking offence if she was a National PM.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:00pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Yep,
    She is a party to the deception.
    
    She told NZ that the caucus would convene this afternoon to discuss Dr Sharma’s behaviour and he was invited to the meeting to explain hi s side of the story.
    
    Our Dear PM did not state publicly that there would be a prior secret caucus meeting.
    
    Classic bullying behaviour.
    
    It’s as if no-one in Labour has been following the Royal Commission hearings into Abuse in our institutions….
    
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    August 16, 2022 7:11pm
nathie

Bad news for people renovating their houses, first we had a Gib Board supply crisis, it seems we now have a Carpet supply crisis …. apparently Labour has bought the nation’s entire stock up to sweep their massive hypocritical handling of the on-going “Sharma crisis” under these rugs!

But apparently Labour can’t get enough carpets though (as they are preparing for other bullying scandals to emerge as a result of Sharma’s whistle-blowing), enterprising Kiwi’s are now ripping their own carpets up and selling them to some jokers called “Clint” and “Neale” and “Robbo” on Trade Me for a 400% profit!
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August 16, 2022 3:31pm
Libertarians are right

I’ll also note that the Sharma Drama mirrors the Sex Camp scandal and the worker in Jacinda’s office scandal.

All three times, the victims brought the attention to the Party multiple times. All three times, the Party did nothing. The Party then attacked the leaker when the info came out all three times.

It’s almost like this is standard operating procedure for the New Zealand Labour Party.
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August 16, 2022 3:55pm
Maggie Pie

RANDOM IMPERTINENT QUESTION

When was the last time somebody charged with MURDER…. released on bail?

Asking for a friend.
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August 16, 2022 4:14pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Probably last week… but here’s one from March 2022
  https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/invercargill-baby-death-man-charged-murder-bailed
  
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  August 16, 2022 4:20pm
- peterwn
  
  A previous time was Constable A when he faced a private charge of murder. He was subsequently admitted when lame duck prosecution witnesses failed to provide a rebuttal to ‘self defence’.
  
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  August 16, 2022 4:41pm
- Paul Marsden
  
  Possibly when the Police case is on shaky grounds?
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:07pm
- Ghost
  
  Health system is screwed, can’t go putting a surgeon in jail when so many people need their eyes fixed….
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:20pm
  - peterwn
    
    At 69 years old he is past nominal retirement age. So the loss of his services to Society would not be that great.
    
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    August 16, 2022 8:50pm
- David Garrett
  
  Maggie: It happens quite a lot…particularly in “domestic” murders – murders by a spouse or other family member – which this one is alleged to be.
  
  This is a relatively recent phenomenon: back in the day bail would neverbe available for a murder charge. The rationale these days is that even if you have murdered your spouse or brother or parent, you are most unlikely to be a danger to the community at large. There is much merit in that I think.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:19pm
- JamesP
  
  Fairly common in these circumstances. By killing the victim you remove any chance of re-offending against the same victim, which is a major consideration for bail. Quite often domestic murderers have minimal or no prior criminal history. This makes demonstrating a risk of offending on bail or failing to attend Court pretty difficult.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:28pm
igm

So we now basically condone infanticide, but go ballistic when someone has anti-abortion views. What a fucked up NZ Ardern has created . . . may karma strike.
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August 16, 2022 4:53pm
- mandk
  
  Sadly, you are correct igm.
  
  Killing babies doesn’t count for much in NZ.
  
  That’s why so many of the poor wee things get killed.
  
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  August 16, 2022 5:35pm
Benedict Yu

Honestly, this guy should resign from Parliament and stand as an Independent in the by election. What does he have to lose? If he stays in Labour he is dead come the election. If he was returned in the by election he would carry great mana. If he is defeated, well it is back to being a doctor. I just cannot see spending the next 12 months in the ‘naughty corner’ too appealing.
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August 16, 2022 6:01pm
- Colville
  
  He probably has a few mates who will leak juicy info to him so he can spend the next year knifing Jacinda..
  
  Oh what a pity 😁
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:07pm
- David Garrett
  
  Bene: there is much in that…except being an independent in parliament is a very lonely row to hoe
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:21pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    You think he will not be lonely if he stays where he is?
    
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    August 16, 2022 6:24pm
    - David Garrett
      
      Where he is – suspended – there is at least theoretically a way back…if he resigns from caucus that is a bridge burned…the last one I can think of who went down this road is Chris Carter, who famously said of Phil Goff “He’s a nice guy…but he just can’t win!” (Which as it happened was 100% correct) IIRC Carter didn’t last long out in the cold – although the inverts in the Labour Party got him a UN job…in Afghanistan, again IIRC.
      
      Before that there was a Nat MP who revealed that Don Brash was having an affair with Diane Foreman…he was really sent to Coventry – as opposed to Afghanistan – and found it extremely difficult as an independent who no-one would speak to.
      
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      August 16, 2022 7:11pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  And slowly leak whatever details he has just like WikiLeaks. Don’t use it all at once. That way it is more likely to stay on the frontline news longer to the detrement of this inept Labour government.
  
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  August 16, 2022 7:03pm
than

Another good reason for the next reason to get rid of the Human Rights Commission:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129580445/human-rights-commission-calls-for-freeze-on-rents-increase-to-accommodation-supplement
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August 16, 2022 6:08pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  Yes. Total idiots.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:24pm
- Humai
  
  Yup – wondered about that myself. So landlords aren’t humans now.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:46pm
- Rumblestrip
  
  Ah yes, rent control. The most efficient way to destroy cities, aside from bombing.
  
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  August 16, 2022 10:40pm
Warren

How could anyone trust Jacinda Ardern after not having a face to face meeting with Sharma at anytime since his accusations surfaced , I would suggest that Jacinda Ardern our Prime Minister never ever had any intention of discussing it with Sharma and the meeting that was called on zoom last night was to get there questions in order before the supposed meeting today.
What a piece of crap our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is , i hope the polls punish her for her Putin like views.
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August 16, 2022 6:15pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  She should have immediately arranged a meeting with him and asked “Sorry how can I fix it?”
  
  It is just appalling. She is a flaky fraud.
  
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  August 16, 2022 6:26pm
  - blue collar
    
    Wouldn’t even face Nz at the beehive doorstep !
    
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    August 16, 2022 7:29pm
Benedict Yu

What an idiot.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/auckland-mayoral-race-efeso-collins-says-gst-on-rates-should-go-back-to-councils-to-tackle-climate-change/

Councils do not need to “tackle climate change”. The ETS does that. Councils need to supply local and regional infrastructure that people want.

The damage that these muppets are doing is immense.
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August 16, 2022 6:21pm
- Inthe09
  
  The City is a dogs breakfast and these people are worried about ‘climate change’?
  
  Meanwhile its just taken me 15 days to get a reply regarding the rubbish the HNZ tenants up the street left on the footpath when they abandoned the place, half of it written in a language I can’t read.
  
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  August 16, 2022 7:11pm
- graham
  
  In the Rodney area, the roads are shocking. Lots of them unsealed, potholes are appalling, and I have lost count of how many slips are awaiting repair – MAJOR slips; the sort that reduce the road to one lane, and on an unsealed road that really IS one lane.
  
  PLEASE, Auckland Council, forget the Pride parades and cycle lanes – just fix our damn roads.
  
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  August 16, 2022 7:32pm
  - GJM
    
    Every driver needs to keep a can of flour orange marker paint in the car, and highlight the pot hole when they see one. This is for public safety. If the resulting marker looks like a gentleman’s meat and 2 veg, that is an unfortunate coincidence. It seems to be the only way to,get action.
    
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    August 18, 2022 9:11am
Colville

Stuff closes comments on the Sharma Drama story after 8 comments…

Bunch of paid for **nts….
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August 16, 2022 8:35pm
DistantObserver

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/129594449/after-labour-suspension-the-next-move-is-gaurav-sharmas#comments

Comments closed after less than an hour tells the story. Luke Malpass must be so bent over after receiving the carrot and stick approach as administered by Malcolm Tucker!
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August 16, 2022 9:21pm
tavita

50,000 people caught using their mobile phones when driving shock horror. What does that tell you? It suggests that using the phone while driving is not such a great risk after all. People do it all the time and very few crash. Maybe the number of people who do are crashes while using a phone not crashes because they are using the phone.
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August 17, 2022 11:44am