Yesterday I listened to a couple of interviews on RNZ and NewsHub with the leader of the opposition, Christopher Luxon. The lead questions were about Kiri Allan having said, at her partner Māni Dunlop’s leaving do, that RNZ need to do a better job promoting Māori broadcasters.
Mr Luxon explained that he was glad Ms Allan had made an apology but it was a shame Marama Davidson hadn’t made one. His concern was that with Kiri Allan being Justice minister he needed to see her focussed on fighting crime.
Clearly the implication is that if Kiri Allan is attending her partners leaving do then the bad guys are free to operate. While she socialises they’ll be out running ram raids - probably at your business! Boo!
C’mon Kiri get your Super Hero cape on and get out there fighting crime!
Christopher Luxon’s narrative, which he spoke as if from a prepared script, was that there had been scandal after scandal rocking the government and New Zealand needed a government that would focus on getting things done. He complained “here we go again, talking about another Labour government personnel issue, rather than the big challenges that New Zealand is facing.”
He listed the names, his roll call of villains - Rob Campbell, Steve Maharey, Ruth Dyson, Stuart Nash, Marama Davidson. Sounds bad doesn’t it? Until you stop and think that actually only one of the people he listed is a Labour MP. Stuart Nash, and he has been stripped of his cabinet position and has announced his retirement.
Those who are former Labour MPs have been accused of speaking their minds many years after being MPs! Seriously, of the people Mr Luxon says are problems for the Labour Party - only one out of the five is even a Labour MP!
It raises a question. Do we really want someone like Kiri Allan, one of the most senior Māori MPs in parliament, unable to express a view on the state broadcaster doing more to support Māori career progression? I don’t.
I’m a bit over this witch hunt of people, be they MPs or Public Servants, by the very parties who are supposedly the biggest supporters of freedom of speech. For saying what they think.
It’s like National look at the opposition and say to themselves, we’re always getting in to scandals, we’ve had so many over the years it’s only right that Labour are held to the same scrutiny. But they’re not comparing apples with apples.
How about we look at the National list of scandals compared to the list of people Mr Luxon has highlighted above? Andrew Falloon, Jake Bezzant, Barbara Kuriger, Todd Barclay, Jami-Lee Ross, Aaron Gilmore, Sam Uffindell, Hamish Walker, Judith Collins, Mike Sabin, etc… it’s a long list!
These people have committed assault, sent indecent pictures to young women, benefitted financially, leaked patient information, made clandestine recordings, offered hush money, and broken the law. A bit more bloody serious than expressing an opinion, like those on Christopher Luxon’s list of people who aren’t even Labour MPs.
How about the things that National Party MPs have said over the years by comparison?
I would far rather have Kiri Allan talk about the need for RNZ to foster Māori talent than National MP Simon O’Connor use the latest tragic school shooting in the US to shout out to persecuted Christians and have a dig at Marama Davidson. As he did last week. Or the same MP posting his celebration of Roe vs Wade being overturned, contrary to National’s stated abortion position of the moment.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Nick's Kōrero to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.