Everyone Must Go

Brian's book reading ban and Luxon's evacuation plan.

And I just hope that you can forgive us
But everything must go
And if you need an explanation, nation
Then everything must go

Songwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.

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Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:

1. Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and Pride Parade Haka of Hate, and

2. The “Everyone Must Go” campaign, welcoming people to our shores despite sounding like an evacuation order.

Image: BeFunky.

We will fight them in the… libraries?

Firstly, the aggressive actions of the followers of Brian Tamaki’s fake church. Density - because you’d have to be really dense to believe anything that snake oil charlatan was selling.

A front for stealing from the poorly educated and brainwashing them to become anything but Christian. Opposing everything from medical science to the rights of others to be themselves, invading Pride activities, bringing hate to events promoting love and acceptance.

On the off chance that you haven’t heard about it, you can read about what happened in this report: Destiny Church protests: Teenager concussed after violent attack at Te Atatū, West Auckland event.

Violence broke out at a library drag event on Saturday when Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church members swarmed the Te Atatū Community Centre to protest a children’s show.

Police confirmed tonight they are investigating allegations of assault after about 50 people entered the building and refused to leave.

The fracas, involving Destiny Church’s Man Up and Legacy groups as well as youngsters, saw them punching, pushing and shoving their way inside.

About 30 toddlers, young children and adults had to be barricaded inside, RNZ reported.

As with all the stories we see on the news, there are real communities and lives behind the headlines that we glimpse in the context of some awful event—a disaster, a violent crime, or, in this case, a plague of locusts.

Te Atatu, the dawn, is my home. We’ve lived here since 2008, and this one feels personal.

We were in Avondale before that. Fi was at home with three preschoolers, in a place with a backyard and a lounge that were far too small for our growing family. We needed more space and looked further west, for somewhere affordable on one income and with good schools.

Te Atatu was perfect for us: excellent schools, an area that would gentrify but hadn’t yet, and a variety of people - Asian, Māori, European, Pasifika, some well off and others doing it tough, a cross-section of NZ albeit a bit more mixed than most places - which is good, I like mixed.

There was an old community centre and library. I have many memories of taking the kids on a Saturday morning to get books, of their first dance classes in the main hall, and especially of my wife Fi running a play group for mums - because that’s the sort of person she is.

A few years later, I remember sitting in the car park out the back of those buildings and listening to the radio as word came through about the terrible Canterbury earthquakes. After that, they pulled down our old hall and library, now deemed unsafe. The dance classes moved to a church hall, and the books were stored in a disused shop.

Years later, we got a brand new Community Centre and Library. They’re pretty awesome, and I’m grateful we have them. However, it felt a bit unfair to other nearby suburbs that received nothing of the kind. Those buildings are a real hub in our community, and we’re lucky to have them.

As the kids got older, they attended dance or music holiday programmes there. Sometimes, there would be a market in the foyer where locals sold home-baked goods and crafts. The room where I cast my vote is past the stairs you might have seen in the news reports. The place smells new, and it’s well kept and looked after.

I hated seeing that video. I would’ve hated it anyway, wherever they were, bringing that mindless thuggery to any community, turning on a section of society who has long suffered at the hands of violent bigots. To see that in the place I associate with so many positive memories was horrible. But that’s the point, isn’t it, to make it horrible, to terrorise people.

Watching the clip, I wondered why the hell the police were just standing there. These thugs had pushed past someone telling them they weren’t welcome, that it was a private event, and the police were watching as they launched an aggressive haka that has one cause: to intimidate the people there.

I remember when we went to Waitangi recently, the cafe on the Treaty Grounds was closed “for a private event”, somewhere for the politicians to eat undisturbed by the public.

Now, if a group of people dressed in pro-treaty shirts and I had burst into that cafe, pushing past the people who were advising that it was closed and done an intimidating haka right in front of David Seymour, do you think the police would’ve just stood there and watched? Somehow, I don’t think so.

I remember a protest at Aotea Square back in the 90s when the police decided that no one was allowed to enter, and we students weren’t that keen on being restricted from voicing our protests to the dignitaries there for CHOGM. I remember the police knee to the back of my leg and falling to the ground, and a lot of bruises the next day, but I don’t recall the police just standing there and watching us push through.

Of course, many are asking why National’s ban on gang patches doesn’t apply to people who are only really distinguishable from other gangs because of the word “Church”. It does make you wonder at the logic of having dozens of police at a peaceful Tangi, confiscating clothing while they stand back and watch a violent mob bully people they are supposed to protect.

Yet Brian Tamaki and his mob seem to do that repeatedly; they are above the law. Whether it be these latest events or the blatant breaking of Covid restrictions a few years ago, for which he got off. What doesn’t help is the weak lettuce leaf response from the Prime Minister.

In yesterday’s newsletter, I mentioned Chris Hipkins’ response. It was quick and direct, leaving you in no doubt about his disgust at the aggressive mob's behaviour. Berserkers seeking to disrupt the enjoyment of others because of their warped ideas.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister's response was late and lukewarm, saying that it was “important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful protest but the Destiny Church protest yesterday went ‘too far’”. It felt like a reluctant afterthought only issued when it became embarrassing to say nothing.

Could it be that Mr Luxon’s unwillingness to criticise the followers of this fake church was down to his own beliefs, or did he simply not want to offend any religious voters who might not take kindly to having the hypocrisy of such actions exposed as anything but Christian?

Just as Luxon chose not to attend Waitangi, he also did not attend yesterday’s Big Gay Out event in Auckland. The man is almost as much of a coward as those clowns wearing “Real Men” T-Shirts who as Chippy pointed out were anything but.

If you haven’t seen the footage, Stuff/Three News had excellent coverage of events on their programme last night, which is well worth a look:

Come here, go away.

Christopher was otherwise engaged yesterday, announcing his great new slogan to bring the tourists flocking, along with Louise Upston, our Minister of Tourism and Hospitality, and welcoming face to Aotearoa.

Louise Upston, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality.

“Tourism is really important to our economy,” said the Prime Minister, pushing his Fast Track policy that will result in the desecration of the beautiful environment people travel to see from his mind.

“Our job… is to make sure we get New Zealand to the top of the bucket list” for Australians, Luxon said. Which seemed ambitious although presumably even your red-blooded Ocker will be looking around for something else to do before he pops his thongs, once he’s done shagging Elle Macpherson and seeing his team win the Grand Final.

The problem is that our Aussie mates don’t muck around. Do you remember their campaign, “Where the Bloody Hell Are You?”, which urged Kiwis to go the other way?

I was a bit skeptical that Christopher Luxon's mind could come up with something as good as this. Please note that it might look a little different to how you remember it:

His speech even echoed their campaign, saying, “My message to Australians is it's time to swap thongs for jandals. It's time to swap the Hunter Valley for the Hawke's Bay and get the bloody hell over here.”

So this momentous announcement, the grand slogan that cost Kiwi taxpayers half a million dollars, is… EVERYONE MUST GO!

Erm, wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on teachers, nurses or cops? I mean, and I don’t want to sound too uncharitable, but it’s a bit shit. I hate to say it, but it’s the Hamil-Tron of international campaigns. I posted the following:

The first comment said it sounded like a Briscoes Advertisement; Janette asked, “How much did the consultants get paid for coming up with that slogan?” while Dianne’s comment, “I'm hoping it's the COC catch cry as they depart the Beehive,” was well-liked.

Chris correctly pointed out, “Funny that was his idea when everybody is going. Maybe concentrate on keeping permanent residents and citizens from leaving by not being the most useless government in NZ history.”

I also thought I heard the echo of my Grandpa Syd in the call. A man of efficiency when it came to family outings, organisation, and punctuality.

Debbie agreed, saying, “Yep, the final wee before the ‘are we there yet’ sets in...”. You know, like the following: “Hey Chris, you said we were going to get back on Track - are we there yet?”

Phil was either sarcastic or had been drinking heavily when he said, “I’m so proud we have a leader who says what he means and means what he says.” I suspect the former; there isn’t enough alcohol in the world to explain that viewpoint.

If you want a glass-half-full view, though, at least Luxon is saying it to tourists and not advertising a fire sale of public assets with “Everything Must Go”. That’s one for the second term - if he gets one.

Still, before that happens, you get to send the coalition a message at the next election, coincidentally an actual use for the phrase “Everyone Must Go”, but especially you, Christopher, especially you, and you can take your mate Brian with you too.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

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As this is a companion piece to yesterday’s newsletter, it felt a bit rough to put a paywall in front of it. Therefore, it’s open to all, and you’re most welcome to share it.

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Here’s the title track from one of my favourite albums - Everything Must Go by those Welsh Wizards, the Manic Street Preachers.

When Fi and I first moved to the UK in 1997, I bought three knockoff tapes in a Bangkok market: This one, The Bends by Radiohead, and In It For The Money by Supergrass. I played them through Thai ferry rides, European train rides, and tube commutes, and almost thirty years later, they’re still regular listens and favourites full of memories.