Isn't It Ironic?
Tanya Unkovich quits “serving mankind” for the private sector.
And isn't it ironic?
Don't you think?
Songwriters: Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard.
Last week, parliament saw the tragic loss of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp, whose untimely death caused grief across the house.
Less shocking, although still surprising, was the announcement that Tanya Unkovich, a NZ First MP, had resigned to return to the public sector, which I assume pays somewhat better than being a backbench MP.
That might sound cynical, but in the absence of any other reason, it’s hard to see what is luring Ms Unkovich away from the NZ First cause she came to after deciding during the pandemic that National were no longer her team. They were too supportive of the government’s efforts, and besides, they hadn’t met with the protestors outside of parliament, unlike Winston, who went in search of a new constituency and found one.
I do understand that some people found lockdowns and vaccinations very difficult; people suffered the stress of losing jobs and other restrictions, some due to genuine health concerns, others due to misinformation. It is a sad period in our history, marked by the divisions that occurred, and it seems an odd thing to enter public life over. Perhaps, with our changed landscape of anti-wokeism, she felt her work was now done?
Yeah, nah, come on, we all know it’s for the money. I mean, why else would someone want to stop spending so much time with caucus colleagues like Casey Costello or Shane Jones?
In a released statement, the MP said, “Serving in the public sector has been a great honour and a unique opportunity, for this I am grateful for the trust placed in me.”
Seriously? A unique opportunity? Surely it’s the same opportunity that all the other MPs have been given, you know, all the ones who aren’t quitting halfway through their first term. Especially those who received a significant number of votes, and not 573 as Unkovich did, standing in the Epsom electorate.
Epsom, home of David Seymour, who demands that everyone should have one vote, implying that Māori somehow don’t, even though we know the only people who get more than one vote are those who own multiple properties in local body elections.
That electorate will now go from having five MPs to four (Camilla Belich (L), Paul Goldsmith (N), David Seymour (ACT), and Lawrence Xu-Nan (G)). I’m sure they’ll cope with four, whereas other electorates, like Mt Roskill, where Carlos Cheung of National was a surprise winner, have essentially no representation.
Still, Epsom’s loss is Upper Harbour’s win, a relatively affluent electorate in the north west of Auckland, although not in the same league as Epsom, will now increase to having four MPs who stood in that electorate at the last election, with David Wilson, who is next on the party list entering parliament, his stated ambition the previous time being to “Take back our country back”.
I’m not sure what he means by taking back our country, but presumably he won’t be supporting the Regulatory Standards Bill, which does the opposite and flies in contradiction of pretty much everything that NZ First has stood for, beyond their peculiar fixation on woke issues.
Where Unkovich managed only 537 votes, Dr Wilson at least garnered 1,330 votes, but that still placed him only fifth.
With Vanushi Walters having returned to parliament following David Parker's retirement, there will now be four MPs in parliament who stood in Upper Harbour in 2023, the others being Cameron Brewer (N) and Karen Chhour (ACT).
Who knows, with Dr Wilson in parliament, maybe we’ll finally get those 500 additional police officers, which were such a commitment by his party back in 2023:
Back to Ms Unkovich, who said it had been her “deepest desire to serve mankind” and that she felt privileged to “be a voice to many in the community who need it the most”.
Quite an incredible comment from someone who seems to be leaving to pursue her own interests.
So, perhaps not really her “deepest desire”, then? Or is she saying that she’s no longer needed as a voice for those “who need it the most”?
Is she leaving safe in the knowledge that this government would never risk the political fallout of following health advice in the event of another pandemic?
A few comments from others:
Brian speculated as to Unkovich’s future endeavours, suggesting, “Tanya's Cooking With Tinfoil Academy???” or perhaps “Nuttanyas Nuremburg Noose Knitters???”
Doug said, “They will be scraping the barrel. Time for the return of Brendan Horan, who Peters sacked in 2012?” It turns out Mr Horan is already standing for council in Whakātane.
Julia said, “She can serve people better in the private sector, LOL. That's fodder for a Tui ad.” I replied, “I guess she reassessed whose interests she was interested in.”
So ends a sad little tale in our political history of an MP who contributed little, stood for things that no serious adult or MP ought to entertain, and now leaves halfway through her first term to focus on her interests.
When I think of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, of how much being in parliament and standing up for people meant to her, it is quite a contrast with someone who can’t even be bothered to see out a term.
Take care, all you lovely people, I hope these storms haven’t treated you too badly, and you have a pleasant weekend.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
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To end, here’s Alanis Morissette performing Ironic at Glastonbury about half an hour ago.
I didn't find the lockdowns unpleasant, or restrictive. I understood the reasons behind them, and in a way, I found them liberating...perhaps because I'm not a particularly social person.
Call me cynical, but I smell dissention in the NZF camp.