Rank Hypocrisy.
Ani O’Brien and the Free Speech Union.
Who are you to wave your finger? So full of it
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters, fuckin' hypocrite
Liar, lawyer, mirror, show me what's the difference?
Kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent
Now you're weepin' shades of cozened indigo
Got lemon juice up in your eye, eye
When you pissed all over my black kettle
You must've been… High.
Songwriters: Justin Gunner Chancellor / Maynard James Keenan / Adam Thomas Jones / Daniel Edwin Carey.
A couple of weeks ago, the story broke that Martyn Bradbury, aka Bomber, the editor of the Daily Blog, was being muzzled:
Prominent blogger facing court action, says he is ‘prepared to go to prison’ for free speech
The news was rough to hear. Firstly, I consider Bomber a mate, not a close friend, but someone I exchange “Merry Christmas, Comrade” messages with and sometimes chat with. Heck, I’ve known him since the mid-90s, when he was editor of the Auckland University magazine, Craccum, and I was a student becoming interested in politics.
Secondly, it felt like an attack on my profession, and being an independent political writer is hard enough without the threat of legal action.
It’s unpleasant to be challenged in that way, and I have to say I’ve gone right off the ACT Party and the Taxpayers’ Union after interactions I’ve had with them over articles I’ve written.
Like others, I speculated about who might have taken such action, but I certainly hadn’t expected it to come from a fellow blogger.
Paula Penfold’s article indicated that Free Speech Union board member and political commentator Ani O’Brien had taken Bradbury to court under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
O’Brien was apparently concerned that Bomber’s criticism of her had become personal, saying, “It wasn’t about him calling me right-wing or disagreeing with my politics, or even mocking my arguments or my work. That’s fine. I accept that.”
It was a noble sentiment: play the ball, not the man. But, given the source, it was, in my view, rank hypocrisy. This is the same Ani O’Brien who spread outright lies and ugly, baseless insinuations against former Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle, harassing them until they felt compelled to resign.
Do you remember that press conference from Doyle, the pain and despair of being falsely accused of child abuse - that came directly from O’Brien.
Ani published screenshots of Benjamin’s private account and described it as “one big giant red flag,” “a child safeguarding nightmare,” and “outrageously inappropriate.” She didn’t call Doyle left-wing or disagree with their politics; she published false allegations of the most repugnant kind, directly attacking Benjamin personally.
Someone I have tremendous respect for, Russell Brown, summarised that situation, and I’ve taken this screenshot from one of Ani’s newsletters:
Ani seems to be quite interested in what other people do, which again has nothing to do with anyone’s political viewpoint.
She has called “non-binary” a “nonsense concept made up by some of the most privileged people on Earth who in the absence of real problems create pseudo grievances about friggin’ pronouns.”
Te Pāti Māori, in her view, are “radicals” who “don’t speak for all Māori.” Cool story, I can’t recall TPM claiming to speak for all māori; I’m more concerned that anyone might think the likes of Seymour or Luxon speak for all pākehā, because they sure as hell don’t.
Not quite able to believe the hypocrisy I was reading about, I posted:
So, right-wing blogger Ani O'Brien tried to silence left-wing blogger Martyn Bradbury, and she is on the board of the Free Speech Union? That organisation is a joke, existing to justify awful far-right speakers while silencing those they disagree with.
Jodi said, “Pity Maiki Sherman wasn't afforded the same protections from Ani's writing as Ani herself demands.”
O’Brien denied claims that her Substack piece, which outed a private conversation between Maiki and Lloyd Burr, was part of a coordinated “political hit” by the National Party or the government against TVNZ. I guess it just looked like a duck. Quack.
Laura commented, “I detest her outspoken, anti-trans perspective that she pushes online, which resembles fascism.”
Moira wrote, “So she is allowed to malign Hipkins by releasing very personal information to damage him in the public eye but kicks up merry hell when someone says something she doesn’t like! This is the whole thing about Free Speech Union! It is only the right wing that is permitted Free speech, it appears!”
Ani denied leaking the information from her friend Jade Paul, Chippy’s ex-wife, but said: “Perhaps you all might understand my visceral dislike for Chris Hipkins a bit better now.” Which seems kind of personal to me and has nothing to do with politics.
Andy replied, “So free speech for me but not for thee.” Which could be the motto of the farcical Free Speech Union.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Free Speech Union (FSU), their so-called ‘council’ includes the likes of former ACT MP Stephen Franks, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers’ Union, and of course Ani O’Brien.
The FSU has defended the rights of Posie Parker, who clearly shares many views with Ani, and of Julian Batchelor, who spread utter lies and disinformation about co-governance as he toured the country, spreading hatred towards Māori.
They defend the worst of the worst under the guise of Free Speech, but when it comes to others' words, they want to shut them down, to silence what they disagree with.
They have opposed the Medical Council, Nursing Council, Veterinary Council, Architects Board, and others in incorporating Treaty of Waitangi/indigenous rights or cultural competency requirements into their policies. Fighting the culture war for the right, which has nothing to do with Free Speech, but is all about controlling what others can do.
The FSU opposes expanding our Hate Speech laws; they criticised groups like the now-closed Disinformation Project and called for them to be defunded. They are literally opposed to people being expected to tell the truth or to behave like civilised humans in what they say. This makes it laughable that they should target Martyn Bradbury for saying something that hurt Ani’s feelings.
Now, I don’t know what Bomber said about Ani, but I do know what she has said about Benjamin Doyle, Chris Hipkins, and Maiki Sherman. As far as I’m concerned, this is a cynical use of the FSU to attack someone with whom they hold diametrically opposed political views.
Nobody should be subjected to personal attacks, but when you wield the most poisonous pen in the land, you’re a rank hypocrite for expecting different standards to apply to you than what you show to others.
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter and can spare a few dollars, consider subscribing or, alternatively, “buy me a coffee” as a one-off koha; it would be greatly appreciated. 🙂
Have a great Friday and take care, all you lovely people.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
To end today, this one is a bit heavier than usual. Here is Tool's "The Pot." If you’re not a fan, this might not be for you, but if you are, you’re very welcome.
Wow, this is superbly written and something that needed to be said, but probably wouldn't have been without you, Nick. This is very important ... I always enjoy Bomber on TV with his discussions. What a terrible hypocrite that women is.
This is so distasteful- thanks Nick for reminding us of her sheer hypocrisy. Long live Bomber, he is a stalwart of left-wing bloggers providing an outstanding service and weekly podcast. I have been proud to be a blogger on his site since 2013.