Pish Posh
Politicians have always pushed the boundary between truth, half-truth and lies. In the good old days, they would at least blush and choke out a disingenuous apology. But lately, the lies from Jacinda and this Labour Government have become so frequent that if the mainstream media actually did their job they would drown in the material.
As they have abdicated their role spectacularly, I will step into the void and present you with two more hand on heart promises from Jacinda.
But first, we have to set the scene. On 22nd September NewsHub’s Dan Satherley mockingly reported that:
“Conspiracy theorists have claimed a COVID-19 vaccine, when available, will be “forced” on everyone – including Kiwis.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rubbished all those conspiracy theorists, promising “Not only will there be no forced vaccinations, but those who choose to opt-out won’t face any penalties at all.”
It’s actually sad looking back at that time in New Zealand. Before there was “them” and “us”, vaccinated and unvaccinated, citizens and unclean.
As we all know, things changed rapidly. Those conspiracy theories were actually government policies ready to be rolled out. With tanks if necessary.
By 25th September NZ Herald’s Claire Trevett reported that “Ardern said she was not keen on measures being used in countries such as France and Denmark where only vaccinated people were allowed into crowded venues such as restaurants, sports stadiums, concerts and night clubs.”
According to Jacinda, “People would not consider it freedom of movement if you’re only able to go and partake in activities if you’re vaccinated.”
BUT…
“Having panned around now, I can see how they can fit into a toolbox.”
At this point, I think it is worth checking on behalf of our very worried nation if diplomacy is in her toolbox? Or is she only using hammers? Can someone do a quick Official Information Act request to see what is in this toolbox? Double-check for us all that the tooth ripper-out and nail ripper-off were confiscated after WWII?
It’s important at this point to make sure Grant Robertson doesn’t scuttle off into the shadows on this. When he inevitably wrestles power from the claws of Jacinda and she flies off to her new farm in Southland, lets remind him of a 1 News interview on the 28th of September:
The Government has dismissed any possibility of making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory. “So no, we’re not going down that mandatory path, but we are going to use every other tool in the toolbox.”
(Follow up OIA: Does this government know they are not actually builders?)
Pardon the long preamble but we have arrived at the promises worth recording in every New Zealander’s consciousness.
On the 18th of November, Jacinda visited the Tairawhiti vaccination centre and while she encouraged locals to jab up – “I did it for my little girl because she can’t be vaccinated” (need I remind the Prime Minister she would have to be in contact with her little girl to pass a virus on) – protesters (or as Amalia Wade reported them, “unreasonables”) shouted, “You’re harming our children!” to which Jacinda responded,
“On kids, there will always be choice, always, you have my absolute commitment on that.”
Jacinda Ardern
There we have it, folks. Her absolute commitment. Pop that on the record.
The second item of national significance was at the very end of an interview between Jacinda and The Country‘s Jamie Mackay.
“Also in today’s interview: Ardern said she would not implement a national vaccine mandate like Austria and whether achieving an over 90 per cent vaccination rate was enough to protect Kiwis from a fourth wave.”
They say a week is a long time in politics. Back in August Jacinda said to Stuff’s Henry Cooke, “That’s the beauty of being a politician in a small country, you don’t have to go far to be able to get a sense of things without having to rely on a poll.”
Oh, how right you are. Why don’t you pop down to a vaccine clinic and we’ll all let you know how we feel. Especially if you lie to us again.
