It is becoming more and more obvious that those increasingly strange human beings in our Parliament, known to us as Members of Parliament, are now the Cowards of the Country. Who would have thought that those we elected to provide leadership could have failed so miserably to do just that?
Who would have thought that when hundreds, if not thousands, of the people who elected them turned up asking to meet with them, not one had the decency, not one had the guts, to come forward and find out what their concerns were. Instead, we got derisory statements from MPs calling their fellow Kiwis a disorganised rabble, a small minority who are anti-vax.
Those Kiwis who died in two world wars to protect our democracy and therefore our right to vote, would be ashamed of our current crop of lily-livered politicians. Instead of doing what was right, they offered all sorts of pathetic reasons and excuses for not doing their elected duty and talk to their constituents.
The rest of the country is looking on aghast at the actions of a heavily politicised police force under the control of Jackboot Jacinda.
This is not the New Zealand we want to live in. We do not elect politicians to ignore our basic concerns like wanting our freedoms back. As Matt King, the ex-National MP has so rightly said:
“The anti-vax brigade is small but the anti-mandate group is massive.”
Matt had the decency and the guts to travel from Northland to join the protestors at Parliament. Do the National Party support his action? You bet they don’t.
A party spokeswoman issued a statement saying: “Matt King is no longer an MP for the National Party. National is strongly pro-vaccination and does not support the actions or the anti-vaccination messages of those involved in Convoy 2022. Everyone has a right to protest but people shouldn’t be getting aggressive and violent, breaking rules or impinging on the rights of others”.
What an absolute disgrace. They no longer want to know Matt King. They still think the Convoy is just about getting a jab. They blame the people for the violence. Not the Police violence I witnessed.
Had any of the National MPs bothered to meet the protesters they would have found many unhappy with the actions of this government; actions they are also against. Instead, they dismiss them as “disorganised rabble”. This will not win them any votes in 2023.
Right now I suggest they are losing them in their thousands. The more than 400,000 voters National lost last time will not be attracted back by Labour-lite. The Convoy is primarily made up of anti-mandate people. These are people who are concerned for their businesses; people who have lost their jobs through business closures or not being vaccinated. These are people who want their lives and freedoms back.
I foolishly thought that’s what National and ACT stood for, but apparently not.
The headers to some of the articles on Friday’s edition of the BFD perfectly summed up the situation the country finds itself in. ‘New Zealand’s Shame’. ‘This Is Personal Now Jacinda’. ‘You Want It Darker’ (Cam Slater on the Police and Mallard). ‘That’s It I’m Gone’ ( Christie on leaving the Nats). ‘I Support the Protest 100 Percent’ (Rodney Hide). ‘A Slippery Slope to a Police State’. ‘Right Now, All Eyes Are on Wellington’. These articles might be appearing on a conservative, right wing website but here’s the thing. The BFD has had an enormous increase in popularity since Covid hit. The reason why is clear.
The BFD, unlike the politicians, has its finger on the pulse when it comes to the mood of the country in relation to Covid and other matters.
The polls are also reflective of the change in the wind. Winston Peters gets it. Rodney Hide gets it. Matt King gets it. Do Christopher Luxon and David Seymour? Apparently not, or they would have gone and spoken to the people whom their parties are supposed to represent: the small business owners, those who have lost their jobs, those who are concerned at the direction this country is going in, those against the economic damage being done, those who want the country united.
All the things National and ACT supposedly stand for but not any more. Not one MP, not one, had the intelligence to realise that had they gone to meet with these people they might have earned their respect. There might have even been a few thousand votes in it for them, if you want to be callous about it. Instead they were very happy to compliment the Police on ‘how well’ they were protecting their precious place. I am fast coming to the view that these MPs are so out of touch with ordinary Kiwis they are like aliens from another universe.
On Friday I listened to people ringing up Newstalk ZB in tears about what’s happening to them and their businesses. They can’t get staff, they can’t get government assistance. These people are stressed beyond belief. I drove through Newmarket; half the premises on one side of Broadway had ‘For Lease’ signs in the windows. The country is going to hell in a handcart and all we hear from the politicians is ‘get a jab, get a jab, get a jab’. We are sick and tired of hearing it.
That sort of ad infinitum carry on is to be expected from the left. That the right have bought into it is, to put it politely, perplexing. What we want from the right is answers as to how they are going to get us out of the mess the country is in. We are fed up with the Covid talk. That is not where the votes are. For God’s sake get off the Covid bandwagon and start talking about what the public wants to hear. What those people outside Parliament want to hear.
Instead, they are ignored and a largely peaceful protest has seen heavy-handed action from the Police made the ‘meat in the sandwich’ by the cowardice of the politicians. Trevor Mallard’s actions have done nothing to keep the situation calm: quite the reverse. When people are backed into a corner their true colours show through. This clown who presides over the weekly parliamentary circus really is the joker in the political pack.
Seemingly unaware there is a sprinkler ban in Wellington, he orders the sprinkler system in Parliament grounds turned on, thinking that would chase the crowd away. Don’t ducks just love water! Trev was then outsmarted by his enemies who put traffic cones over his sprinklers. Worse was to come. These resourceful people dug trenches to divert the water from the sprinklers. Mallard, by his bully boy tactics, has only managed to wreck the lawns he is responsible for.
Had leaders Luxon and Seymour gone and addressed these people and listened to their various concerns, Trev could have saved himself the humiliation of seeing his lawns destroyed. Molesworth Street would be clear of vehicles and the Police could go back to their rightful duties.
What we now have is business people upset, arrested people upset, policemen and women upset and a large proportion of Kiwis upset.
All because politicians wouldn’t lower themselves to go and have a chat with decent Kiwis from all over New Zealand to discuss their concerns. If any National or ACT MP is reading this I have a question: Who the hell do I vote for in 2023?
If your party donations are suddenly drying up, don’t blame the people on the lawns of Parliament. Find the nearest mirror.