Remember the Northland lockdown? Two women do after they were hounded and abused as a result of what we now know were calculated and desperate lies and slander by Chris Hipkins. Lies and slander that weren’t even remotely true, which means that the Minister was responsible, not for misinformation, but rather for disinformation coming directly from the ironically named ‘Podium of Truth’.
David Farrar has provided a helpful timeline of events:
I’ve put together a timeline about the Northland lockdown, so people can see how terrible the misinformation and disinformation from the Government has been, as it scapegoated two women for what was a Government blunder.
– 1 Oct 2021 – woman applies for permission to enter Northland and is granted
– 2 Oct 2021 – enters Northland
– 5 Oct 2021 – following suspicions and complaints from locals, MSD reviews permit application. Find it was granted in error, and revokes it.
– 8 Oct 2021 – Hipkins announced lockdown of Northland and says “the person obtained a document by providing false information in order to get the document to travel across the border. By the time the falsity of that information had been identified and the document had been revoked, they were already in Northland at that point.” Women leaves Northland
– 13 Oct 2021 – Ministers are formally briefed in writing that the application was approved in error
– March 2022 – Hipkins says he stands by his previous statements on the women
– September 2022 – Public find out there was no false information. Hipkins refuses to apologiseThe Northland lockdown was a major event. Not only did it impact everyone living in Northland, but it cost $23 million to their economy. And the Police investigation into the “trip” involved a massive 75 police staff.
This would have all been avoided if a Government agency hadn’t made a mistake. All the costs are because of that mistake.
Kiwiblog
This is appalling, plainly wrong, and has all the hallmarks of an uncaring government willing to demonise and smear in order to cover up a multitude of errors. It most certainly isn’t kind.
But that is not the worst part. The Government knew on the 5th of October that the application had been approved in error. The suspicion there was false information supplied was not confirmed (and turned out to be wrong). Regardless of whether the information was correct or not, MSD were wrong to approve the application. This was known three days before the lockdown.
Rather than tell the truth, Hipkins got up and unleashed the entire country on the women. He said they had lied and falsified information to gain the permit. They had not. He never told us that even if the info was correct, the permit was granted in error.
The women were despised from one end of New Zealand to another. The Minister himself said they had falsified information so they were criminals. The rumours about being gang affiliates and sex workers were treated more credibly because the Minister had told us they lied on their application forms.
Ministers were beyond doubt verbally briefed before the 5th of October. And they were briefed in writing on 13 October. They knew the reason the women were in Northland was because of a blunder by MSD. And they said nothing. Because they did not want to be blamed – so they blamed the women.
And even worse in March of this year Hipkins still stood by what he said. That makes it disinformation, not misinformation.
Kiwiblog
Sorry seems to be the hardest word.
Mike Hosking seems to think so too:
I asked a simple question of Megan Woods yesterday on the programme. Does this Government apologise for anything?
She went on to not apologise. She referenced Carmel Sepuloni, who also hadn’t apologised. And by days end, no one seems to have apologised for the Northland cock up.
Not the Prime Minister, who referred questions to Chris Hipkins in yet another sign that she has basically checked out and essentially just lives for the overseas trips.
And Hipkins himself busily suggested that there was nothing new here, despite the fact most of us thought it was all new. He also said that when it came to an apology he didn’t want to get into the “ins and outs” of it.
Every time something like this happens it is further evidence, as if we needed it, that a full blown, no holds barred inquiry is needed to look at just what this country has been put through.
NewstalkZB
We most certainly do need an inquiry. Will we get one? Unlikely.
The inquiry, if in fact it’s ever held, is now quite frightening. The papers that get released that tell increasingly scandalous stories of ineptitude and incompetence. Think about it, a whole region locked down and three days earlier, they knew the paperwork was wrong.
And even now, when the game is up, the mistake is made public. They don’t want to get into the “ins and outs” of it.
Where is the humility? Where is the acceptance that everyone makes mistakes? And when you do make a mistake, the least you can do is say sorry.
What do you gain by trying to BS your way out of these things? What do you gain by not getting into the “ins and outs” of it? What do you grain by shunting off the questions to your Minister, because as a leader you take responsibility for nothing?
Woods see Sepuloni. Ardern see Hipkins. Sepuloni no apology and Hipkins doesn’t want to get into the “ins and outs” of it.
Open, honest, and transparent, eh? The biggest fraud of the decade.
NewstalkZB
That and “kindness”.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Jacinda Ardern is actually evil. The misery she foisted on everyone has been for nothing, and next week they are going to declare victory and drop masking, when actually not a single thing is different from the day they said masks were vitally important.
Meanwhile, the death toll and serious illness that is building as a result of mandated mass vaccination will ensure that she is run out of town on a rail, destroyed utterly by her draconian and uncaring lockdowns and forced vaccinations.
I hope the two women who were horribly defamed by Chris Hipkins sue the pants off him.
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