It’s funny. The NZ Herald’s latest self generated crusade and pretence of relevance is their ‘cyber bullying’ stance. It’s ironic that a newspaper whose first editorial called on New Zealanders to attack Maori and who over its history has denigrated unionists, feminists and anyone not white for most of their editorial life should lecture on cyber bullying. This is the newspaper which was donkey deep in enabling Cameron Slater to commit his dirty politics smears. This is a newspaper that called for David Cunliffe to resign over a $100 000 bottle of wine that never existed. This is a newspaper who used Rachel Glucina to masquerade as a PR person when she was doing a spin job for the PMs Office to attack the courage of Amanda Bailey.
Listening to the NZ Herald lecture on bullying is like listening to the Prime Minister lecture on how easy it is for the homeless to get help at WINZ.
The greatest irony of the Herald’s cyber bullying crusade is that it uses Paula Bennett as their cyber bully poster girl. This is hilarious when you consider what Paula did to those beneficiaries who had the temerity to point out her hypocrisy taking welfare benefits when she was a solo mother that she had cut off to everyone else. She illegally released beneficiaries details to the media! She’s the poster girl for cyber bullying? She’s the one doing the cyber bullying! This irony hits home this week just after Bennett was caught out lying about helping the Salvation Army and yesterday where her staff cold called journalists to inform them that the leader of the Marae is under investigation for insubordination.
She is spreading vicious gossip about the Marae staff who are doing the job she is supposed to be doing. This follows on from her Salvation Army smear where she tried to manipulate the message to be one of ‘we visited the homeless in cars, and they like living in cars’. Nikki Kaye even had the arrogance to voice this perspective.
Bennett lies about the Salvation Army and now spreads vicious gossip about the Marae staff who are showing up her broken policies. National isnt fighting homelessness they’re fighting media attention of their inaction!
This is disgraceful and would be leading media attention if the Government hadn’t hastily decided to release the Pora compensation deal.
As long as you are a good liar, there is a safe place for you in the National party as its leader is the grand serial liar of the century.
Paula has been out of here depth and intellectual abilities for a long time and clearly it is right now for Labour to insist on your leaving office. She has done enough damage and her “out of touch” — no problem solving rhetoric is getting beyond boring and very ineffective.
Put her out to pasture as soon as possible. We need someone much more competent in her position.
Agree with this they are very devious indeed when there is trouble brewing they create a smoke screen but I think NZers are starting to see this for what it really is.
The biggest bully of all is pull the benefit she still has to live in our country unless she goes to Hawaii with her master
The next election will be voted on two issues:
1.Investor confidence.
2. Social conscience.
Bennett has already started the “dirty politics” campaign.
The National Party and their smears, their personalised kneecapping of anyone who they vaguely percieve as a threat. I assume this revolting appliance of Keys government is still operating as much as it ever did, the only question is whether it’s from his office nowadays.
Bennett and her party are scum, this marae are doing their utmost to help those hurt by Nationals damaging social policy without the money to do so, and all this ghastly hateful woman can do is attack the people within it.
Resign Paula Bennett, you’re a disgrace and take your party with you.
Yep – ask John Key’s
lawyerex-lawyerfinancial adviserex-financial advisermateex-mateThe man routinelyformerlydescribed as Prime Minister John Key’s lawyer, Ken Whitney, is not in fact a practising lawyer anymore.Toot toot chugga chugga big blue bus….
And why are the Herald ignoring this?
A) because they are paid to.
B) because they are told to.
C) because they are afraid of the big stick from this govt and big business media magnates and legal fees if they overstep the line.
D) because although they know silencing the media is the first step towards fascism and that they , like the media in former fascist states , are mainly comprised of weak , servile individuals who prefer to remain silent for fear of their jobs .
Also because quite simply – they enjoy it!
The Herald has always been an apologist newsletter for the political right way back even before the National Party was formed.
The Herald regarded Richard Seddon, the Liberal PM as a socialist!
The Herald represents and speaks for rich smug yuppies, speculators, greedy corporates, rednecks and hate merchants.
Anyone else would be embarrassed to be the icon of such people, but not the Herald. They are proud of it.
A gutter newspaper if there ever was one.
I used to say to our audiences: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”
I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked (1935), ISBN 0-520-08198-6; repr. University of California Press, 1994, p. 109.
How come the media didn’t highlight her lies about visiting the homeless cars ?
Why is the current government not being critique by the media circus we have in our country
So in effect… any claims that Paula Bennett may have as poster girl for the anti cyber bullying campaign is dead in the waters before it even started- as Paula Bennett is possibly the greatest bullying offender in a public high office – and gets away with it by parliamentary privilege and the mere fact that she is a minister.
If the media wont / hasn’t the guts clip her wings it is up to social media to do so.
And like any bully , their tender ego is easily hurt and it does not take much to expose them either. Such as Phil Tywford did the last time they clashed in parliament . She might have thought she had gotten away with having some sort of warped witty repertoire in her vocab with her acerbic retort regarding her incompetence with the homelessness crisis ,
but all the public saw was …..
Bully.
@ XRAY …
This has only just appeared on Stuff. Don’t think it will stay open for too long though. But still nothing on NZH!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/81089110/allegations-top-auckland-police-officer-helped-teenager-leave-country
Take a look at the picture of the Bennett woman! The arrogant, bombastic, bullying body language about says it all!
Hahahahaa … you know who she looks like ?
The Duce- lovable Benito Mussolini…
And if you don’t believe me – follow this link to check it out for yourself.
3 minutes of fun – just think Paula Bennett and youll see what I mean …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA8Uav7EPlQ
@ WK … yes hee hee 🙂 Thanks.
Paula Benito is quite fitting.
This government has attacked, smeared, and undermined it’s critics before. They have an appalling track record for abusing those who embarrass Key’s regime.
+1 Shocking.
There’s no stopping this National lying/bullying machine is there Martyn?
I listened to RNZ 9 to noon Suzie Ferguson interviewing the top National Bully Steven Joyce today on the phone (him at Field days) and the poor Girl couldn’t get a word in sideways again as he jumped down her throat as she tried every time.
This was reminiscent of when Joyce acted the same to David Parker on pre-election 2014 debate remember that fiasco?
Steven Joyce runs the empire HQ of bullies as MBIE represents that operation of supreme dictatorship style using their self styled “authoritarian” agency of compliance enforcement.
The whole political foundation of this corrupt administration is a dictatorship simply put.
We need a public opposition party platform now as I have said as RNZ is under the control of this monster administration and nothing will change until the opposition Parties combine to place a injunction kin the court to seize their half of RNZ/NZTV or we are dead.
Radio NZ’s political editor on Morning Report Jane Patterson is also too timorous to respond to National government ministerial b…s when they open their mouths. Just accepts their answers and doesn’t press the point.
Wouldn’t happen if Kim Hill was doing it.
Mike the Leftie, So right there,
I notice “the Minister of everything” Commandant Joyce has moved Kim Hill away from the attack line-up where see belongs as he knows Kim would do what Paul Homes or Larry King would have done, “ask the right questions”.
We are dumbed down and run by Joyce’s manipulation at will by his MBIE. He is truly a Goebbels clone.
There is something about the evil clown of Bennett , … clown in the absolute political incompetence , … evil in the techniques she uses to publicly assassinate people who get too ‘ loud’ and expose her ‘clown’ mentality.
Any aspirations she ever had to being PM one day have been effectively sabotaged by none other than herself. She is her own worst enemy. And the Lefts greatest asset.
And while cyber bullying is no joke – neither is either the selection of Bennett as its public face nor is her persistent abuse of members of the public. She would have to be the worst of National MP’s save Judith Collins as the public face of that particular campaign.
And the problem with the ‘cyber bullying’ campaign having a public face in any given politician is that it is wide open for abuse. There is something very sinister about this sort of thing happening in our parliament – particularly with a govt that is growing ever more unpopular by the day.
It would be far too easy to misuse this law against political dissenters – especially in light of this Minister , who , has demonstrated a constant recourse to bullying herself – as evidenced by this latest fiasco which amounts to a ‘ he said , she said’ situation where she herself can’t be collared but an expendable one of her juniors can if necessary.
And the fact that now eyes are on Te Puea Marae instead of where it definitely should be – which is one of gross incompetence by this Minister and her govt – goes to show that nothing has changed in the hypocrisy of either Bennett or the Key led govt.
It doesn’t wash.
If this is the best that Bennett can muster, she is a waste of space.
Smearing the only support that so many homeless families have received is not a good look.
I prefer the nanny state at least the nanny cares
Unlike this immoral govt… a case in point is THIS… juxtaposed with with whats happening now , nothings changed after 8 years it is now WORSE:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10468960/Aroha-of-McGehan-Close-flees-NZ
1000% m.gray.
Wheres Gosman , SEEMORE , DAVE and that other right wing fanatical nut job on all of this?
I perceive a ROARING SILENCE on this …
Hello ?… hello?… is anybody there???
We’re not being SELECTIVE on all this now, are we?
Had a pang of conscience?… more like a pang of acute embarrassment.
Maybe its the sad news that the Auckland housing bubble is going to blow that’s scared them off to see their accountants lickety split…
Wild Katipo, Maybe those right wing nuts are all laid off as the Government has cut their pay to?
They are probably all part of the “National digital project” the National have funded with our money to set up a army of National spin doctors for the election but cost to much now.
Anyway we should simply ignore them and not engage in their grubby little politics.
National are a spent force anyway as most we meet hate them now who used to stick up for them.
Roll on election time.
We need to construct strategies for MMP and help roll the bad National nuts.
I watched Parliament this afternoon. I felt sick, disgusted, angry and extremely ashamed that this is my country, represented by such an ignorant, uncaring government.
Any question put to FJK, was arrogantly smirked off, without any reasonable response! When challenged (three times) about his social housing minister, the impression he gave was that Bennett is acceptable to him and doing a good job! When asked by James Shaw if he had walked down the main streets of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and seen the growing number of homeless in those cities, FJK went on a tirade about during his many travels throughout NZ, he sees nothing but a positive country, where people are happy, living well and very appreciative of the good his government is doing!
Another point is, every document referring to how NatzKEY is failing NZ, presented by opposition for tabling this afternoon was rejected, indicating government is reluctant to acknowledge its failed policies.
NatzKEY MPs clapped, laughed and cheered at several of the smart arse comments given by ministers.
It was in the mold of a very bad sideshow.
How did NZ become so rotten?
‘ The Duce effect ‘ … we have a singing , dancing fascist clown who pulls ponytails and pisses in showers as a PM.
And they who wish to succeed in his govt need to do so accordingly.
Hence the evil clown Bennett.
Hang together MARY_A Help is on it’s way we hope.
We truly need a equal half of our public media for our opposition parties to send our messages of truth going forward and hope they will see its their only way forward now.
And they objected to James Shaw tabling this report from Otago University, as it would show how appalling the record of this government is, when it comes to providing sufficient, affordable and suitable homes for people to live in:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago613529.html
Morally bankrupt, that is in two words what this government is!
Became so rotten? Because under MMP we cannot vote out bad politicians. We need a tweak so they can’t stand on the list AND their constituency. THEN they can be voted out. Now, we end up with the worst at the top of the party list. They cannot be voted out. A failing of MMP without that tweak.
So if Bennett is to be believed why has information been released about this and personal information on two previous beneficiaries.
See Wikipedia extract:
Release of private information about beneficiaries
In July 2009, Bennett released the benefit details of two beneficiaries, Natasha Fuller and Jennifer Johnston, who had criticised the Government’s policy of getting rid of the Training Initiative Allowance (TIA).[24] She said she believed she had “implied consent” for the release of the information.[25]
There has also been considerable criticism of Bennett for abolishing the TIA.[26][27] Both Fuller and Labour MP Charles Chauvel said that they would make complaints to the privacy commissioner and Schroff, respectively.[24]
The Privacy Commission investigated Bennett’s actions after receiving a complaint.[28] In late 2010, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff closed her investigation into the privacy complaint and referred the matter to the Director of Human Rights Proceedings for the Human Rights Commission, Robert Hesketh. On 15 August 2012, Hesketh announced the resolution of the complaint under the Privacy Act against Bennett, saying, “On the basis of the Minister’s letter to me, I have agreed to close my file. The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.”[29] In her letter to Hesketh, Bennett wrote,
“I have on previous occasions expressed to you through my counsel and to Ms Fuller, when I met with her in person, my regret at the personal cost that this incident has caused Ms Fuller. The purpose of this letter is to formally convey that.
[…]
“As you know, I took the view that it was appropriate for me to respond to some of Ms Fuller’s comments in order to provide what I considered to be information relevant to the public debate that was taking place at the time. I acknowledge that you consider that I was wrong to do so and that this resulted in a breach of Ms Fuller’s privacy.
“As you also know, I do not accept that view.”[29]
Why now will she not release the name of her own staff member who made comment or was it in fact HER that gave out this information and as with the two beneficiaries designed directly as a smear campaign?
Totally agree re that rotten rag the Herald who are complicit in protecting this evil reprehensible joke we call a government.
Silent when the Nasty Nats are in govt but loud and vicious when Labour are in power who are always cleaning up the mess and carnage left by the National Govt.
Their hypocrisy goes unnoticed, so much so you would think we live in another country.
Well written and on the mark Martyn
Nothing that Bennett does or fails to do surprises me, and when her boss, the PM says, she is straight up and honest, that has to be taken with a grain of salt, like anything he says, “at the end of the day”.
Key the guy that was going to hold his party members to such high standards, has without doubt the dirtiest government in NZ’s history, with a guy like him setting the standard for behavior though, what else could we expect.
EARSHOT; “Key the guy that was going to hold his party members to such high standards”
Key’s “high standards” are just nothing but “rubbish dump toxic waste” to anyone around here!
That compulsive liar – is a cancer that will be seen as a blotch on our political history.
Isn’t Bennet the same one who disclosed private details of two solo-mothers a few years ago, much to the disgust of most fair minded people?
I’ve heard Bennet on RNZ denying she had any part of this smear campaign. I call LIAR on that. Not only did she know, my money is that she planned it, as a distraction from her housing fiasco.
The woman is not fit to be a minister of the crown!
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