Foot in Mouth Award – Nicky Wagner, because disabilities issues are such a drag on a nice day

By
Frank Macskasy
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24
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Bennett had it (and probably still does)…

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Key had it;

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… still had it;

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Aaron Gilmore had it;

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Steven Joyce has it;

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Alfred Ngaro has it;

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And it seems Minister Nicky Wagner has it;

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Yes, indeed, Ms Wagner, we’re sure you’d rather be out on the harbour rather than having to mess around with boring disability issues. After all, it’s not your responsibility if some people ‘choose’ to stay indoors rather than go sailing because they happen to have a disability.

Oh, wait, you’re Minister for Disabilities.

Yes, indeed, another National member of Parliament has revealed her innermost thoughts and feelings about us plebes. We are an inconvenience. Especially on a fine, sunny day.

Ms Wagner soon received a barrage of criticism for her 15 June ‘tweet’;

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1h1 hour ago

really? your response to backlash is to double down and refuse to apologise?? I hope you end up on the news for this.

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4h4 hours ago

Replying to

Then resign and give your position to someone with integrity and compassion. Shame on you.

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14h14 hours ago

Replying to

So would everyone with a disability but not everyone gets that choice…

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2h2 hours ago

Replying to

I suggest you step down then. Our communities deserve someone who wants to be there and makes a difference.

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3h3 hours ago

Replying to

find a new job as a fisherman if representing our disabled community is too much of a chore

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12h12 hours ago

Replying to

You tweet this? Clearly your judgement is poor. Make the most of your good fortune

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2h2 hours ago

Replying to

I hear you- I hate it when our daughters disability gets in the way of our sailing. And biking. And overseas travel. Ugh

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12h12 hours ago

Replying to

Well sorry for taking up your precious time by having a disability. I’d rather not have to think about it either. Ugh.

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2h2 hours ago

Replying to

Oh my gosh. Your my mp. From my area. You told me disability was your most important thing to you. You lied to me.

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9h9 hours ago

Replying to

Resign from your ministerial position. Such a flippant attitude when your meant to be meeting critical stakeholders of your portfolio! Shame

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7h7 hours ago

Replying to

i can tell this tweet isn’t going to age well over the next few months…

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And this (amongst many more) which sums things up in a nutshell;

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10h10 hours ago

Replying to

No worries, sweetie, after September 23 you can spend as much time on the harbour and away from pesky work as you like. 😀

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One hapless National Party supporter tried – without much success – to mitigate matters;

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8h8 hours ago

Replying to

Nicky you might pay to reread your tweet slowly & listen to your words.The delivery of this measage is appalling. Goodluck defending it oops

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Followed by,

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1h1 hour

To all the Lefties who seem to have liked my tweet.As a National supporter it was sent to Nicky in good faith not spite.We all make mistakes


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Good try – but stop digging, Geoff.

Ms Wagner quickly realised the enormity of her blunder and attempted to make good with two follow-up ‘tweets’, about eleven minutes apart;

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But by then, at least one representative from the msm had noticed the twitterstorm that had blown up around Minister Wagner;

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8h8 hours ago

Replying to

We will all stand by and watch for your ‘clarification and apology.’ See Alfred Ngaro for further help.

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8h8 hours ago

Replying to

Ummmm.. awkward. You could always resign if you don’t like your job! I know a bloke who does good harbour tours to the whales and dolphins.

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Garner’s description as “awkward” would be an understatement.

Perhaps, as National Party supporter Geoff Booth said, “We all make mistakes“. But National ministers and mps have a track record of occasionally letting slip what they really think of  us serfs. And it isn’t very flattering.

If this is how Ms Wagner feels about spending time on disability issues, perhaps it explains why we have had three housing ministers – simultaneously – and yet we still have rising homelessness and worsening housing affordability.

Perhaps it explains why we have chronic health underfunding, including  over-stretched mental health services.

Perhaps it explains why we still have high youth unemployment of NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and allowing 70,000 migrants to come to New Zealand because we are “short of skilled workers”.

Perhaps it explains why – when the economy is supposedly growing – wages have stagnated.

Obviously, National ministers would rather be doing something else.

In one way, former disgraced MP, Aaron Gilmore was the most honest out of the entire National parliamentary caucus; he really did express the innermost feelings of how the Born-To-Rule view us. I suggest Ms Wagner resign from Parliament and Aaron  Gilmore take her place. At least he’s more upfront and we know what we’re getting.

The rest of his National colleagues can also take a long, long cruise out onto the Auckland harbour.

 

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References

Radio NZ:  Bennett ‘would consider another privacy breach’

NZ Herald:  Key – US journalist Greenwald ‘a loser’

NBR:  ‘Dotcom’s little henchman’

Mediaworks:  ‘Do you know who I am?’ – Aaron Gilmore

NZ Herald: Minister to students: ‘Keep your heads down’

NZ Herald:  Associate Housing Minister Alfred Ngaro reprimanded, apologises to PM over Willie Jackson comments

Parliament: Nicky Wagner

Twitter: Nicky Wagner

Twitter: Nicky Wagner – would rather be out on harbour

Twitter: Nicky Wagner – follow up on harbour tweet 1

Twitter: Nicky Wagner – follow up on harbour tweet 2

Previous related blogposts

Foot in mouth award – Former ACT MP exposes flaw in free-market system

Foot in mouth award – another former ACT MP plumbs new depths of dumbness

Foot in mouth award – Bill English, for his recent “Flat Earth” comment in Parliament

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= fs =

24 COMMENTS

  1. Good for you Frank
    Nikki forgot for the moment that her tweets had a wider audience. She was “sharing” with her privileged boat shoed buddies.Probably thought she was showing her rueful “human” side

  2. Spot on Frank.
    There must be a higher than average incidence of Antisocial Personality Disorder amongst the members of this government. Their record is there for all to see – you’ve demonstrated that time and time again in your excellent articles.
    Hmmmm….maybe ASPD is a prerequisite for joining the Nazional party??

  5. How dare people be disabled? Don’t they know important people like minister Wagner have better things to do with their time???

    Please regrow your limbs, eyesight, etc, and stop inconveniencing our important political masters.

  6. Bill English’s response to this and the latest Pike River video.

    “nothing to see here, move right along”, isn’t the economy doing well”

  7. Foot-In-Mouth-Braindead Disability Minister and her list of ….

    1. “…and the harbour thing? I dont know who said that!?”
    2. “..I had misplaced my phone that day?”
    3. “Oh thats right.I gave it to one of the disabled kids to play with??”
    4. “My fuck’n assistant …..!”

    Which excuse works?

  9. ‘ If this is how Ms Wagner feels about spending time on disability issues, perhaps it explains why we have had three housing ministers – simultaneously – and yet we still have rising homelessness and worsening housing affordability.

    Perhaps it explains why we have chronic health underfunding, including over-stretched mental health services.

    Perhaps it explains why we still have high youth unemployment of NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and allowing 70,000 migrants to come to New Zealand because we are “short of skilled workers”.

    Perhaps it explains why – when the economy is supposedly growing – wages have stagnated.

    Obviously, National ministers would rather be doing something else.’

    ……………………………………………

    I like it. Says it all.

  10. It’s NOT amazing the way people often reveal their true feelings and prejudices by way of off-the-cuff, ill-thought-out utterances.
    They’re usually followed by pithy, bullshit apologies that only a fool would believe are genuine.
    You just need to watch Question Time to see where the Nodder-in-Chief and Minister for Harbour Cruising really stands.
    Alongside Joyce, Bennett, Guy, Bridges, Ngaro and a few others, it’s plain to see they’re driven by ego, over-ambition and an inflated sense of self-worth before anything else. It’s very, very Key/Gilmore-like. It’s also just a bit tacky and lacking in any sense of humilty or modesty.
    It amazes me that some profess to be Christians – one even professes to be Sikh

  12. Bill is not concerned ” it is a storm in a teacup “was his response.

    Hey its only the disabled eh.

  15. Worth noting who Nicky Wagner is up against – a very strong candidate.
    Duncan Webb has spent years fighting insurance companies and the EQC on behalf of forgotten homeowners. Meanwhile Wagner was doing nothing for Chch Central.

    Here’s an article on him. I don’t know any Labour MPs who have the guts to call themselves socialists (probably because most Labour MPs are third-way Thatcher apologists).

    Quote from article:

    No, he is old-fashionedly comfortable with the S-word, he says. “I was on national radio and someone asked me my politics. I said I was a socialist.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91543172/the-year-of-the-doorknock-duncan-webbs-tilt-at-christchurch-central

  16. What do thousands of sheep say to one another when they’re mobbed up in a corner by one dog? Have you ever wondered?

    See the comments above.

    There’s sixteen comments up there, and I know, there are many, many more people who feel similarly and yet we can only be crammed into that corner and bleat while we get picked off, one at a time. Cornered by a fat, worthless, yapping, old dog who’s quick to the tucker and slow to the work.

    Nicky Wagners office plus sixteen people plus sixteen bricks and she’d have brought it upon herself.

    Otherwise, as the sheep we clearly are, all we’ll hear is… Yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap,yap

  18. Excellent assessment, Frank. The “born to rule” attitude didn’t die with Aaron Gilmore’s sacking, it was just hidden beneath a veneer of amiability. This is what the Nats really think of us.

    • John Key… ” As a third term government we must not become arrogant”

      Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha!!!

  19. When has the National party ever cared about anything unless it makes money.

    Minister for the disabled in a National government seems a contradiction in terms like Womens affairs, veteran affairs , mental health the list goes on

Comments are closed.