National Party leader Christopher Luxon: “We don’t just do bottom feeding and just focus on the bottom,” he said. Instead, “we focus on people who want to be positive and ambitious, aspirational and confident”.
Deputy Leader of the House and Minister of Transport Michael Wood: There is a “river of filth” behind the violent behaviour seen at the Parliament protest….
“Bottom feeders” and “rivers of filth” are dog-whistle attacks on some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders from people in positions of power and privilege. They are not far from incitement to hatred.
Christopher Luxon should know beneficiaries pay a higher proportion of their income in tax (GST and income tax together) than he does. They are carrying him.
And Michael Wood should accept that people have the right to hold unpopular views and unpopular opinions without being tossed into his “river of filth”. It’s called democracy. Respect it.
Both comments are unacceptable and unforgiveable. Neither is fit to represent the country.
Luxon’s just a Key protege, and Key was always a common little weasel with an eye on the main chance – but for a professed Christian, Christopher Luxon’s comment is disgraceful – disgraceful for a Jew or a Muslim or a Communist too; I wonder where he gets his grubby wee mindset from. Who does he mix with ? Whose vocabulary is this ? This is off-shore.
Wood’s river of filth proclamation should disqualify him from ever even pretending that he represents New Zealanders if that is how he regards people who think differently from him, or who even think, which few MP’s did with this occurrence, they just knee-jerked.
Yep, there are scumbags everywhere, but this comment of Mr Wood about New Zealanders has angered me as much as Marama Davidson’s white-bashing in wake of the Christchurch Muslim massacres; both were wrong, both are immature, and neither of them should be in Parliament.
We don’t actually need dopey pollies who are as divisive as this unholy trio.
Well said SW. The standard of our politicians has declined beyond belief, and that includes every Party.
Totally agree. The comments say a lot about them both.
As my unvaccinated brother said yesterday “we need some people in the control group”
So we are all amazed that these bottom feeding filth are sceptical of science.
Ok so why is that?
-very poor procedure in the Wuhan lab?
-the USA funding the lab to make a virus more infectious (gain of function)?
-no crime scene investigation of the lab (no one allowed near it)?
-no procedure to genome sequence any virus being experimented on so that any outbreak can be traced?
-no international policy for the safety of future gain of function experiments?
So 10 million people die and no one is implementing any change-defies belief
This isn’t the first time that Wood has over-reacted politically; he was filmed involved in some sort of altercation with an Indian man whom he apparently thought had insulted his wife. He may be too thin skinned, or simply a jerk like Luxon, but his attitude appears dreadful.
Yep, and that’s contemporary politics for ya…
There is no basis for having a reasonable discussion when words like “river of filth” are being chucked around. There is though when the reasonable discussion is with someone who says that Jacinda Ardern is the “most evil person ever given birth to in New Zealand.”
Can’t think why the politicians wouldn’t have meetings with the Wellington protestors and their representatives like Liz Gunn.
Like Trump and that corrupt Republican Party the “Ends Justifies the Means”
Tony. Funny you should say that – I think that Michael Wood looks uncannily like one of Donald Trump’s sons.
Trumpism, which most of the anti-vaxers stand for, is filth, and needs to be called so.
It falls for the impostion of white supramecy and Old Testament Biblical law at gunpoint.
Most of these protesters were also opposed to civil rights, abortion, LGBT rights and the teaching of evolution, as well as ‘traditional’ gender roles.
Um Millay I saw someone flying an LBGTQ flag in the protest.
These people were not anti vaxers but ANTI MANDATE. I have been vaxed but I was totally opposed to the mandate. I do not regard this as filth at all……
You mean like this upstanding anti mandate citizen…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parliament-protest-donations-went-into-bank-account-of-man-with-history-of-unpaid-debt/R42YDV3EMXIGHEF2CR25L6XZM4/
Men in dark suits and corporate ties. It’s the same everywhere. No empathy for the marginalised. Just contempt. What is more troublesome is not that individual politicians hold such views but the fact that they have so much support, overtly or covertly expressed, among the electorate.
Couldn’t agree more John. Both are showing contempt for NZ citizens
Anker. I see – with some disbelief – that Wood is actually a Minister. He needs to tidy up his speechifying ASAP.
He said “bottom feeding” NOT bottom feeder.
Did u even watch the NewtalkZB interview?
It’s pretty shamefully when the entire NZ media not only quotes Luxon out of context, but can’t even quote two words correctly.
Putting that aside.. anyone see Q+A’s cost-of-living interview this week? It really took Q+A to all time lows, what an absolute and shameless waste of taxpayers mone!
“There is a river of filth behind the violent behaviour seen at the Parliament protest” is actually an accurate assessment of the situation. The level of the violence and destruction gleefully perpetrated by a section of the protestors robed the whole protest of its authenticity and any credibilty.
Do you feel the same way about the tour protesters PK?
Also what exactly is meant by a river of filth
Anker, some of the actions of small groups of the tour protest were stupid and unhelpful to the cause – the aerial flour bombing down right dangerous and protestors in helmets with weapons indicated unlawful intent; but on the whole the protests were focused and effective. The mandates protest lost all credibilty about day 2 when the freedom of others was the target and destruction of property became the norm.
‘the river of filth’: desecration of memorials, squalid living conditions, use of children as shields, intimidation of people trying to go about their normal business; now it’s time for those that funded it to declare their income sources.
John I think the rivers of filth comment was a stupid and provocative remark. That said I don’t know how you then arrive at ” Michael Wood should accept that people have the right to hold unpopular views and unpopular opinions without being tossed into his “river of filth”. It’s called democracy. Respect it.”
Yes they do have those rights but disagreeing over views is not equivalent to hurling paving stones. If Michael Wood is commenting on the perpetrators of violence at the protest, which he appears to be, you are lumping everyone in to the same bucket which is completely wrong. I would think the majority of the protestors were not in agreement with tossing bricks about. I think you have unwittingly “tossed” everyone into said river.
Luxon is a slimey rent seeking tax free capital gaining piece of shit, the type of person who Jacinda has just rewarded with millions in tax free capital gain. NZ politics is full of pure scum on every side.
Well spotted ex-kiwi. Succinctly put.
But, one particularly born-to-rule Tory side of the political spectrum, and its allies and enablers, embraces dirty politics filth worse than the other side of the spectrum.
Mike Judge “ …born-to-rule Tory” ? Chris Luxon ? The living advert for how to grow spuds in sacks ? No. The top potato might be gleaming scrubbing- brushed clean but dirt hangs around the roots hence his rather crude bottom-feeding ideology. It’s a bad season for potatoes.
I heard “Spud” Luxon this morning on National Radio fluff and obfuscate again on co-governance, charter schools, dismantling Maori Health boards and because traffic was at a standstill on the Auckland motorway, I shut my eyes and could hear Sir John Key #1. ‘We’ll have a conversation, and ask the Labour Party what they mean by co-governance and then decide on whether we will support a referendum’
A quick shudder, eyes wide open again. Same spud paddock, same rows, same light blue and yellow and black blight, different season. With Judith Collins the scarecrow, scaring away the magpies and ravens and giving my kids nightmares..
Is it just me, or does Nicola Willis look very like Ruth Richardson? Brace yourselves beneficiaries and bureaucrats, I can smell a Mother-of-all-Budgets again.
The outrage of the comments made by Luxon and Wood remind me of the outrage around the anti smacking law.
Most thinking people can work out who both these people are talking about just the way a light smack on the bottom was not the thrashing that the bill was aimed at. Wether you like it or not there are some very unsavory people out there who deserve the scorn of normal people just the same as there was a group of protestors that tarnished an message being sent by some sincere people . I know some will say I am an unpc boomer but I have been around long enough and dealt with rich and poor and both contain unpleasant people
“Bottom feeding”—spoken by someone from a small sector of society with a bottomless appetite.
The continual harping on about being CEO of Air New Zealand, trotting out old Key era rhetoric, a cronyistic appointment to where he is now; demonstrates a dearth of “ambition” or “aspiration”. As I recall, reading the news a year or two before COVID appeared, the company was underperforming. Instead of turning it around, he just left to feed from the perk laden trough of parliament.
Given how many are struggling with the current conditions, goes to show how out of touch he is. Another overinflated ego.
Actors and comedians seem to be the full package these days (Zelinsky). Give me Munter, last seen doing road speed ads. I would trust him running the ship over these two National floggers who are serious cringe. Right!
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