Wow.
Just.
Wow.
Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma writes his own resignation AND political suicide note at the same time…
Much has been said this week about bullying and the abysmal culture of our political parties which, in my opinion, continue to betray the trust of our voters. Over the last few years and under the outgoing Speaker Trevor Mallard there have been a lot of press releases to indicate that the broader work culture in the halls of Parliament is being changed for the better.
…I’m sorry, who are you…
While this does sound like the right thing to do, it is – in my experience – a PR exercise to placate some of the backlash from the public in recent years. If there was any serious intent or effort to make a genuine change in Parliamentary culture, the current Speaker and the powers that be would have included Member-to-Member bullying in its terms of reference, if not initially then at least in response to the Francis Report which flagged this as a serious issue after interviewing MPs who spend upwards of 30-35 hours on the Parliamentary precinct over the three or more days we are based in Parliament on sitting weeks.
…again, who the hell are you…
What makes this worse is the unusual legal relationship where the MPs are not employed directly by the party or Parliamentary Service, but by their own constituents who would be appalled if they saw even half of what their elected representatives have to bear in terms of harassment from inside the Parliament without anyone specific taking legal or moral responsibility for addressing these concerns.
…yes it’s called Parliament, it’s stressful, they call it the bear pit, war by other means, yes, filled with psychopaths…
For those who need an example, Louisa Wall talked in her valedictory speech about how she was bullied by a senior Labour Party MP early in her career and despite being one of our most outspoken MPs she found out that she had no agency in the halls of Parliament when it came to her own wellbeing. If any of my more recent colleagues could speak freely, I am sure the list of similar stories with no support for MPs being bullied and no consequences for MPs bullying their colleagues would easily fill a book or two.
Crucial to addressing the bullying issue in Parliament is the role of the Parliamentary Service – which is supposed to be an independent and neutral organisation to provide support to MPs. Their own mandate states that “due to the nature of the organisation, Parliamentary Service staff must uphold the highest standards of integrity and trust. We take pride in the fact that we assist members of Parliament to carry out their roles. As well as displaying high levels of integrity, the Service looks for people with political acumen, exceptional customer service skills and an ability to work collaboratively”.
In my opinion, if only this was true.
…are you fucking kidding me? Have you run this past anyone before you submitted it for publication…
The above Member-to-Member and Party-to-Member bullying rampant in Parliament is – I believe – promoted and facilitated by this very organisation by working behind the scenes with the Whips Office, the Offices of the Leaders of various Parties, along with the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Parliamentary Service’s lack of accountability to both the MP and their constituents and the meddling of political parties in a triangular relationship where they end up being the fourth wheel is cause for much concern, in my view. With the way the current Parliamentary Service is run, you can go weeks and months before getting a reply to urgent issues and when they do have an answer it is seldom in writing and often from behind the desk of the party whips who – in my opinion, and based on what I have seen in my time in Parliament – use the Parliamentary Service to bully and harass their MPs “to keep them in line”.
…cue open mouthed ‘are-you-fucking-kidding’ shocked look now…
The Parliamentary Service, established in 1985, is headed by a chief executive in a supposedly non-political role, accountable to the Speaker for the running of the Service. In order for our democracy to be strong, it is important that the Parliamentary Service is led by people not interested in their own long-term careers but by public servants interested in upholding one of the most crucial offices in the country.
If this was a ‘real-world’ organisation run like any publicly owned or privately operated company it would be, in my opinion, long defunct.
The CEO, as well as the Deputy CEO along with the rest of the leadership team, would be long gone and replaced with people who would not only understand what the role entails but also have significant experience in dealing with their own parliamentary staff as well as MPs.
…you are pulling this shit right when all this focus is on National screwing up Uffindell???
WTF ARE YOU DOING?
As things stand, parliamentary staffers are leaving in droves – some haven’t had their expectation settings done for almost two years, others haven’t had annual reviews for nine months and have been consistently underpaid.
Where concerns have been raised with Parliamentary Service about staff or MP colleagues showing unacceptable behaviours in some cases there does not appear to have ever been any investigation or an intent to investigate. If anything, in my experience, when an MP raises serious concerns the Parliamentary Service steps back, stonewalls the conversation, ghosts the MP and throws them to the Whip’s Office to be gaslighted and victimised further so that the party can use the information to threaten you about your long-term career prospects.
Politicians especially at top of our current system and from parties across the political spectrum often talk about “changing the system” and “kindness,” but as the saying goes “charity must start at home”.
* Dr Gaurav Sharma is the Labour MP for Hamilton West. He has been in Parliament since winning the seat from National’s Tim Macindoe in 2020.
Goodbye, Dr Sharma
Though I never knew you at all
You had the ego to hold yourself
While those around you brawled
They crawled out of Khandallah
And they whispered you are lame
They set you on the Wellington treadmill
And they made you ashamed of your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a Millennial in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When Parliamentary Services set in
And I would’ve liked to know you
But I’m just a prick
Your career burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was rough
The roughest role you ever played
Labour created a superstar
And kindness was the price you paid
Even when your career died
Oh, the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Dr S was stupidly rude
Like a Millennial in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When Parliamentary Services set in
And I would’ve liked to know you
But I’m just a prick
Your career burned out long before
Your legend ever did
I think it’s safe to say the next candidate selection in Hamilton West will be hotly contested.
All those on NZ Twitter who have been very vocal re virtue signalling over Uffindell will find climbing down off that high horse in light of Dr Gaurav Sharma very uncomfortable.
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I think he maybe saw that with out a very good list placing, he was toast anyway, and might as well go out with bang, because, there is no staying after this,
Bunch of no hopers. Nz politicians from both sides are a total joke. Winston Peters is the only real politician left.
Just sounds like a load of waffle to me.
If MP Sharma has a grievance – out with it I say! As Winston Peters famously says, “Put Up or Shut Up”.
Zack Brando. Nope. After all, Parliamentary Services are the toadies who, allegedly, trespassed Winston Peters and other former politicians from the Parliamentary precinct for the next X number of years. That looked pretty much like bullying to me. Not all that democratic either. Not all that legal when none of the clobbered had been charged or found guilty of offences warranting being trespassed.
I agree with you there Applewood.
Changing the culture of even a small commercial organisation requires determination and years of effort; changing the culture of a parliament which by function is a political organisation would be a miracle. There is absolutely no evidence that Trevor Mallard can walk-on-water.
Some mothers do ’ave ’em. What an outburst of naivety. He will be out of there, if not as soon as Ian Lees Galloway perhaps, but before the next General Election, or perhaps just not re-selected, as per Sue Moroney. Hamilton Labour does things differently sometimes.
Not many are truly cut out for Parliamentary Politics when it comes down to it. I have known a number of MPs over the decades from various parties, and not too many of them leave the place content with their achievements to put it mildly.
Gaurav’s middle name has to be Wallace.
Bhahahahahaha.
Maybe the good doctor has some skeletons in the closet or looked at the tripe in cabinet and went fuck me why aren’t I there when they are so shit. In any case
Lol fucking lol.
Jacinda dear this is your party and he is directly criticising YOU.
Lol fucking lol.
Bring back Winston – we need some adults in parliament.
Frank seriously with the “lol”. Are you like 15?
I see Dr Sharma is talented: Fulbright Scholar, and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from UoA. MBA from George Washington University
Clearly not a good fit for a party run by union hacks and gender studies graduates!
He’s a man with options and this makes him a loose cannon for the rabid ideologues now running Labour.
These include:
1. Kicking it into touch and continuing his medical career.
2. Contesting his seat as an independent.
3. Doing a deal with the opposition, spending a year maximising the damage he can do within Labour then formally crossing the floor.
Why does everyone think that intelligence to be a surgeon etc means you have all round talent. It can also mean you are on the spectrum with no real people skills.
Wheel Do you speak from knowledge or what? Surgeons may be in the business of chopping things off or out but most would talk to their patients in a sympathetic, meaningful and practical manner which requires people skills.
An interesting tv series called The Good Doctor is available and it is abut a young surgeon with autism. Fictional but the actor playing the part has had advice on how to convey the problem of a medical professional dealing with people under stress. You might be interested to see how he copes when he makes a boo-boo. It’s hard learning with a bump, but good watching.
I do actually. Spent many a year in healthcare and also had a surgeon tenant in the same building who, while clearly brilliant, had the social skills of a power poll. That said I am not meaning to generalise and put all surgeons in the same box, there just seem to be a number of comments here that associate “Dr” with “we’re not worthy”.
Haha, imagine having those qualifications and then sitting on back bench behind some tosser who’s CV consists of having worked at Hugh Wrights and being a stay at home dad. He has got nothing to loose by sticking the boot into Labour on his way out to a proper, well paying career.
Well, glasshouses/stones and all that.
Go playing games with stupid historical shit on your opponents and don’t be surprised when someone disgruntled in your own party who will lose their list seat next year anyway – nothing to lose- points out some hypocrisy from the Labour party itself.
To the general public all this crap does is show what utter flogs we have in parliament.
I’d say Labour were truly desperate to have gone dirty on the plonker Uffindell and this is what blowing up in your face looks like.
Gosh the commenters seem to be a bit like the Party Whips, not interested in the substance of the problem. I notice a number coming forward with their jaws chomping every time there is a chance to criticise a politician or whatever. I like your verse Martyn but I can do worse! I think Dr Sharma is doing the right thing for us all and his sanity. I think he would like the beautiful images that come with this song Vincent by Don McLean – the chorus is ideal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk
“Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)”
…Now, I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now…
For they could not love you
But still your love was true…
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you
Like the strangers that you’ve met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now, I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they’re not listening still
Perhaps they never will
Songwriters: Don Mclean / Elysa Sunshine / Vinny St. Martin
Remains a strong song.
Perhaps preface ‘politician’ with “Labour/Green/Maori Party”-because these commenters are Tory supporters through and through, and when some of them do claim they will not vote for NZ National it merely means ACT instead. They come here for a Labour Bash not to make positive suggestions.
I usually critique the Labour Caucus and its adherence to monetarism and a neo liberal state rather than individual MPs. But I admit this chap got to me with his naivety, does he think he’s the first to stumble upon the arcane rituals, conventions, hierarchy’s and structures of the NZ Parliament? Not destined for a long political career this one.
He’s a straight bowler, and it was people like him who decried the cricket exploits of the Oz bowler who sent along an underarm ball!
It’s a pretty good example really of the clear-eyed person who is not caught up in the network of fibs and servile flattery (crawling) indulged in by others whose career depends on following the regime of ‘doing as I do, not as I say.’
Ego,how it goin.
Meanwhile Darien Fenton shows her true colours and that of the Union movement who purport to protect the interest ps of their members.
If this man is being bullied by parliamentary services who employs these people as my understanding it is not the political parties themselves who employ them. Interesting how this has come out now I smell a rat.
See the parliamentary services who employs them and who are they accountable to ?
When asked about this story Jacinda will put her head to one side smile and say we are the party of openness and kindness and walk away
Perhaps the most disturbing comment, regarding the situation, comes from Trevor Mallard
The Herald reports;
Speaker Trevor Mallard said he would not discuss individual MPs or staff relationships.
“A practice was developed during the last Parliament and has continued into this Parliament where MPs who have ongoing staff relationship issues have been delayed in their appointment of new staff until the whips and Parliamentary Service are convinced they have sufficient skills to properly supervise them.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parliament-bullying-claims-ex-labour-mp-attacks-gaurav-sharma-for-ill-discipline-and-mouthing-off-in-media/WRAFJWQBAOWYGB3HFFMKCVQZTY/
In other words, our representatives will get support staff allocated to them as and when they have the required “skills” to supervise their staff 9as judged by whom?).
One can easily see a situation develop where our representative is “frozen” out from having support staff on the whim of the speaker, the party whips, the PM office, parliamentary services. What level of “supervisory” skill is required?
Is Labour in character assassination mode with hints the representative was not able to “supervise” his staff?
He’s a Dr and a surgeon! Get him out of that dismal place, parliament, and get him working in the health sector where he can do something useful.
I don’t think the guy is being a woke snowflake. I see hi. More as a whistle blower
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