The IPCA report is a whitewash.
Here is what I think.
An unhinged minority of antivax protestors and conscientious objectors mixed and mingled and amplified natural health crystal Karens and white supremacists into a hate algorithm feeding frenzy of rage and hurt at being ostracised in their own country.
Some of these unhinged extremists had a list of ‘war crime politicians’ they were going to hang and asked fellow sovereign citizen lunatics to vote the order of hangings.
I was bitterly disappointed not to have made that list.
I believe Jacinda and the Labour Government did an outstanding job flying blind into the face of a once in a century pandemic from a novel virus.
I believe that the mandates were harsh and awful, but were necessary to stop a mass death event.
I believe we did a poor job of ensuring the economic needs of these people were looked after.
I believe Jacinda could not meet directly with protestors who were using such extreme violence in their messaging.
I believe a representative of the Government (Willie Jackson) should have come from Government and listened to the concerns and that would have dissipated this.
Jacinda refused that.
This was Jacinda at her worst haughty head girl routine.
For Jacinda, the greatest sin was unkindness and the news that a girl cried because she was mocked for wearing a mask was akin to evil. She refused anyone aknowledge their existence.
But you can’t just cancel protesters camping out on Parliament Lawns.
While I disagreed with their protest, I believed in their right to protest.
The media and the MPs who were being escorted in and out of Parliament under heavy protection melodramatically believed they were surviving their own January 6th Insurrection. This paranoia fucked up any chance of de-escalation.
I believe we are a conflict avoidance culture due in part to our terrifying domestic violence rates, but when the conflict does occur, the fight/flight triggers become flight to fight. Wellington’s middle class activists were terrified by the animosity from the aggrieved and demanded the Police Commissioner storm the Lawns with dogs, tear gas and riot Police.
Dr Bryce Edwards was attacked by the woke and criticised for pointing out the identity politic activists were wrong about the majority of protestors and that this was a class issue primarily. They attempted to have him canceled from his job.
The Wellington Middle Class activists saw Nazi’s everywhere and demanded violent State suppression of the Nazis.
One Woke Warlord, Clint Smith, called upon the Governor General to sack the Police Commissioner and replace him with an internal security panel whose first declaration would be to green light force to remove the Nazis.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster stood up to Wellington Middle Class fear and refused point blank to trigger a level of violence that would scar NZ.
This mob were manipulated by far right bad faith actors, but that mob wouldn’t have existed in the first place if Labour had been transformational for their economic anxieties.
Trevor Mallard’s little man syndrome temper tantrum on the first Thursday caused him to see the protestors as an existential threat and commended Police clear the Lawn. This tactically stupid decision live streamed to a population images of violence they had never seen before.
The vast amount of NZers interact with Police via the TV show Police 10-7. There they see heavily edited funny, helpful, wise, kind, brave Police helping everyone.
On that day they saw Police forcibly arresting people that looked just like them.
Trevors temper tantrum forced Police to commit to arresting everyone at a point in the protest when the whole protest was ending. The factions inside the protest had argued overnight at the previous days attempt to enter Parliament (which was professionally handled by the NZ Police), and most of the factions had packed up and left by 6am of the Thursday morning because of all the over night fights.
So this was a protest that was ending.
Right up until Trev’s temper tantrum, because as soon as the Police were forced to start making mss arrests, the remaining protestors had a common enemy.
The Police arrested hundreds which quickly filled the cells to over flowing and they had to stop mid afternoon!
Trevor livestreamed a 10 hour recruitment video to every quack with an axe to grind and the protest swelled from 700 to 5000.
Thank you Trever you fucking moron.
The SIS infiltrated the camp in the second week and brought back frightening tales of plots and threats from the protesters, but because none of the threats could be verified for capacity to actually carry any of these threats out, so it was hearsay that finally spooked Coster into action.
On the day Police illegally took over a firehouse to use against protestors.
They fired sponge bullets.
They used experimental sound weapons.
They threw rocks.
Trevor’s actions and total refusal of any political leadership to de-escalate this meant we are all ultimately responsible for this clusterfuck.
The dark treacle of hate, radicalised by this event has sunk deep into the broken heart of those New Zealanders ignored and othered by a vaccination mandate the majority needed and required.
The only winners are the mass surveillance State who have spooked the MPs into granting then more budgets and more powers.
We all failed each other.
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It was strange days for sure. I was kinda proud as a kiwi to see the protesters planting gardens and plumbing in toilets to Wellington city’s drainage. It’s good to know people who know how to do stuff like that. Ya gotta see the good in everyone sometimes. I’ll remember that forever, with a chuckle.
yep, that had me in stiches. Mallard – turn on the sprinklers, that’ll teach them, ‘Unruly Mob of Dissenters’ – bro, lets rig a drainage.
Heir PM and her ministers fucked up! The opportunists decided to manufacture a riot by being arrogant, fueled by hubris and their own misguided bs belief in their own ‘Gaia’ of Wokery.
Covid became a political issue in September 2021 when the PM at the time received a letter from some CEOs and then a few days latter. The end of lockdowns was announced and from that point onwards, covid was a political issue, not a health issue as far as decisions about covid were to be made from that point on.
Nailed it. Labour clung to Covid for all it was worth. Heck they’re still wheeling out Baker and Wiles to this day.
NZ smashed Covid when we had no idea of it’s potential, but the govt drunk on its own power realised it could use the cover of Covid to keep people scared, and scared people are obedient people.
And National still wheel out Hosking, the rest of your post I put on the compost heap.
The mandates were an unjustifiable infringement of the Bill of Rights, as Bloomfield told Ardern and Hipkins. There was no evidence vaccination stopped transmission, Pfizer had never tested for that effect as one of their executives told the European Parliament. And yet by government decree people lost their livelihoods and were publicly ostracized. A deeply shameful episode in our history for which the politicians should be held to account. Yes, I am triple vaxxed, but I now regret it due to the depressed immunity that has resulted from the 3rd jab.
Yes BG they treated New Zealanders like lab rats.
Sadly, it worked, your still alive.
Mein Denny you do yourself a disservice or maybe not. Well at least BG Von dumbfuck agrees
Martyn – At a guess…I would suggest that most of the protesters were Labour/Green supporters, not anymore…
Most MPs showed how out of touch, and scared they are the public…by refusing to meet, and/or talk to protesters…shameful
Good that you compliment National and Act voters in not silly enough to be antivax
Being right wing or conservative does not make you a paid up member of the tin foil brigade.
Most definitely Nathan they were Labour/Green supporters.
Yes you do have to see the good in people. Maybe find a common ground to get talking with folks even if their views are opposed to your own and down right hostile.
Just to listen and respect and admit we don’t have all the answers at time. Promote peace.
Side by side we advance, head to head we both get nowhere.
The Duck definitely escalated things and the end result was a F*ck Up brought back memories of the Springbok Tour and Robbie Muldoon.
Brian Tamaki and his cohorts had there sticky little fingers in there somewhere.
Well, what all of this shows that some protests in NZ are less equal then others. Glue yourself to a road and the police polices by consent, try to speak about mandates or women issues and everything is ok so as long as it will shut them down. What can we say, the kindness of it all is slaying us.
Agree
What a fuckwit you really are. ” Try to speak of mandates” doesn’t involve throwing bricks and gas cylinders on fires or setting fires to a playground. You really are an absolute dope head.
Silly inane reply as usual from NSC.
Gosh NSC.
oh I get it – this term, policing by consent, is a hamburger term. in other words, you can flip the meaning because what sounds like “oh wait a minute Mr policeman, please help, I/we need help!” actually means, “I’m on the phone, ma’am, do you consent to my policing this situation?” Someone else pointed this out here & thanks. Policing by consent means the consent of the govt. not you, dripping from the river.
RB on the button.
So did ordinary nurses and teachers. What was your point?
The nurse I know wasn’t ordinary, nor were her conspiracy theories. And yes she went to Wellington.
Well, the stats are out, information is readily available that shows that the pandemic was anything but a cataclysmic event. But that is neither here nor there.
The big point here is how anyone who dares challenge the powers-that-be are portrayed and how years on, how they are still seen in the same light.
This is music to the ears of the powerful (the billionaire class and their political minions) as they further fine tune their ability to crush dissent among the masses.
I’d push back on needing the mandates tbh Martyn, though looking at the data again would be helpful would clear it up.
As I recall about 80-85% of eligible population was already vaccinated by the time the mandates came into force. Does bumping that up to 90-95% while also causing this rift, and all the economic pain that has been inflicted on these people really justify the means?
Note: The % vaccinated would have likely continued to increase. I know a fair few people who didn’t get the vaccine initially, because they wanted to see first if the state would force them. Wanted the true colours to be revealed. And revealed they were….
Masks were great until they were no longer great.
80% vaccine coverage was our target based on science, until it was no longer our target. Based on the same science.
One plus one is two.
Based on science.
Riiiggghhht.
Yes one plus one is two except when Labour doing the arithmetic.
They prefer one nation split in two.
Not if the Labour Government is doing the arithmetic.
The Duck definitely escalated the problem hopefully he is not as stupid in Ireland?
Mallard was no help…
Lots went wrong.
The covid mandates went way too far.
There was a lack of understanding just how entrenched the antivax feeling was in a small minority and I do not blame the government for that to start with.
Kindness and keeping people safe bloody near suffocated those same people. Again, meant well but it will always quickly lead to infuriation.
There was repeated missed opportunities to vaccinate leading up to the 2021 lockdowns, leading to the reckless dual citizen vaccine passes and job losses to play catch up.
The MIQ’s mostly clustered in Auckland wrecked Auckland
The Auckland lockdowns went far too long and the overreach into people’s lives far too far.
Soviet style border lockdowns dragged on way too long in complete defiance of the reality of the situation.
There was almost loud indifference emanating from Wellington to Aucklands plight, (Chippy)!
When the shit started hitting the fan with the Brian Tamaki led protests in Auckland, no lessons were learnt either by the police or government but those same lessons were hoovered up by the protestors.
When it came Wellington’s turn for protests the police ignored Intel, then reality, then leadership and from the commissioner down looked like monkeys, and the protestors using the lessons learnt, took over.
Mallard thought some old school 80’s police existed to clear the rabble away , not realising wokeness had replaced it.
And in the end a bunch of ordinary, poorly equipped cops had to save the day for their bosses and political masters alike. The IPCA report certainly does not endorse the bumbling indecision of the police executive!
And who can forget the trillion dollar wealth transference!
Love the tinfoil hats though, truly insane and a nice summary to the protests conclusion!
Pretty dark chapter in NZ’s history .
Martyn you and I will never agree on the covid issue and we may have to wait many years to actually see which one of us is right.
However, on the actions of the sectors of our government in reaction to an emotive protest we concur 100%. We may disagree on the motives of the protestors and even on some of the “facts” as portrayed but their right to protest is guaranteed and the unwillingness of the government to even address their concerns is something I will never forget.
Long may they linger in opposition.
This is worth a watch.
Rioting and protesting is a vital homeopathic medication for democracies. If we think we have a democracy without the promise of a proper arse kicking if shit gets skewed by sociopathic autocrats running the MSM shit show then we don’t have a democracy. We have tyranny.
Mass Psychosis.
“In this video we are going to explore the most dangerous of all psychic epidemics, the mass psychosis. A mass psychosis is an epidemic of madness and it occurs when a large portion of a society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions. Such a phenomenon is not a thing of fiction. Two examples of mass psychoses are the American and European witch hunts 16th and 17th centuries and the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century.”
https://youtu.be/09maaUaRT4M
Agree with your first statement 100%
No argument with your logic.
I would, however, argue that the use of “woke” and “white supremacist” is not useful if we want to deal with the problem.
We all knew from day one that the investigation was into the event and that the authority who were charged with the investigation does not have the authority to form judgement on the contribution of politicians.
The report is very clear where the responsibility for the development lies.
I find your suggestion that Willie Jackson was ready to meet with the protesters interesting. This was exactly the type of leadership that was required to de-escalate the protests.
We did fail and government will continue to fail to protect our citizens if we do not take serious note of this report and do some serious soul searching.
I am looking forward to the parliamentary debate around the findings of this report.
Johan Thiart When then PM Arden was queried about the dynamics of the protest known to have been escalated by Trevor Mallard, and when some were requesting some sort of inquiry, Arden said that it would all be covered by the IPCA process. She was guilty of misinformation, and if she didn’t know that, then she should have. I’m suggesting that she did know, but that once again she wrongly assumed that the populace would accept her word, as being “ the single source of truth.” We didn’t.
It wasn’t Jackson’s job to meet with the protestors when all the cowardly inept politicians were hiding in the Beehive and watching childishly from the balcony, it was job of the political leaders who are elected to lead, and who failed us. We are not all ultimately responsible for this clusterfuck, they are.
Their refusal to engage in any sort of dialogue with the protestors was stupid, immature, and mind-bogglingly arrogant. Meetings could easily have been safely facilitated, and the Labour, National and Green leaders all refusing to do so is inexcusable.
Fast forward to Albert Park 25/3/ 23, and once again, voices were silenced with the pro-active support of Green and Labour politicians and the PM himself ruing not being able to pitch in and help shut up women. Then they all lie and say that a nasty violence occurrence was some sort of celebration of inclusiveness and pure trans joy, while this time it’s the police who watch like children, as women are terrorised. Nothing has been learned.
You’re right, the lessons not learned at the 2022 parliament protests or the earlier Brian Tamaki ones were again on display at Albert Park.
I’ll dispense with Ginny Anderson’s predictable response of the policing of that being an operational decision, but will agree on this occasion. Woke policing continues, unchanged! The blame lies at the top!
At least it came from a good place?
You, know, like kindness…… or perhaps it was a coward’s veto?
X-ray. So who’s responsible for letting women be terrorised at Albert Park ? If Minister Ginny Anderson is alleging that it was a police operational matter, then is Commission Coster a disgraceful misogynist, or was it the local Auckland area commanders, or both ? There’s little point in having a Minister of Police if the latter are given carte blanche to wander off and do whatever they like.
If Anderson thinks it acceptable that New Zealand woman now know that the police won’t protect them, it would behove her to explain why.
Labour, green and national parliamentarians, not meeting with demonstrators …… borders on conspiracy and this is no conspiracy theory.
Shameful. I think even Act and the Maori party was in on this conspiracy.
I saw the protesters as left wing Greens and Labour.
They had every right to protest.
Labour Government handled the protest poorly,ignoring them and Mallard treating them most horribly.
Bob the first. National and the Greens endorsed the Labour government’s decision not to engage with the protestors. Only the Act leader went down and spoke with them. Nothing to stop the others.
Ok Hollyhock.
The ‘media’ did not focus on the nurses, the fire-fighters, the every-day people impacted by the mandates who were in attendance, they honed in on the fucking nut-cases. Just another reason they are not trusted anymore. Except for The Working Group. They rock!
The mandates were great as they weeded out the anti establishment teachers and many have not returned to spread their message of hate .
One plus one is two.
Based on fact.
Records show that the education outcomes continued the downward trend. Therefore the cash injection by team Hipkins to lower class sizes.
29-1 = stupid education policy.
It was, in fact, a civil rights protest; let that sink in.
Now, whether you agree with the cause or not, the very least that should have been done was an acknowledge of that; some measure of contrition from the government wouldn’t have hurt either. We got “rivers of filth” and hate and vilification. I’ll never forget or forgive.
David+George. 100%. Even if half were mad, it shouldn’t have been that bad. I’ll never forgive or forget Albert Park either, when women were set up by politicians and media whores, then beaten.
I thought the powers-that-be were surprised by the strength of the protests, and didn’t know what to do. Some people were affected by conspiracy theories, some were worried by a vaccine that hadn’t been tested in normal time-frames, and others had civil liberties concerns even while supporting vaccination. I agree Trevor was totally counter productive, but as JA’s former mentor, I guess she wouldn’t confront him.
If what you are saying is true that I have new respect for JA.
Imagine a mentor and life coach who missed out on the same for all his life. Or was he just a slow learner.
I thought the powers-that-be were surprised by the strength of the protests, and didn’t know what to do. Some people were affected by conspiracy theories, some were worried by a vaccine that hadn’t been tested in normal time-frames, and others had civil liberties concerns even while supporting vaccination. I agree Trevor was totally counter productive, but as JA’s former mentor, I guess she wouldn’t confront him.
The protesters were racist, LGBT phobic Trump supporters who wanted to impose a theocratic police state.
Yes of course they were Millsy aka Bert. They couldn’t have possible been disaffected and ostracised ordinary Kiwis who were abandoned by their Prime Minister – the ever so kind Jacinda Ardern. That’s the kind PM who unleashed her attack dog Mallard on them.
WTF are you on about coward Kraut?
You need help from the 0800 number. You seem delusional and see things that aren’t there.
Yep without doubt National and ACT right wing supporters
Maybe so Nathan. Arden was still their PM. PMs are there for all, not just 36% of the voters or Facebook likers. She failed them.
You Millsy, are a typical wokie, with your usual tiresome race, gender, and religion accusations, based upon some sort of feelings and not upon the miscellaneous facts of the matter.
Reactionary only is Millsy he’s never had a thought of his own.Reliant on Labour Government propaganda for an opinion.
Did you miss type.
Joke or woke……
I guess both.
Police Commissioner Coster. Now there’s a dichotomy. Coster…police…the two just don’t go together. He needs to go. That’ll be the last bit of Jacinda’s legacy. She turned the police to woke jelly.
Kraut. It was the police who tried to stop Mallard setting up a confrontational situation and requested that those sprinklers be turned off and who were also impacted by his idiotic music torture but who were over-ruled by the hooligan himself. His being rewarded with a cushy diplomatic post abroad shows that Trevor Mallard did what was expected of him, while the cops bore the brunt with injuries, covid-reinfections, families re-quarantined and children missing school again, while they also protected the mindless politicians sheltering safely in the Beehive. One individual being able to trigger so much chaos and taxpayer cost, and enable silly females from the provinces to party on Parliament’s lawns while schoolgirls could not pass by safely is surreal. Then after it was over, Ardern came down for a photo-op with Coster. That says it all really.
Everybody, absolutely everybody amongst our elected MPs failed their duty as representatives in a democracy. That is to listen to everybody in the electorate and consider their views, good bad or off planet. They all failed DEMOCRACY 101. Jacinda to the lowest ranked too wimpy to just go out the door and engage.
As for those Wellington middle class parasites calling for violence against the protest, well done you totalitarian halfwits. Who really are the reactionary nutjobs?
Well done Police Commissioner and our cops.
I agree with Martyn 100% on his analysis of the situation that evolved at Parliament during the protest. However, it doesn’t matter whether you agree with the protesters or despise them that’s immaterial. The police are there to serve the government and the country. They didn’t and they don’t. When a protest happens, its point is to make a point. To highlight an issue. To show public displeasure about any issue. More importantly they are not the whole public but a small loud part of the public. Letting protesters set up camp is just pathetic. Especially on parliament grounds. It’s not private land it’s public land. All the public, not just an emotionally charged minority. Like I have already said you can make a good point to your argument in two days. You get removed on the third. Not three weeks or three months or three years later. The police response was pathetic. If the protesters had been got rid of before they tapped into the sewerage and set up a food and shelter system’s this wouldn’t happened. Yes , ministers should have talked to them on the first day. Then got rid of them. The right to protest is not the right to bring our capital city to a standstill for weeks. If the situation isn’t resolved then it will be at the ballot box. We need to grow up. This kind government and kind police force Brought this situation upon us. Lucky us.
Fixed the headline for you…
“The IPCA is a white wash”
Coster was acting under orders from the Deputy Prime Minister and the House Speaker with Ardern’s blessing.
Bob the first In those first weeks when the police showed remarkable restraint, especially with Trevor Mallard interfering in an operational matter, it seemed to be Wellington district commanders who were charge. I don’t think that Coster ever appeared on the scene, let alone participated. When interviewed, senior police officers expressed their displeasure about the hosing and dreadful music blasting, which they would not have done if they were acting under the Deputy and Speaker’s orders.
Ok Gentle Annie.
What “Bob the first” said first.
I used to frequent and participate in many cannabis related groups but around the time all this started happening suddenly people started injecting stuff into all the group channels and advertising telegram groups to communicate through. It was a well orchestrated attack through social media. That is why there was such a variety of groups representing different messages at the protest, bad actors are using facebook algorithms to keep bombarding people with misinformation.
Considering one of the first tents to be erected was a commercial kitchen tells you a story of the money behind it. This was an attack by the right manipulating the vulnerabilities of the 10% of the population that are easily led by social media.
You seem to have got a lot of it right, Martyn. And poetically put too, in my book (of verse). Sorry for criticising you on Minto’s report of it.
We clumsily responded to their clumsy ideas. I wouldn’t put a gold star or rhinoceros stamp on any of their hands.