NZ election 2023: Raucous Northland debate crowd rails at covid, te reo Māori mentions
Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime walked into the lion’s den when she took part in an election debate in Kerikeri last night.
The traditionally blue seat is currently held by Labour — the election of 2020 was the first time it had been won by the left since 1938 — but polls suggest that won’t last much longer.
Five candidates took part in the live-streamed debate at the Homestead Tavern organised by right-wing lobby group the Taxpayers’ Union.
With a partisan audience and The Daily Blog editor/publisher Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury and libertarian Damien Grant as MCs — political commentators from opposite ends of the political spectrum — it was a rollicking, raucous ride, sometimes rude but never dull.
For Prime it was a foray into hostile territory with the Labour MP all but drowned out by shouts and jeers.
She had little chance to defend her party’s record or set out her priorities above the din.
When the American South lost to the North in their civil war, there was a terrible scouring of the South economically, socially, culturally and politically for their support of slavery.
That deep shame has stained the American South to this day because the American South lost.
That scouring never occurred in Northland NZ.
I’ve been to most places in this country, and sweet Jesus, Northland may well be the most racist I’ve ever visited and I say that as someone who has been to the South Island!
7th generation European NZers strut around never feeling shame for the legacy of their privilege and wait 5 minutes in their presence and you are bowled over by some of the most jaw droopingly racist shit against Māori you will ever hear!
I think there are 4 basic groups in Northland: Māori, Pakeha, European New Zealanders and Kupapa (Māori who turned on their own to side with Cracker).
Māori are dirt poor, Pakeha are progressive and want to work with Māori, European New Zealanders enjoy the legacy of privilege their 7 generations have generated and Kupapa make their money from their relationship with those European New Zealanders.
Former Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy believes older white NZers are just so fucking racist that only their death will make NZ a better place.
Needless to say, a debate in Northland feels a tad cross burny.
I’ve never been in a room with that many climate deniers before!
It was like a flat earth convention at a Donald Trump Dating Conference.
That may have been why the Green Party candidate didn’t even bother showing in the end.
The week before we had a po-faced Riccardo who was like a virgin at an orgy at our Party Debate.
I suggested to the Greens they send the incredible Efeso Collins who is 11 on their list but they refused that and sent Riccardo instead and wasn’t he a joy…
…so the Greens didn’t even bother turning up to the Northland debate, but they promise to appear at the Auckland Central debate.
It’s a shame because the Greens poll poorly in Northland and the people of Northland desperately need Green Party policy, but the real eye opener was how poorly NZ First polled and how the antivax Democracy NZ didn’t even manage to get to 1%!
We’ve all believed the antivax movement is this huge shadowy group who could take over the election, but they couldn’t even get 1% party vote in Northland and they only gained representation because Matt King managed to get 5% on the candidate vote.
If Northland, the home of antivaxx conspiracy nonsense can’t muster 1% support, they are a shrill mob with nothing more than a bark.
They are a joke minus the punchline.
At one point during a raucous debate, Matt King asked me why did I keep calling his party a ‘Conspiracy Theory Party’ to which I yelled at him, ‘because I went on your website, read your policy and you are a fucking Conspiracy Theory Party’.
I then turned to the audience and said, ‘There, I said it to your face Northland!’.
The denial of climate change and Covid was bewilderingly deep in Northland and I could barely hear the hatred spat at Willow-Jean over the duelling banjos.
As the debate ended, Shane Jones leaned into me and whispered, “They may not vote red mate, but their necks certainly are”.
I burst out laughing because it perfectly summed up the evening!
Ever candidate shook my hand post debate except Matt King.
Seeing as I’m a triple vaxed person, Matt may have needed a face mask and surgical gloves before he touched a mud blood.
Next Week The Working Group will host the first ever live post debate analysis of Luxon vs Hipkins at Backbenchers Bar in Wellington live-streamed and simulcast on Freeview TV 200 at 8.30pm.
It ain’t over till the fat blogger sings!
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Well you had the misfortune to be in Kerikeri Martyn which is a rare middle class enclave in Northland. In May they shouted down Kainga Ora plans for Apartments near the CBD at an 800 strong bal’head meeting, and the result was…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/kainga-ora-changes-kerikeri-social-housing-plan-after-community-feedback/VGL3R4MM3VBHNK6YUXSI3TZFQE/
Little winds up the bourgeoisie more than the prospect of other NZers having nice houses like them! These are the ugly New Zealanders. They don’t mix, but prefer their ghettos like Queenstown and Havelock North etc.
Fortunately there are some great people in the Far North particularly–don’t judge us all on that motley crew. The Kerikeri lot are still highly pissed off that there is FNDC’s first Māori Mayor–Moko Tepania in office after their local candidate thought she could sleepwalk to victory after John Carter and Wayne Brown. So, Kaikohe based Moko visited every tiny hamlet, marae, settlement and bay that most of these drongos barely know exist, and won.
Based upon reading the link you provided I don’t know if your dismissive representation of the outcome and process of the Kainga Ora consultations is entirely fait and accurate.
Keri Keri is one of the most red necker places up North
As a resident of Northland I think Martyn’s summary of general attitudes here is right on the button.
I grew up in south with skin heads being everywhere.
I can concur now that live in Northland, that Northland it is more racist.
Kerikeri known by Northland Maori as Johannesburg, and not just for the relatively high number of Afrikana immigrants who have settled there, but for being a noticably European/White/Pakeha dominated village in Northland.
What I found a little unsettling on my last visit to Kerikeri was the large recruitment display in the Kerikeri Library and Community Centre for the NZ Army, especially for officer training. Not too surprising I suppose in a rural community with few employment prospects for school leavers, but a little unsettling to think that this is where we are recruiting our officer class from.
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