GUEST BLOG: Gerard Otto – Claire Trevett’s remarkable blindness
Paula Bennett – 2017
It’s hard to not say something when a deputy chief political editor for the NZ Herald writes that Helen Clark failed to do anything about gun reform laws, and even NZ First who have been in opposition before October 2017….but leaves out the big blue elephant in the room.
National were in government since 2008 until 2017 and Claire neatly stepped around their failure to do anything regarding gun law reform….instead praising the 20/20 hindsight since the tragedy this month – of Judith Collins for saying “Bugger off” to the NRA and Chris Bishop for saying “Fuck Off” to the same sort of lobby.
It’s okay to roar like a lion in opposition, especially when the public shift their opinion, but these people were in Government for years and years and did zilch.
So they get let off the hook while Claire focuses her readers upon the real culprits in her book.
Despite this ridiculous level of partisan blindness from the NZ Herald senior journalist, it appears that some female National politicians rather fancied being photographed shooting guns, rather than doing anything much to curb the military grade weapons you could get fairly easily if you tried hard enough.
You’ll find photos and a video of Paula Bennett shooting a machine gun that made the news on Newshub back in 2017.
Paula reportedly loves banging off a thousand rounds and stands by rejecting a raft of recommendations aimed at restricting firearms access when National had the chance in 2017.
Then there’s Judith – who is suddenly a campaigner against semi automatic weapons but defended herself when she fired off a pistol without a licence in 2014 and the photos went viral.
She was under police supervision at the time but it was quite a PR exercise consistent with her “Crusher” brand.
I’m not saying Claire Trevett is biased or anything.
That’s obvious.
I’m saying she does us all a disservice when she acts on behalf of a political party and tells half a story.
We deserve better from the press.
Gerard Otto is an activist and a writer.
National are corrupted idiots and always wind up contradicting their polices as time go on.
Time finds National to be lairs.
She has got the early stages of dementia like John Armstrong, had when he was younger. Natzi journalists blinded by Red Amnesia ?
There is no news any more, no reporting on the events that occur in a neutral professional way. I t is all about media people pushing their particular agenda, their view, their opinion. As one of the greats at this would say. Sad
The msm seem to have a “blind spot” the size of a bloody aircraft carrier when it comes to the Nats
Unfortunately NZers have s lsud back attitued that approaches dangerous complacency and it takes multiple deaths befied anything changes
Meanwhile Bridges is already politiking about “increased security” and turning NZ into a fullfledged mini-north korea surveillance state
He can piss off and then piss off a bit more
Good blunt and to the point article, Gerard.
Really quite liking your material. Excellent picture of Bennett showing what a half arsed pair Judith Collins and her are.
There is NO ONE in National that will lead that party to victory in 2020.
NO ONE.
In fact , there is NO ONE with any credibility left in that party. Nine years of the Hairpuller have done them in completely.
With the final death knell being administered by the Double Dipper .
That is the legacy of National : ignominious defeat. And social degradation.
And Claire Trevett knows it.
If you want a better indication that Paula Bennett is not all that bright, take a closure look at the ammunition belt on that machine gun she’s pretending to fire….it’s on backwards and the rounds are facing towards her….
Looks Like the Bullets are the wrong way round in the receiver . Were they intended to shoot Ms Bennett if she pulled the trigger . This need looking into . WOT
Had noticed that Marshall Evans, but had passed it off as some new loading system???
One only needs to look at the columnists of the NZ Herald to see the right wing bias.
Claire Trevett
Mike Hosking
His Wife
Leighton Smith( a Trump and right wing apologist)
Audrey Young( National party nepotism)
John Armstrong( yes he still scribes occasionally)
Fran O’Sullivan
Mathew Hooten
Barry Soper
John Roughan( wrote John Key’s biography)
Already this week we have Soper, Young, Hooten and Hosking writing Columns on Winston Peters. You would have thought the right would have learnt their lessons on the concerted “take out he middleman” effort of the previous election. But no, if you keep doing the same things, your going to get the same results. I just don’t see how National and their Herald journalists think they can buy an election with such a negative portfolio.
Yes, agree totally – it’s almost beyond belief! Blatant outrageous bias in such a dominant newspaper. But then, a lot of things are beyond the realms of ‘normal’ right now, the current Brexit fiasco in the UK Parliament springs to mind. And the mono hue (white) of the ‘very angry’ Brexit protesters points to the whole racist basis of the stupid endeavor.