Poto Williams hired PR company to attack Willie Jackson/Andrew Little
Where all my angry online Labour Party activists at? Where the Standard at? Where my anger Identitarians at? Where my Labour Youth at?
I want them all here for this one.
So line they claim is – “Poto was concerned, Poto was right to speak out, Poto was just saying what we all thought…Poto hired a PR company to write and tip off media to her attack on Willie Jackson…
SAY WHAT?
Poto Williams hired PR firm for Willie Jackson ploy
Labour’s Poto Williams hired a private public relations firm to craft her statement on Willie Jackson joining the party.
Christchurch-based Inform PR sent out a statement from Ms Williams condemning her leader Andrew Little’s decision to welcome Mr Jackson into the Labour fold.
As the party’s family and sexual violence spokesperson, Ms Williams said in the statement that she was “concerned” about Mr Jackson joining the party due to his comments during the Roast Busters scandal.
“I do not believe that his attitude towards victims of sexual abuse match what I expect of a member of the Labour Party. Especially a member of our caucus,” the statement read.
“As someone who speaks for the victims of family and sexual violence, and as a survivor of such abuse, I cannot in good conscience support him as my colleague.”
When Newshub asked why she needed to hire a private firm, Ms Williams didn’t want to answer.
“I don’t have any more to say on the Willie Jackson stuff,” she said.
She also didn’t answer when Newshub asked why she didn’t just use the Labour communications team.
She walked away when asked if she’d been reprimanded for the public revolt against her leader’s decision.
The statement was first sent out to select media via Inform PR then later posted to her Facebook page.
Inform PR’s Cameron Taylor was unable to confirm when he was asked to step in – saying all questions should be directed at Ms Williams.
“I can’t talk about it,” he said. “I can’t say anything about it, you’d need to ask her office about that.”
The company’s website insinuates that they charge between $70 – $100 an hour.
Inform PR boasts testimonials from companies such as Heatpumps Now, Pure Elegance Wedding Films and Hair Therapy Wigs.
…how do you think this is now looking to the voters Labour need to win in September?
These people claim to be focused on replacing the Government yet all they are doing is ensuring a fourth term!
I can’t even, I’m just bewildered by what the fuck they think they are doing.
Compare how David Cunliffe was demoted for disloyalty for merely suggesting Party members get a say on leadership to Poto Williams hiring a PR firm to knife Willie Jackson/Andrew Little in the back after telling the Leadership on the Friday before her PR firm put out the statement that she wouldn’t.
We haven’t even managed to get through this by-election yet.
Don’t all the good vibes from the Joint State of the Nation look pretty faded now.
Another of Kings henchwomen doing the dirty deed once again for the mistress of keep it in the Neo Family even if it means another term on the opposition benches
Thank God, it’s seven months away from the election. The voting public may forget this debacle between now and then. Maybe. Possibly.
Ah, fuggit. We’re screwed.
If Poto Williams saw a need to get this PR company prepare a public statement for her, then I ask, what is she doing in Parliament? If MPs, even backseat ones, cannot even prepare their own statements on whatever topic or issue, they do not deserve to sit in Parliament, I reckon.
This is a sad situation, and it has got out of hand, should never have happened like it did. Any issues she may have had with Willie should have been discussed internally, firstly also with Andrew Little himself.
Labour desperately needs competent candidates, and I think that is why Andrew was keen to get Willie on board. Even though Willie may himself talk and behave like a dick at times, he is capable of getting himself out of controversy, and he is fronting a talk back show and so forth.
Few MPs in Parliament would be capable of this, I know, so there is some talent that may come in useful, one way or another. I just worry about his past position on Charter Schools and so forth.
A broad church, yes, but not too broad, please, as then we will end up with the same dilemma as before, where nothing of substance could ever be agreed on, and where policy was poor or lacking.
Well, that’s certainly silly. Why do you need to pay people to say “This guy is a rape apologist, and I don’t want to be in the same party as him”?
are you all bloody mad you can’t fire a woman!
clearly she is brave and inspiring
if anything fire a couple of men to make her more empowered
clearly you are all misoginists and probably racist too
F F S After fifty some years of giving my vote to this party (holding my nose tightly after douglas and his hangers on), i have had enough. Just when it starts to look like they may have a chance of becoming the government, a buffoon with god knows what agenda starts an internal war????
“Where all my angry online Labour Party activists at? Where the Standard at? Where my anger Identitarians at? Where my Labour Youth at?”…a certain young person I know, who happens to be a member of “Labour Youth’, a millennial or whatever, questioned my fighting spirit over some issue the other day, after my little rave, he shrugged his shoulders and said he is just biding his time till the baby boomers ‘get senile or die’ THEN we can have some action and change he said.
Maybe that’s all this carry on is, a side drama for Labour voting babyboomers and GenXers, who are really only worried about house prices and feral kids wandering the streets.
Lets see who actually turns out to vote this year. My pick is the lowest turnout ever…and not because of Poto or Willie or any of this, but because Labours policies are geared towards babyboomer home owners, worried about their kids, and feeling a bit bad about the homeless.
But NOT strongly geared towards the mass of young and the non home owners and the masses of disengaged, which is an ever increasing group.
I fear you may be right, but let us wait and see, before we turn too negative.
Agree about the low numbers.
Most people don’t care enough about house prices to vote on something like that. Anyway who can come up with a credible thing about housing that people will think can make a tangible difference in a reasonable time frame. Credible enough to motivate them to vote?
“TOP”doesn’t mean we stop building state houses
Could Poto Williams please define what she thinks would be an adequate apology by Willie Jackson? (He’s already done several…)
And give us a demo in her own name.
Personally, I am fed up with the Professionally Offended screeching Outrage! at every opportunity – usually before they’ve checked with those who are directly affected.
Should you ever be stupid enough to think they’re actually on your side, and you try to contact them… They’re on to the Next Big Issue.
Egotists.
TOP is starting to look almost acceptable through all the muck and smears thrown by the old-timers at each other. Now, isn’t it?
Oh my dear God, Poto Williams is not trustworthy or even vaguely aligned to the Labour Party. She is a loose cannon who is either calculatingly clever and is aligned to this government or completely stupid but in either case she will, without doubt, shit all over Labour at any given time.
Little must, absolutely has to work out a way to get her out.
Poto goes poto…obviously she is earning too much money !!!!
….obviously she is detached from the reality of her constituents
…like a typical Labour MP
….didnt take long!…pity …i had higher hopes for her!
Does anyone proof-read articles before they go online?
‘Where all my angry online Labor Party activists at?’
Credibility declines in proportion to the number of errors.
That’s not a typo. It’s a pop-culture reference:
“Where all my ____ at?” is a common phrase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKpo0v0wIbE
Yeah, even I got that one and I’m an old Grammar Nazi…
Looks like some compulsory remedial lessons are needed for Labour MPs in “Politics 101:How to win an election”.
For the f#@king millionth time, sort your sh1t out Labour or it will be four more f#@king years of Nazional.
If you and your potential allies cannot grasp the essentials of presenting a united coherent front to the electorate, well……. try another career. Sweet Baby Cheeses.
the majority of the caucus do not want to win the election
She needs to be sacked by the end of today. I really want to vote labour but this shit is ridiculous. She can’t condone supporting Jackson? I can’t vote for a party that allows a muppet like this to be in charge of the country.
Agree. Cunliffe was bagged, tagged, and Gulagged for less. And that ‘less’ wasn’t even anything real.
Labour’s Poto Williams hired a private public relations firm to craft her statement on Willie Jackson joining the party.
Echoes of Farrar – rrar- rrar- rrar- raaaa….
“I can’t talk about it,” he said. “I can’t say anything about it, you’d need to ask her office about that.”
Echoes of Key – ey – ey – ey – eyyyy….
Pathetic.
Perhaps Labour MPs could hire PR consultants to write up critiques of neoliberlism…
One of the most seriously sensible things I’ve heard of in a long , long time…
Thank You FATTY.
Indeed.
Why cannot those Labour MP’s who oppose neo liberalism hire a PR firm to critique it ?
Why not?
Tongue in cheek answer WK….Probably because the two of them can’t afford one!
could be that they do not exist
Bonkers!
, ahem, ha, ha, ha, heaps got suckered by corporate PR messaging again