It is disappointing that Labour has resorted to releasing a series of lies and disinformation as part of their campaign in the lead up to the October 2023 election.
It was a successful tactic for Labour in the 2005 election. However, things have changed since then. Attacking your main opposition in this manner is a desperate effort by a party in power. It is even more disingenuous when this government has proclaimed the need for honesty, transparency, and the need to believe in the pulpit of truth; and to be weary of disinformation. Especially when they have supported the Disinformation Project, a collective that promotes disinformation from a Marxist doctrine based in Critical Theory.
My main concern is that many New Zealanders will believe these lies and the spreading of misinformation being propagated by Labour. It is obvious that Labour should be prompting their own policies and looking more critically at the opposition policies, rather than spreading lies and misinformation. Labour knows that most people follow them on social media where it is easy to mislead and manipulate the uninitiated reader. Supporting this is the mainstream media (MSM) that has happily reported these untruths. This is very hypocritical of the MSM when they set up media groups to hunt out people of views they did not like, labelling them as spreaders of misinformation and conspiracy theorists (this was mainly done by the Post in the local body elections). For the record, I do not proport to support conspiracy theorists.
So, what has Labour said about National and even about themselves?
Chris Hipkins lied that National cut free public transport for disabled people, when no policy existed. Even more disturbing, National had made no such comment.
Then there was the totally disingenuous Willie Jackson statement that National would drop the minimum wage altogether, he corrected himself saying that National would reduce the minimum wage if they got into power when, once again, National had made no announcement on the matter.
During another speech, Hipkins called out NZ First over gender identity politics while at the same time being happy to sleep in the same bed as Te Pati Māori, a party that believes in racism and abhors democracy and one person, one vote.
On top of this was Andrew Little’s Facebook page where he stated that National would close schools and fire teachers if National came into power, when once again, National has said nothing of the sort.
Just recently, Michael Wood’s Facebook is now spouting falsehoods about National’s policies. This is becoming a common theme and a systematic practice by Labour, to spread misinformation, whatever Chris Hipkins attempts to say.
What is egregious is the blatant lies and attack policy Labour have undertaken. It raises the issue if Labour are doing this in the election campaign, what will they be like in government again. Hipkins has been the master of misinformation before and throwing people under the bus. A good example of this was when he tried to throw Charlotte Bayliss under the bus regarding her extricating problem of returning to New Zealand to have her baby during the late period of New Zealand’s managed isolation, when he released her personal information. It took a legal threat from Bayliss for Hipkins to apologise.
Then there was Hipkins’s comment that New Zealand would be at the front of the queue for the Covid-19 vaccine, when, we were at the end.
These dirty tactics may have worked in 2005. They are tactics of a desperate party trying to hold onto power at any expense, but hopefully not today. Thankfully, MSM are starting to see through this tactic for what it is. Disingenuous, dishonest, and untrustworthy. There is a swath of bloggers who are calling Labour out for what they are. Useless and not to be trusted.
Over the last three years, Labour has mis-led New Zealanders on many aspects of politics, from introducing ideologically driven policies during a pandemic, to attempting to undermine democracy via co-governance provisions with veto rights for Māori and Te Mana o te Wai statements that must be adhered to in major legislation that will ultimately affect all of us in many ways. Mainly the undermining of our democratic rights. Labour has gone quiet on these issues and the “bonfire of policies” earlier this year in the build up to the election. Yet, based on their performance in recent weeks, what is there to say that they will not re-introduce those policies they supposedly put on the “bonfire” earlier this year? Can you trust a party that is prepared to lie and misinform in the lead up to an election to be back in government again?
