The news that there’s a TVNZ Verian Poll out tonight all makes sense, when you consider the shocking timing of Christopher Luxon’s double sackings and the way media erased Chris Hipkins comments about Luxon being late to act – while NZME NZ Herald commentators, NewsTalk ZB neoliberal team – and RNZ’s Jo Moir praised Luxon to the sky during the polling period.
He had acted early and was very clever – and stronger than the foundations of the earth – according to poll sensitive media.
The way some media behaved to cheerlead Luxon was in direct contradiction with everything journalism should be about – and now it’s obvious this was being driven by a polling agenda.
Media’s role in a democracy is to prop up the neoliberal political party of the wealthiest New Zealanders.
That’s the message.
It seems reasonable to conclude that Luxon had to be propped up by some media and Labour smashed down during this sensitive stage – after the public were outraged by the Three Headed Taniwha’s destructive punch downs on the disabled, dithering and coalition arm wrestling over media policy, evidence free Crime policies that do not work, anti Treaty racist attacks on Māori and the Waitangi Tribunal, border line corrupt fast track consenting arrogance, and unnecessary suffering – sacking good people in vital public service roles – just to make Nicola Willis look good.
Actions spoke louder than any words.
We saw Audrey Young furiously dishing out bouquets to Luxon and serving up brick bats to Chris Hipkins during the polling period.
We saw Fran O’Sullivan glowing about “intensity” and “relevance” and “deeper relationships” while Luxon clowned about on a junket over in South East Asia that yielded no tangible outcomes.
We saw Claire Trevett coach and help Chris Bishop – getting him to sell fast track consenting better during that polling period.
Media downplayed the context of the sackings, barely touching upon the clash between Act and NZ First over the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill …as Bryce Edwards blamed it all on Melissa Lee.
It’s worth reflecting how Luxon has said he was not going to do anything about Melissa Lee “at this time” before he went to South East Asia – probably because he was lining up the TVNZ Verian Poll and Anzac day for the announcement.
It’s probably a good thing there is a poll happening now given we seem to have missed a Talbot poll in April 2024…so the only other poll is an Atlas Network TPU poll taken at the start of the month.
Yes I know – who cares about polls – well National bloody well do and so do NZME and RNZ. These are dodgy days for National as it implements horrible damage on New Zealand…and hangs out for Nicola’s Budget to pretend it’s all okay with the pom pom team.
The appointment of Paula Bennett to Chair Pharmac may have come on the last day of polling – and by the time David Seymour rushed to announce $1.7 Billion in extra funds for Pharmac this morning – polling was probably about finished.
It’s likely Bennett was always earmarked for the job, given it was coming free and she had helped raise massive donations for National…and there was synergy between Act and National and the Atlas Network to spend more on Big Phrama drugs.
Notably Labour raised about $1.2 Million across 2021, 2022 and 2023 going into the 2023 Election – compared to $8.26 Million raised by National and $4.4 Million by Act.
Bennett helped raise a couple of million and she needed a job.
Most of National and Act’s donors were from real estate, commercial and residential property developers and investors – and National and Act saw to it that they were paid out for their support in the first 100 days in the form of tax cuts around the bright line and interest deductibility. Of course Luxon and Willis had done their best to offer more with the Foreign Buyers Tax, but Winston had cancelled that in return for the smoke free death cult law changes.
Some of the big donors did have links to Pharmaceuticals and it’s worth mentioning one of the nine directors at the NZ Initiative is all about “access to drugs” and made big moves straight after the election to prepare herself for this.
The ties between Atlas and Act are many and National are also in their glove – and we saw the likes of Stephen Jennings, Dame Jenny Gibbs, David Richwhite and more feature in the big donations.
Naturally there’s no raising of the conciseness of the voters in NZ about these influencers by media – who regard it all as old news and something rather untouchable – like they might be biting the hand that feeds them to report the truth.
Personally I am hoping that Verian’s polling sample reflects a narrowing of the gap between the left and the right block since the election – but I won’t hold much hope for that tonight, and remember it’s three years till another election anyway.
I think we can see – the big end of town helped buy the election with media assistance and now jobs for mates, $4,000 per day pay rates and big paybacks to donors come first – while the bottom feeders and squeezed middle stand around in shades of outrage and confusion.
It’s a bit like when you’ve been violated and you are still in shock.
Mayday protests 1 May – book them in.
Media Bias was Poll driven last week
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