This is what makes the Ardern government so dangerous
“There is a threat posed to human freedom by the enormous power of the modern state. History teaches the dangers of government that overreaches – political control taking precedence over free economic growth, mindless bureaucracy, all combining to stifle individual excellence and personal freedom.” – President Ronald Reagan, Address to Members of the British Parliament, 1982.
“Chaotic scenes erupted as hundreds of police descended, armed with riot shields, and shoving protesters out of the way. Protesters could be heard crying in pain after being pepper sprayed and police were lined several people deep to move them on … a police helicopter circled above …”
This was not reporting Russian authorities clearing demonstrators against Vladimir Putin’s attack on the Ukraine, nor French police breaking up a violent protest after Emmanuel Macron won re-election. It was New Zealand’s police moving in on the men, women, and children peacefully camped on parliament grounds to protest vaccine mandates on March 2.
Instead of talking to the anti-mandate leaders, as they had requested, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern looked down from her 9th floor Beehive office as police used rubber bullets, pepper spray and batons to crush the protest.
The police tactics resulted in significant damage to property, multiple arrests, dozens of injuries, and nearly 1900 complaints to the Police Complaints Authority – exactly what Police Commissioner Andrew Coster had warned against just eleven days earlier. At that time, he totally rejected the use of force against the protesters, saying the level required “wouldn’t be acceptable to most New Zealanders.”
So, what changed? Why was official force used that morning after the Police Commissioner had ruled it out?
With public support for the protesters growing, some say Labour’s falling poll ratings were a factor.
What is incontrovertible is the contrast between the kid glove tactics used by Jacinda Ardern during the Ihumatao protest (a protest to demand land near Auckland airport be returned to the Maori), where she went out of her way to end it peacefully, and the heavy-handed approach employed against those whose lives she had destroyed with her totalitarian vaccine mandates – mandates she had assured the “team of five million” would not be imposed.
Our Prime Minister, who claims to be the only source of truth, not only made a complete mockery of her “be kind to each other” mantra, but after Justice Francis Cooke disclosed in his February High Court ruling on vaccine mandates that the Ministry of Health had advised the PM last October that vaccine mandates were unnecessary, she has revealed herself to be untrustworthy and untruthful.
The February High Court decision that vaccine mandates for police and Defence Force staff “could not be justified in a free and democratic society” confirmed the protesters’ cause was legitimate.
New Zealanders had been deceived into thinking the mandates were imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19, when in fact, the vaccine order stated it was to “ensure continuity” of essential services.
But even that did not stack up, as the actual numbers of unvaccinated staff – 164 police out of a workforce of 15,000, and 115 Defence workers out of 15,500 – were too small to justify such punitive measures.
In reality, the mandates had nothing to do with health nor the maintenance of public services and were instead weapons of coercion, to force compliance with the government’s vaccine strategy.
It was a similar story with MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) – the government’s border quarantine system, that many described as a “cruel lottery from hell”. Last November the Ministry of Health advised the PM there was no longer any health justification for continuing the system. As a result, stranded Kiwis from all over the world could have come home for Christmas.
But the advice was ignored and the lottery continued for months.
In her high court ruling in favour of Grounded Kiwis – a group established to advocate for Kiwis wanting to come home – Justice Jillian Mallon found recently that the right of New Zealanders to return had been infringed “in a manner that was not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
Given such actions by the Ardern administration, it’s puzzling why New Zealanders remain so trusting of the government – especially as the Prime Minister’s promised “transformation” has turned out to be Soviet-style divide and rule, with a gross denial of the fundamental freedoms that we, in a “free and democratic society”, take for granted.
Former Labour MP and Maori Party co-leader Dame Tariana Turia has been an outspoken critic of Jacinda Ardern’s dictatorial approach.
Dame Tariana says the way the government dealt with the protesters was an abuse of power, and that everyone has a right to be heard: “That’s our right as New Zealanders – as those who have put these people into power. I think that anyone behaving like the Government right now is abusing power … … I’ve never, ever seen the Crown behave like that before. It’s tantamount to bullying.”
It is bullying. Socialists have no respect for those with contrary views, and they use force to impose their will. To them every problem must be regulated, because with regulation comes the power of enforcement.
And that’s what makes the Ardern government so dangerous.
Earlier this month we saw the absurd spectacle of the Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, issuing trespass notices against five former MPs – including the former Deputy PM Winston Peters – because they dared to visit the protest site in February to speak with protesters. A breach of the notice, that prevents the banned the person from even visiting Parliament grounds, carries a heavy fine or imprisonment.
Although it was later withdrawn, that trespassing simply illustrates the dangerous arrogance of the Speaker and a lack of judgment by Ms Ardern, who responded by expressing confidence in him – despite there being demonstrable evidence that he isn’t suited to a role that requires a sense of fairness. Mr Mallard is now a figure of public ridicule – and deservedly so.
With New Zealanders becoming increasingly aware of what it’s like living under socialist authoritarian rule, surely freedom must become the defining issue of our next election.
It’s time Kiwis found their voice and defined the line between personal freedom and state control. Do we want an authoritarian regime that believes every problem can be solved through regulation – or do we want a government that will enable us to do the very best we can for ourselves and our families?
Dr Muriel Newman is the founding director of the NZ Centre for Political Research
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