Cam Slater: Petty and Immature You Say?

Watching the media be-clowning themselves as coalition negotiations continue ignoring them is hilarious. They are being made fools of by politicians who are well used to their pathetic carry-on and who have disarmed the media by conducting negotiations away from parliament and mostly on private property. Lloyd Burr is so frustrated he, like many other equally fatuous Newshub journalists, has resorted to inventing things to try and make themselves seem relevant.

In the lead up to the election, massive billboards started appearing across the country with a photo of a cackling Winston Peters with the words: “Don’t Get Fooled Again”.

They were paid for by the ACT Party whose leader David Seymour will have that phrase playing over and over in his head after Peters’ recent behaviour.

Both Seymour and Luxon flew to Wellington on Tuesday to continue coalition negotiations, with an expectation Peters would be in the capital too – given it was Peters who insisted that’s where talks should happen rather than Luxon’s preferred Auckland.

They were hopeful of all three leaders finally getting around the same table to nut out some of the contentious elements of their preliminary plan.

But Winston was a no show.

His entire New Zealand First caucus was in Wellington waiting for him. They waited. They obfuscated when asked by reporters where their leader was. They were stood up too.

Even Shane Jones – the master orator – couldn’t answer to Winston’s whereabouts.

When it became apparent Peters was not going to leave the comfort of Auckland, both Luxon and Seymour booked the last flight north and headed north. They all finally met in a hotel room on Wednesday.

It’s an extraordinary power play from Peters. It’s a warning shot to both Seymour and Luxon that he won’t be played a fool after reportedly being offended at a draft deal that came across his desk on Friday.

He’s telling them: you piss me around, I’ll piss you around.

This isn’t his first rodeo, he’s done these talks before, and he knows how to get what he wants. He’s not going to be dictated by two leaders he sees as political amateurs.

But Winston’s power play is also immature and petty. 

Newshub

Immature and petty? Really?

Lloyd Burr clearly lacks the brain power to work out that the NZ First caucus is in on the joke, and the joke is on idiot media dullards like Lloyd Burr. They aren’t talking to the media dolts; they are toying with them like a cat toys with a mouse.

Lloyd Burr isn’t the only media dolt being toyed with. Jenna Lynch is another, and she is really mad and sarky about it too.

So they caved. They gave in to Winston’s whims. They played Peters’ game.

After waiting all day in Wellington, expecting Winston Peters to grace his future governing partners with his presence, Christopher Luxon and a selection of his brains trust made a mad dash to catch the last flight out of the capital on Tuesday evening destined for Auckland where Peters was holed up.

There is only one word for it. Humiliating.

Stood up by Peters, Luxon and David Seymour, tails between legs, traipsed back to their hometown at the whim of Winston for the first official meeting of the triumvirate.

There was hope of a meeting in Wellington on Tuesday but as Seymour bluntly said on his return to the City of Sails, “Not everyone showed up but hey what can you do?”

By Wednesday morning the staged photo of all three grinning around a table was released following a meeting that can only be described as brief.

Make up your own minds on who’s running the show here.

Newshub

Jenna, deary, it’s you who is being humiliated. The politicians see you, your silly games, and your bias. They are playing you like a fiddle.

Richard Harman, who has clearly run out of chardonnay, isn’t happy either. He’s rather annoyed at having to haul his burgeoning carcass around the place chasing a story when he’d rather sip the chardonnay and interview his keyboard…which is what he proceeds to do, moaning like an unpaid hooker all over X.

Authoritarian? Nope, more like they know how you like sneaky whispers in dark corners and have removed themselves from your tactics and games.

It’s hilarious to watch and I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of this.

The media are being schooled. Cindy’s Kindy is over. There’s a new crowd in charge and they know what these media charlatans did over the past six years as they supped from the government trough.

Game time is over.

Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the BFD - where this article was sourced.