John McLean: New Zealand Judiciary continues to circle the wagons

The United Judges of Woketearoa give their Government yet another stiff middle finger

In November 2024, District Court Judge “Ema” Aitken, her former-doctor husband David Galler and King’s Counsel Michael Reed KC gate-crashed a private function at Auckland city’s Northern Club. The function was a Christmas get together of the New Zealand First political party. Aitken’s real name is Elizabeth Margaret Aitken. “Ema” appears to be a truncation designed to make herself seem cool.

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, there can be no dispute about what transpired that evening. All the salient conduct was videoed on mobile phones.



Aiken screeched at Winston Peters, while he was making a speech, "He's lying! How can you let him say that?". As Peters tried to leave the NZ First event, Galler accosted him to impart a morsel of his infinite wisdom, “You're doing a shit job in government".

Reed took a myriad of photos on this phone - as if he’d just discovered a new toy. Either confused about where he was, or insisting on reciprocal private club rights to be obnoxious, Reed rebuked those telling him to stop snapping, “I'm a member of the Wellington Club and I have rights to [be] here".

Attorney General Judith Collins announced that she was “appalled” by the incident. She was, however, disjunctively incorrect when she claimed that those responsible were "clearly either inebriated or just arrogant and offensive". Aitken, Galler & Reed were (conjunctively) both inebriated and arrogant and offensive.

Chief district court Judge Heemi Taumaunu was also incorrect when he said “"I have also made it clear to Judge Aitken that this was a regrettable, unfortunate, and unacceptable series of events, which she accepts." Because, rather than accept what she did and the consequences of her actions, Aitken has asked her fellow judges to stop Attorney General Collins following the Judicial Conduct Commissioner’s recommendation that Collins should appoint a Judicial Conduct Panel to assess Aitken’s conduct.

And New Zealand’s judiciary has leapt to Aitken’s aid, setting aside two days of precious High Court time in mid-March to tick Aitken’s audacious attempt to stop a Judicial Conduct Panel assessing her bad behaviour.

The latest Court decision favouring Aitken is a High Court decision of Justice Isac. In mid-February, Isac stopped the Attorney General taking any further action to assess Aitken’s actions and suppressed publication of any the Judicial Conduct Commissioner’s proceedings that are not already public.

Musings on this messy, murky matter

Here are a few of my thoughts on what’s panning out here.

The upper echelons of New Zealand’s judiciary remain in brazen, open rebellion against the Government. The Northern Club confrontation is just another example. This unsubtle rebellion involves flagrant, activist subversion of established legal and constitutional principles and is being proudly promoted to a credulous public by biased legacy and State-funded media. In particular, the Supreme Court, working in cahoots with Radio New Zealand, makes no bones about is support for the creation of an Aotearoa Ethno-State, with individuals claiming any Maori ancestry to enjoy, for all eternity, preferential civil and political rights.

UNCIVIL WAR
John McLean
·
30 August 2024

The conflict is hot and will only get hotter. Figurative flames, ballistics and scalding hot air are blasting from multiple flues, in every direction. In all the hullabaloo, woo-woo, boo-hoo and utu, few have a clue about this attempted coup. Do you?

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We must ignore any purported apologies from Aitken and her ilk. All apologies emanating from the Illiberal Left are sneering and insincere.

The irony, humour and hypocrisy of Aitken having been involved in setting up a pilot Alcohol and other Drug Treatment Court – and then launching her blathered barbs at Winston Peters - is lost on her. In their Critical Social Justice crusading, Woke warriors don’t get irony and are humorless hypocrites.

In face of incontrovertible video evidence of the cooked crusaders’ culpability, Aitken is trying to coerce us all to believe that there was nothing to see or dwell on. Just more Gaslighting.

Aitken displays the classic infantile Woke incapacity to take personal responsibility and accept that bad behaviour can and should have consequences. Think, also, former Labour Justice Minister and absconder-from-the-cops Kiri Allan, compulsive thief Golriz Ghahraman, Michael I-forgot (not)-my-Auckland Airport-shares Wood. The pong remains the same.

Aitken is happy to waste precious Court time to clean her slate even though her term as a judge ended on 3 February 2025. In other words, she can’t lose her judge job. How terribly precious.

Aitken’s husband David Gallen is a compulsive attention-seeking, virtue projecting narcissist. When a man arranges to “star” in a reality TV show (“The Checkup”) and a documentary about himself (“Intensive Care” – based on a book he’s written about…himself), how could it be otherwise? See how long you can stomach this… Intensive Care - with Dr. David Galler - FilmFreeway

Gallen may also be a smidge racist. When confronted at the Northern Club by an ethnic Indian individual (the same man who told Reed KC to stop his frenetic photography), Gallen said "Since when did we start allowing Indians to enter this club?" Ummm. It’s racism or a supercilious smear on the Northern Club…or both. You be the judge.

This is not about Aitken’s free speech. Judges’ privileged positions limit their freedoms to pipe up, politically, in public. They can’t be allowed to publicly display overt political biases. This is because they often have to decide cases with political elements, and in such cases they mustn’t be able to be impugned with allegations of political bias. Contrary to the Woke Playbook, judges mustn’t be permitted to bring their “whole selves” either to their work or their public play.

Judge Isac’s latest decision contains the following:

Finally, the [Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004] reflects a constitutional balance between two important principles. The purpose of the Act is to “enhance public confidence in, and to protect the impartiality and integrity of, the judicial system”. This is achieved by “providing a robust investigation process to enable informed decisions” about the removal of a judge, but also one that provides “a fair process that recognises and protects the requirements of judicial independence and natural justice”. Both values are essential to maintaining a free and democratic society and, therefore, public confidence in the judicial branch of government.

However, no such “constitutional balance” needs to be struck here. Aikens conduct – at the Northern Club and in her subsequent Court actions - further undermines public confidence in, and the impartiality and integrity of, New Zealand’s judicial system. And judicial independence and natural justice are not a licence for a judge to spout their Woke ideologies, pissed in public, and then look to the very Court system they’re undermining for exoneration. Judicial independence does not mean – cannot be allowed to mean - judicial impunity.

Winston Peters is contemplating suing Errant Arrogant Aitken for defamation, for calling him a liar in public. Go Peters. Go Collins. Crush this crap.

Please, just please Ema…for everyone’s sake, take your medicine and disappear. You’re not special and will preserve what little remains of your dwindling dignity.

John McLean is a citizen typist and enthusiastic amateur who blogs at John's Substack where this article was sourced.