In a tweet dripping with faux outrage, former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said:
“So according to Nicola Willis people concerned about rising unemployment are ‘glass half empty’ and people who have lost their jobs ‘shouldn’t take it personally’. Could she be any more out of touch?!”
Out of touch? That’s rich, coming from the man who fronted a government that forced thousands of Kiwis out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not because of market forces or economic conditions, but because they refused to comply with vaccine mandates.
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Let’s not rewrite history here. Under Labour, thousands of teachers, nurses, midwives, police officers, firefighters and others were sacked or forced to walk away from their jobs because they made a personal medical choice. They were publicly vilified, treated like lepers, and excluded from society. All of it happened while Chris Hipkins was the COVID-19 Response Minister.
Did he show them empathy? Did he ever tweet about those people losing their jobs or being treated unfairly? Of course not. His government showed no remorse and instead painted them as selfish and dangerous.
Now he wants to play the working class hero?
Hipkins’ and Ardern’s Labour government actively destroyed jobs through unscientific mandates, excessive lockdowns, and bureaucratic overreach. They bulldozed businesses with red tape, crippled sectors like tourism and hospitality, and drove up inflation with wasteful spending. Unemployment might be rising now, but let’s not pretend Labour didn’t leave the economy in a mess.
If Nicola Willis made an offhand comment about unemployment that rubbed some the wrong way, fair enough. Let’s not pretend she’s the one who oversaw mass job losses due to authoritarian health policies. That honour goes to Chris Hipkins.
The sheer lack of self-awareness in his tweet is astounding. If Hipkins wants to talk about people losing their jobs and feeling like politicians are out of touch, then he needs to look in the mirror.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
It should me remembered that according to government statistics, people are only unemployed if they are actively looking for work. If you are on the jobseekers benefit but you haven't had a job interview recently, then you're not unemployed.
So under Labour, we had record numbers of people receiving the jobseekers benefit, yet the media were singing the government's praise because we also had record unemployment. There was no incentive to actually work and it was far more profitable to sit on your backside in a state house or motel, sell drugs or join a gang.
Also, it wasn't only through the covid response that Labour destroyed jobs. There were all the coal mines they closed, heartlessly putting whole towns out of work, such as Ohau. There was the ban on oil and gas exploration. The war on farmers and rural communities. The stopping of the previous government's infrastructure projects. Basically, if you weren't controlled and paid for by central or local government, they were against you.
A total and dangerous jerk.
Never forget.
I once posted a comment that Hipkins had the appearance of Alfred E. Neumann, a character in MAD magazine, whose catch phrase was: "What, me worry?". Hipkins is actually becoming more and more like his doppelganger.
Matua, I honestly don't think napkins understands what a hypocrite he is. He is in NO POSITION to give advice on how to run a country, cripes he would manage to stuff a one man business he's that incompetent. Just look at his track record....
Matua, keep in mind that Chris Hipkins would not have got anywhere near the Parliament Building, if it had not been for "his" mentor Trevor Mallard.
If anyone knows what Mallard was like during his tenure under Helen Clark, then you might see what "rubbed off" onto Chris - " I can do no wrong, have done nothing wrong, who me, what I say is gospel - Hipkins".
Not only Hipkins, but Robertson, Ardern and all those greenstone wearing , head nodding in agreement minor politicians who didn't dare go against the flow.
Sadly, it doesn't end there, we have another cohort who will not stand up to Luxon who is bullying them into silence.
We need another proper leader.
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