Clive Bibby: A Leopard never changes its spots

One of the features of modern politics that continues to baffle me is the number of so called “authoritative” commentators who want us to believe past leaders have become reformed characters and are no longer a danger to the public health.

The best example of this so called “Road to Damascus” conversion is our former PM Jacinda Ardern’s pretence that she has suddenly become a non partisan defender of equal rights for waring factions throughout the globe offering herself as an advocate for peace based on mutual understanding.

Well, her decision to boycott the prestigious Adelaide Writer’s Week as a result of the organisers’ banning of a Palestinian Australian author’s participation shows just where her true loyalties lie.

The reason for the banning was because of repeated antisemitic comments by this Palestinian author and was in response to the mass murder of Jews at Bondi Beach recently - an act of terrorism unseen by the World Jewish community since the atrocities of October 7th in Israel and the second most horrific slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

My guess is that the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Foreign Minister Penny Wong would have choked on their muesli as they cried crocodile tears while condemning the brutal attack. They too would no doubt have also struggled to accept the banning of the Palestinian author’s participation but felt the time was not right to express their true feelings.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, not a word from Ardern but, having left the political arena she is now able to revert to type and put her money and mouth where her support has always been.

The old saying that “you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time” has finally caught up with Lady McBeth.

The veil of empathy that made her famous during our own public massacre (that time it was innocent Muslims who suffered the consequences of racial hatred), in hindsight appears to have been genuine and in that context she deserves the accolades that came her way during that traumatic time.

However, now that she no longer has responsibilities towards a cross section of racial constituents, she is free to show her own antisemitic feelings in a forum where she is no longer accountable.

Her rant at the UN last November claiming a genocide had been committed by the Jews in Gazza while ignoring the evidence of the October 7th massacre was an insight into her real persona unmasked from the selective morality she promoted while in office.

Let’s hope that Kiwis will recognise this fraud for what it is.

We will not be duped again into believing the former PM is a impartial supporter of equal rights wherever they are under threat

The clandestine operation He Puapua attempted under her direct control should have alerted us to her Machiavellian nature.

Time for a reappraisal of individual choices made by people we thought we could trust - and for these precious folk with an exaggerated opinion of their own self worth it’s time to bugger off!

We are simply not interested in their distorted view of the world we live in.

It doesn’t resonate with us mere mortals.

I’ve got a feeling things are about to get better for all of us in spite of the imposters chirping away from afar.

Happy New Year.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.