The shock invasion of the Ukraine serves as a grim reminder of the fragility of freedom and democracy in the face of powerful totalitarian aggressors.
The leadership shown by the President of the Ukraine, the former actor Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the bravery of the Ukrainian people, who have taken up arms to defend their country, stands in sharp contrast to the seeming impotence of the West. While supplies of weapons to support the ‘people’s army’ and sanctions against Vladimir Putin and Russia are all-important, as the aggressor unleashes its military might, the Ukrainians are effectively standing alone.
Many lessons are emerging from this deadly conflict.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, British journalist Melanie Phillips, explains how the West’s embrace of Green extremism has contributed to the problem:
“Through their ‘unhinged obsession with climate change’, America, Britain and Europe have handed Putin his greatest weapon against them. In their determination to reduce carbon emissions by turning against fossil fuels and having put so many of their eggs in the basket of renewables which are desperately unreliable as national sources of energy, they have made themselves overly dependent on gas sold to them by Russia.
“While Biden’s been working on this Green New Deal which is a joke and ridiculous and terrible, Russia’s become the second-largest natural gas supplier in the world, the third-largest oil exporter.
“So now Putin, with his hand on gas spigots which he can open or shut at will, has the power to restrict gas supplies, send the price of gas shooting up and inflict on western nations both power outages and eye-watering increases in their cost of living. Western countries are already paying dearly for their supreme green folly…
“This gas weapon is all the more ludicrous given that both America and Britain have the natural resources to be energy-independent. Yet they have utterly squandered this resilience through their unfounded fixation that carbon emissions will destroy the planet.”
The irony is that a year ago, low energy prices had left the Russian economy struggling, but the doubling of prices has topped up their war chest – in effect, the invasion of the Ukraine is being financed by Western nations that have sacrificed energy security for the United Nations’ zero-carbon economic suicide pact.
As Time reports: “The countries of Europe, cower in fear as their dependency on Russian gas renders them impotent to fight back against Russia’s invasion… Germany especially will suffer if Russian gas imports are blocked; Europe imports 40% of its natural gas from Russia, but for Germany it is up to 50%, on top of 45% dependency on Russian coal and 34% on Russian oil. Meanwhile, Germany is continuing to phase out nuclear, making it more reliant on Russian energy imports.”
And that’s the underlying scandal – the suppression of fossil fuels in Western countries to comply with the UN’s foolish Climate Accord is having a deadly impact on global security.
Surely this is also a lesson for New Zealand, since those dictating our policy have an “unhinged obsession with climate change” – namely a Minister, who is the co-leader of the fanatical Greens and a Prime Minister who claims it is her “nuclear free moment”.
As a result, New Zealand’s energy security has been undermined – our coal mines, oil and gas industry, and oil refinery all effectively closed, leaving us reliant on exports and exposed.
In 2020, Prime Minister Ardern declared a “climate emergency”, describing the threat to the planet from New Zealand’s miniscule contribution to global carbon emissions – which comes largely from cows and sheep – a matter of life or death.
It now turns out that it is indeed a matter of life or death – but for the opposite reasons: the slavish acceptance of UN climate scaremongering has not only destabilised Western economies, it has emboldened geopolitical adversaries who now pose a major risk to world security.
There are many other lessons for New Zealand.
Primary amongst those is the critical importance of freedom and the need to stand against tyranny.
To many Kiwis that means restoring the sort of society we had before Jacinda Ardern launched her radical socialist agenda onto New Zealand, including – without any mandate from voters – her He Puapua plan for the iwi elite to take over control of the country.
Then there’s the crucial importance of media independence.
In Russia, the State controls the media and the narrative, enabling the endless spread of propaganda.
With our Prime Minister funding the media through her $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund, is that what we now have in New Zealand?
Over recent months the mainstream media has indeed been acting as Government agents, mindlessly promoting vaccines, boosters, and mandates, while seemingly disregarding the legitimate concerns being raised by medical professionals and others over the safety of fast-tracked genetic vaccines, the lack of focus on early Covid treatment options, and the breach of human rights that accompanied the introduction of compulsory vaccination by a Prime Minister who promised she would not do so.
Media bias became even more evident during the anti-mandate protest at Parliament – as former journalist Mike Butler explains: “Three weeks of smear stories in our mainstream media have been used to blame protesters. Compromised by the Public Interest Journalism Fund that encourages reporters to advocate for causes sanctioned by the Government, many now filter news as part of a ubiquitous wall of propaganda only avoided by turning off devices.”
While the mainstream media and – to their eternal shame – our Members of Parliament painted the protesters as dangerous radicals, the reality was very different. Many were teachers, nurses, Police, members of Armed Services – dedicated professionals who had never protested in their lives before – but, having believed Jacinda Ardern’s assurance of no vaccine mandates if she was re-elected, they felt they had run out of options.
As Mike Butler again explains: “Most (55 percent) of the protesters camped at Parliament were women, 45 percent had voted for a Labour-Green Government in the 2020 election, and 27 percent were Maori. Many had been forced out of work and had lost their homes because they refused to submit to forced vaccination. Ardern hurt her supporters then shunned them.”
Instead of listening to the concerns of the protesters, Jacinda Ardern – along with the rest of our political elite – abused them in a way that was reminiscent of the 2016 US Presidential Primary, when Hilary Clinton described grassroot Americans as “deplorables”.
Then, last Wednesday the Police descended on the protest with force using shields, pepper spray, tear gas, water hoses, fire extinguishers, and foam bullets – in spite of the Police Commissioner stating that foam bullets are too dangerous to use in crowds.
Mike Butler describes the situation as it unfolded: “There was no violent disturbance by the crowd of protesters before the police descended in riot gear. The Police brought the riot. I’ve seen footage of protesters with their backs to police as they were being pushed out of the area. It was only later, after hours of harassment, that a bonfire was lit and pavers were thrown.”
Were there radicals amongst the protesters? Of course there were. Anarchists are attracted to protests like moths to light. They were certainly present on that last day, creating mayhem while hiding behind masks and balaclavas – in contrast to genuine demonstrators, who wore no face coverings as a symbol of their protest.
Who organised the anarchists is not known, but the Prime Minister used their actions to take the high ground, denigrating the protest to end illegal vaccine mandates.
And illegal they are. Just days earlier the High Court ruled the mandates imposed on the Police and the Armed Forces were unlawful.
Justice Cooke found the vaccination order had breached two sections of New Zealand’s Bill of Rights: section 11, “Everyone has the right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment”, and section 15, “Every person has the right to manifest that person’s religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching, either individually or in community with others, and either in public or in private.”
As political commentator Frank Newman explains, “This decision is very significant – if the rights of the police and defence force workers have been breached because of the mandates, then so too have the rights of everyone else.
“The High Court decision poses a major problem for the government. If they appeal, they will be seen to be heavy-handed and authoritarian (which they are). If they say the decision only applies to the police and armed services, then they will be seen to be duplicitous (which they are). If they remove all mandates, then even the mainstream media will not be able to deny the government has been defeated by the protesters.”
Furthermore, while the PM argued mandates were needed to keep everyone safe, the Judge revealed that was not the case – their purpose was “to ensure the continuity of the public services, and to promote public confidence in those services, rather than to stop the spread of Covid-19. Indeed health advice provided to the government was that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of Covid-19…
“Covid-19 clearly involves a threat to the continuity of police and NZDF services. But that threat exists for both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. I am not satisfied that the order makes a material difference.”
That decision justified the protest demand to remove all mandates.
With the Government’s Covid rules and restrictions collapsing around us as Omicron sweeps through the country, the PM knows that the days of compulsory mandates are numbered.
Isn’t the real reason they haven’t already been removed – so that urgently needed staff can return to work – that the Prime Minister felt it would damage her poll ratings if she was seen to be giving in to protesters? Is that why the Police were called in to crush the protest?
These events are in sharp contrast to the two-year occupation at Ihumatao. There, Labour MPs met with protest leaders and negotiated a peaceful end to the protest, ensuring it disbanded without the violent clashes we saw last week.
Why was the Prime Minister, who on election night promised to govern for all New Zealanders, not as accommodating to those occupying our country’s front lawn as she was to that group in Auckland? And why has she attempted to turn the nation against them, when they were vindicated by the High Court’s ruling that her mandates were not required for medical reasons and are illegal.
Have we ever seen such arrogance before? Demanding to be heard is a fundamental right in a democracy and nothing to be feared. What should be feared is an authoritarian government that refuses to listen and represses those who protest.
The question now being asked is whether the Prime Minister intends using her claims that those who do not agree with her are under ‘foreign influence’ and spreading ‘misinformation’ to further restrict our freedom of expression.
We see that Russia has just cracked down on “foreign misinformation” through laws that will jail anyone spreading information that contradicts the Government for 15-years! And teachers will also be forced to “train” children to identify ‘misinformation’ and unite against it.
Is this what our Prime Minister is planning for New Zealand? If so, will the media, who, before government funding, were traditionally staunch advocates of free expression, condemn State censorship or support it?
These are big issues and disturbing questions. But if we have learnt anything from the current unrest, it’s that we need a government that genuinely represents all New Zealanders and is prepared to listen to all concerns – including from those who have contrary views.
In such troubling times the letter we wrote in October last year, “We don’t love you anymore Jacinda” – see HERE – in which we called for her resignation, seems more relevant now than ever!
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you agree with the Prime Minister that further restrictions on our freedom of expression are needed?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| We need to rid our country NEW ZEALAND of this Marxist Prime Minister who is hell bent on DIVIDING our country for her own agenda | Eddie |
| She has to be removed | Dianne |
| It is time for Jacinda to go along with all her useless mates. | Fraser |
| utter B/S | barry |
| Sooner this PM and all of her ilk are gone from government the better for us who believe in democracy in NZ | Gwenda |
| Freedom of speech and movement is essential for Democracy. No confidence in this Government or indeed any of the 120 MPs in Parliament. Their failure to meet with protestors clearly highlights democracy is under threat in New Zealand. | Sam |
| NZ needs to learn from oppressive regimes overseas such as Russia and China what can happen when political leadership has unbridled power over people’s lives and freedoms. Therefore we must preserve our democracy and freedom of speech and curtail any political power that threatens them. | Virginia |
| Something needs to be done before 30 years of national rule will be required to put this shit show back in order! | Meriel |
| The Labour Government is alienating democracy for what? | Bryan |
| The whole CV drama is a scam to depopulate the world ready for the NWO. All involved need to be removed from power. All world leaders have gone through the WEF and all got in by cheating, CCP very involved plus other EU countries. It all showed up on USA Spaceforce. | Mary |
| Her job is not to rob us of our hard fought-for freedoms, but to serve us in humility and with policies that will give us the most freedom possible so that WE can make our OWN choices to better our OWN lives. | Michaela |
| I’m saddened by the quality of MP’s in Wellington | David |
| Right from Putins mouth more lies and more lies all weeping over to New Zealand | Garth |
| Definitely not as have been in lockdown long enough which is crippling our country re businesses, retail etc. | carolyn |
| we are a democracy ,free speech is a right, not a privaliige.It’s about time their hidden socialist agendas are exposed. | mel |
| if further restrictions are imposed then we need to DEMONSTRATE again on Parliament grounds against her repressive totalitarian expressions | Gregor |
| No, NO, No,definately not! | Graeme |
| We do not need any more restrictions leave alone | leo |
| I would say try it because the time is ripe for the big backlash ! Most people are aghast at the pig Putin and his trashing of Ukraine. But every direction you look in the world is in chaos and most is man -made. Politicians are idiots and the masses not much better. Most of this is solvable but it only gets worse. Our politicians have the guts of chocolate fish. Isn’t it about time we did away with Party politics and introduced a whole new system of experts ? One could go on and on but I shake my head and think back over my long and mainly lovely life. Looking forward seems dark and ominous. Good luck New Zealand. | John |
| enough is enough,OUT WITH ARDERN | brian |
| Free speech is imperative to a free society | Herme |
| Definitely not | Paul |
| No No No, No more from this tyrannical control obsessed PM She causes the problem then says we must comply to fix it Sound familiar because this is what she has done since gaining the power of control. No more Where will thus end – ? I’m thinking you all will not like the answer one little bit. | Carolyn |
| That it is even contemplated is very very alarming. | bruce s |
| `WE WANT TO BE FREE’ | Sheryl |
| Certainly not. We are becoming a joke around the world that we are so far behind how the world is at last opening up in an effort to become ‘normal’ again. | Keith |
| Like the Ukraine, New Zealand is experiencing a Criminal Government controlled from without. And again, like Ukraine, the “leadership” here are just puppets the the corrupt and criminal WEF/WHO etc. who are pedo nazis and bringers of slavery and death | Neil |
| She’s a dictator and seriously unhinged | Kenneth |
| Are we to be puppets without any say in anything? Are we becoming a mindless nation blindly following the leader without thinking for ourselves? I think not! | Robyn |
| No. No. No. Leave my personal freedoms, including the right to speak as freely as current New Zealand LAw allows me to. PM Ardren is sounding and acting more like Putin every day, but this is NOT Russia, and we NOT Russian slaves. Freedom of expression is a basic Human Right denied only to the oppressed. | Phil |
| Is this because she wants to hide the fact that Gayford is rumoured to have a leg bracelet on. | Mike |
| Oh goodness me we are not Nazis nor Russians–stop stop stop | Maxwell |
| Never As Rowna Atkinson said the only answer to free speech IA MORE FREE SPEECH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqDZlAZygU&t=5s If you wish to view | Cookie |
| No, No, No…!!! | Sharon |
| We need less control, not more. | Jim |
| She would say that.. Communists hate FREEDOM, thats why she smashed the protesters, last week !! She is a control freak psychopath, wanna be dictator !!! | David |
| This is Orwellian stuff. Appaling! This Govt needs to go NOW, before we all loose our freedom. | Andrew |
| The Prime Minister is entirely divorced from reality. Freedom of expression should never be restricted in a democracy. Restrict it and we don’t have a democracy any more, do we? | Paloma |
| Too many controls already | Paul |
| She’s a blatant lier. Nobody should believe a word she says. | Frank |
| Take away our freedom to voice our opinions, and you are a Dictatorship! Leave our freedom alone! | Heather |
| Restrictions are not only bad for our economy, they’re bad for our mental health! | Jane |
| All restrictions need to be lifted and let NZ get on with life. Stop treating us like unruly children, we do know how to look after ourselves and others. | Doreen |
| I consider that the prime minister is on a wrong and dangerous tack by even considering restrictions on our personal freedom. I consider that it will cost her and her party greatly when it comes to the next election. | Brian |
| There is more than enough legislation in place now for a balanced dialogue to be fully debated. More rules will be putting us in the same realm as the likes of Russian censorship. Obviously this is the direction comrade adhern wants to take us. | Richard |
| the tragedy is that with her face constantly on tv and voice on radio many people just aren’t thinking for themselves anymore and common sense seems to have died | Joanne |
| Absolutely not. Jacinda is classic KGB operative trained in England under Tony Blair along with Justin Trudeau – her ideology is exactly what Ukraine are fighting against. | Mike |
| Her and her cohort needs to go before even more serious damage I done. | Les |
| dictatorship from a narcissistic, psychopathic nut job destined to be the most divisive and clearly worst PM in our nations history | ken |
| Out with the Commie leader. Take the lame duck with you as well. | John |
| Some serious restrictions on her freedom of action are though!!! | John |
| Absolutely not… another attempt by this communist pm and her followers to advance their drive to establish total control of the population of NZ, The term “Labour” disguises what the real definition means, socialist/communist. Adern has displayed a clear message of her desire to see NZ in that situation, dream on adern, ! | David |
| Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. WAKE UP, New Zealand! | Gary |
| She’s moving closer and closer to communism | Lois |
| In general terms, restrictions on freedom of expression cause more problems than they solve. | Pieter |
| Overseas experience has proven beyond doubt that restrictions have had little impact regarding the Covid flue so just end them. | Robert |
| NO MANDATES | Temp |
| Look at Russia and learn the danger of su h a policy! | Marg |
| Resign, resign, resign. By the way, whee is Clarke? | Allan |
| No I do not agree that further restrictions are needed. By contrast, I do not agree with your one sided rant against vaccination and in support of the protestors at Parliament, some of whom behaved appallingly. | Peter |
| she needs to be removed and quickly | Graham |
| She is the most deceitful PM we have ever had. She is on a power trip, and certianly doesn’t wish to let that go. | Christine |
| The woman is mad. She needs to go. Power has gone to her head, and that is NOT the type of leader we want in a democracy. | Christine |
| Drop all mandates now – where is the Governor General on all this? Ardern and crew need to be gone now! | John |
| no | allan |
| Definitely not! This government has gone too far already! Bugger them! | Valerie |
| She should be arrested and thrown into jail for a long time as being a mass murderer. | Peter |
| New Zealand has been kept in a perpetual state of fear for so long what will further restrictions achieve? | simon |
| every day bit by bit our freedoms are being eroded and our freedom to voice our displeasure is a right in a democratic country | john |
| Restrictions on freedoms cannot be justified. Pure and Simple | Mark |
| All this is part of the Great Reset and Adolf Ardern is playing her part according to Schwab, Soros and the EMF. And as for Putin, he’s just ‘kicked the Biden’s Back door in’. Now exposing Zelenskyy as a Dictator and lots of ‘American funded Bioweapon Labs !! | Geoff |
| Resign Jacinda | Mike |
| It is unbelievable that we cannot criticise our morally-bankrupt, racist, raving-marxist,, totally incompetent government of Ardern, Mallard, Parker, Little, Robertson and treaty-twisters, brown supremacists of Mahuta & W. Jackson – missed the chance of last week’s poll to comment on him. | Monica |
| She serves a higher power, not New Zealand. | Roderick |
| Fredon of Speech, expresions of concern and fredom of Movement are Basic rights which Comrade Ardern is striping away form us, and turning our Free country into a comunist dictatorship. | Don |
| Far too many restrictions now. Look at how FB goes “most relevant selected” when the comments start to go against govt direction. | Rita |
| Jacinda! We are NOT a Communist State! (not yet, not whilst I am a New Zealander living at home) | glyn |
| PM cannot be trusted | eugene |
| The current regime has imposed too many restrictions already | Graham |
| I live in New Zealand – this is not Russia. Please, everyone, fight for our once free Country. Jacinda – feck off. | Brian |
| She would love to.Just like Putins Russia, after all she is one of them, a socialist. | Owen |
| She would love to. Just like Putons Russia. After all she is one of them, a socialist. | Owen |
| Control! That is all she wants. But the sheep are beginning to see through her. | Elizabeth |
| USSNV again | Roger |
| Freedom of though, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech are central to democracy while likewise allowing others to express theirs in an unviolent, peaceful and respectful manner. | Mike |
| Let us all be able to chart our own destinies. | Dennis |
| The restrictions will be designed to give her more power over the rest of new Zealand. | Denis |
| We need to stop this totalitarian anti democratic and racist government from destroying this democracy! | Calvin |
| End the government’s Public Interest Journalism Fund for propaganda and ungag our poor, sad, duped media. The Wgtn protestors’ blatant mistrust just may have been the wake up call our MSM needed. We need more freedom of speech, not less! | Wendy |
| We must, somehow, stop this endless dumbing down of our country. | Rob |
| Democracy has no place in this bunch of clowns thinking…and still we read on fb posts from people who think she is doing a good job.!! | Peter |
| I am well tired of being lied to and pushed around by the Adern regime. She has proved she can use force on unarmed protestors who don’t agree with her, but can she survive the next election? Anyone but Adern. | Chris |
| Less are needed or this Country will become a Markist State. | David |
| No way. NZ is fast becoming a mirror of China’s and Russia’s political idealisms. | Graeme |
| Of course further restrictions are not needed. | Richard |
| No get rid of all Mandates | Barry |
| I am happy to put the saftely of others in my community ahead of my ‘freedoms’. This is a short-term solution to an unpreccedented problem. | Jack |
| The PM’s banging on about misinformation is surely like the pot calling the kettle black. Many of her utterances whether from ‘the podium of truth’ or otherwise are just that – lies and more lies. The most odious being her lie of omission by not disclosing he puapua before the election and when it was eventually brought to light denying, in spite of evidence to the contrary, that it was/is part of government policy! | Anne |
| My main grizzle is that the implementation of so-called hate speech will be used to shut down views with which the government or certain sectors of the public don’t like. | Peter |
| Lifting the mandates are long overdue! | Nigel |
| NO! New Zealanders need to start reading background information instead of letting things slide. Question everything and demand logical answers. | Gay |
| Freedom!! | John |
| I read everythink. The picture has been adequately painted and expresses the problems we have. I know whom I will vote for.. | Peter |
| not needed Jacinda GO | Allan |
| We have already seen political prisoners in NZ (e.g. Ps Brian Tamaki). This is a frightening trend and one that needs to be headed off at the pass! There have been other arrests like this one. | Rebecca |
| Any suggestion of further restrictions from “The single source of Truth” at the “Dais of Deception” are designed to ensure Ardern & the “First XV” continues the rampage of destroying New Zealands social makeup and increasing division | Mark |
| Free speech is fundamental to a true democracy – restrict it and you have a potential dictatorship . This I’m sure Adern would love | tony |
| Do we want further restrictions? You have to be joking! We need further restrictions from our authoritarian and undemocratic communist prime minister like we desire a good whipping. | ROB |
| She is cunning but not clever, as she has demonstrated over and over again during the past 3 years with some monumental stuff-ups and very little, if anything, to be proud of. | Garry |
| Absolutely not, this nonsense has gone far enough but of course what would you expect from a communist leader and a group of brain dead followers. In addition we now have to restart searching for oil and ensure also that the refinery is not closed. We cannot rely on other countries to help us out. | Tom |
| We need to get our rights back and all the emergency BS needs to be withdrawn | Mark |
| The use of restrictions and lockdowns has impoverished the nation and caused the Govt. to massively increase debt to “buy their way out of it”. | John |
| hell no how could any right minded person agree with that. This government and that damb woman need to be voted out at the next election, but i do worry a bit about a lot of the people in this country and that they cant see the evil in this woman,between her the greens and the activist maoris we could be buggered | rodger |
| Jacinda Ardern is in boot-step with Chrystia Freeland (Canada Deputy Prime Minister) who is also a member of the WEF Global Leaders Group with Adern and others from NZ. Freeland has imposed severe sanctions on Truckers and others who protested against the COVID mandates imposed by Justin Trudeau. Freeland’s sanctions include going after their bank accounts, imposing fines and treating they are Economic Terrorists under new laws rushed through their Parliament. Canada is nothing more than a totalitarian regime and Arden, through her policies and relentless drive to enforce He Puapua is going down the same path. The “Team of 5million” has been replaced by the “Team of 55million” as the media is now labeled. The whole Labour mob need to be voted out as do the Greens who are sending NZ down the road the economic ruin. | Colin |
| Absolutely not! Our forefathers fought and died so that we may have freedoms. Freedom of expression being one of them. | Margaret |
| The prime minister is nothing but a commie scumbag. That others in the Labour caucus continue to support her madcap agenda is a disgrace. | Tony |
| heed the obvious! | Giles |
| Absolutely not. We have had enough of this rhetoric for too long now. Can’t wait until 2023 to see her gone. If there is still enough voters wanting to put her back into power again then I will be gone from this country for good. | Lawrie |
| She has infringed on our rights and freedoms too much as it is. My hope is that we can get them back before it is too late | Shannon |
| no restrictions are needed and all mps need to stand down | :Garry: |
| Absolutely not, if so we might as well be living in China. | Martin |
| I get better common sense from my pet pig who is also much better looking | Rod |
| Absolutely not. She has gone too far already. She is heading down a dark path and away from democracy and free speech | Karen |
| Definitely not all restrictions in place now should be lifted | Eleanor and John |
| she has no respect from many that I talk to so why would i listen to any thing she says. She is a liar and her partner has been busted for drugs | Peter |
| The restrictions are useless and and achieving nothing! On the up side they make the PM look like the arrogant totalitarian bitch she is! | John |
| Absolutely not. This woman is completely immersed in her control cesspool and must be stopped now. | Peter |
| I want a govt who does less, imposes less, not more! True and open dialogue only happens when both side are allowed to speak freely, whether we like it or not. | Linc |
| No absolutely not. They never have been-just a wonderful opportunity for our evil PM to control the sheeple. | Rosemary |
| Good god, NO! This government is moulding the population to be more compliant and dependent so that the Government and their sycophantic followers, (both willing and manipulated) continues to grow. How do they do this? By encouraging dependent people to breed willy nilly in order to create more of the same and to coerce resistant academics and public servants to say what the government wants them to say, under threat of being fired. So all climate scientists, covid “experts”, scientists and other professionals hired or payed by contract to advise the government, do as they are told, or else!!! There so many examples of this, it’s positively unnerving, or maybe horrifying would be a better word, or even terrifying. | Dianna |
| We need a new Government who can reverse the slide in to socialism. | Harvey |
| Our prime minister’s actions to date are deplorable …the health and wellbeing of nz citizens have nothing to do with her decision making | Louanne |
| What we do want is less of her and her government, come on people it’s start the ball rolling now to get rid of them once and for all. | COLIN |
| Jacinda has already taken my right away to use a set net to catch flounders in the Waimea estuary near Nelson but Maoris can. This contravenes the human rights act that states that all New Zealanders should be treated equally so I believe she should be impeached and thrown out of office! | Roger |
| Too many already | John |
| Why not ASK the voters ?? | michael |
| More restrictions on proles freedoms is needed the totalitarian Ardern fascist regime to keep NZers under subjection. All NZers must fight the evil labour government to the end. | Richard |
| No, No a thousand times NO!!! We need all these restrictions removed, not just from the government, but from employers who are overstepping their roles too. | Margaret |
| Ardern the dictator has way to many restrictions on NZ already | Neil |
| The PM needs to go before NZ is a total communist country. | Ann |
| Jacinda and her socialist mates need more restrictions, not the long suffering public | Laurie |
| we need restrictions removed not increased | Alastair |
| Too many restrictions already. | Lyn |
| Absolutely not. This woman is destroying the basis of our democratic country without shame. She didn’t refer to herself as COMRADE in her earlier political life for nothing. Have more than 50% of voters (& nearly 60% of female voters), woken up yet? I sincerely doubt it. What a pathetic bunch we have become. The right of centre block needs to target our hardworking Asian and Indian immigrants to vote this bloody woman out as the rest of us are down right dumb enough to return her.. We are becoming the laughing stock of the western world (apart from Canada of course) | Creed |
| Jacinda de Aotearoa must resign. Get rid of the mandates, NOW! | James |
| She needs it but we sure as hell don’t! | Andy |
| more restictions are needed on our elected reps.1 illegal for parliament to fund media..2. more binding referendums. run in individual electorates. so MPs are legally bound to represent the majority opinion of the people they represent. | John |
| Ardern and Labour are communists. In the history of the world all communists become fascist. Just look at Aderns behaviour to date. Total lies and deceit. She is struggling to condemn Russia as she shares Putins ideology. Our media is 90% complicit and do not understand impartiality. | Bert |
| God save New Zealand | Alan |
| We have had enough of mandates and this Government. | Murray |
| She is a Communist!! | john |
| We need to remove Jacinda from NZ | Andrew |
| Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy. | Lindsay |
| Ardern and Putin sound like one and the same to me. SHE has damaged our country (NEW ZEALAND ), to a point beyond repair, with her sick minded ideology. | Des |
| The proliferation of laws that hinder free speech and critical thinking is leading New Zealand down a rabbit hole of declining ability to deal with a very complex global social environment. | Victor |
| IT.s WAY OVER TIME things were pointed out to younger people who believe anything jacinda says & its pointed out to them why BOTH maori & green policies will cause SO MUCH TROUBLE & COST them SO MUCH MORE. so Neighbours,parents DO THIS as without being told MUCH TRUTH from jacinda they,ll remain blind & keep supporting policies from maori & green,s so PEACEFULLY & SHOWING PATIENCE SHOW THE POLOCIES to them & explain why they are wrong.Cindy | Cindy |
| What we need is to get rid of that demented communist and all her sycophatic minions. I include in that opposition MPs. | Terry M |
| value our freedom of speech, the greatest thing in a democracy. | Merv |
| The human rights act 1990 section 14 Everyone has the right to freedom of expression Including the freedom to seek,recieve,and impart information and opinions of any kind and form The Reds are no longer under the bed. A young women a socialist, a communist, became the accidental prime minister and is fostering legislation for which she had no mandate | Bruce |
| Ardern should resign, she doesn’t listen and won’t listen She is a liability to this country. | Frank |
| A and absolutely not, in fact they need to be reviewed with the aim of reducing the. | David |
| Remove all mandates and media acting as Labour party PR | Mark |
| Ardern is a delusional cretin. | chris |
| That’s just another plank in her socialist platform to subjugate Nzers to centralised control – communism in other words. Just like Putin is doing today in Russia. | Kerry |
| NOT AT ALL | Kerin |
| certainly not, dont you think that this is one more step in her journey to take NZ into her Communist Relm so wake up New Zealanders and KICK her out before its to late | eric |
| Words fail me – I cant see how we will ever get back to where we were a few years ago in terms of freedom, human rights etc. Arderns regime are embedding their socialist/communistic ideology on a daily basis, and if we cant get rid of them in 2023 this country will be ruined for decades to come. | Roy |
| They need to be reduced even further | Nigel |
| That is the last thing we need….more rubbish restrictions | Carole |
| The ‘pulpit of truth’ is the only source of information… Yeah Right! | Peter |
| No. What we need is a new Government. | Robbie |
| resign cindy. Let New Zealand thrive again. We most certainly never loved you | rick |
| Absolutely not, we’ve had enough of needless authoritarian and despotic control and eradication of our basic human rights. the current government has to go because it is incapable of governing as was promised by its leader | Susan |
| Certainly not | David |
| Always they have been against our human rights & never have they been about our health. All about authority. | Jennifer |
| Jackdaw must go. | Robert |
| Absolutely not. | Gavin |
| Comrade Jacinda just wants to restrict freedom of speech | RICHARD |
| The next step for NZ is the manic determination of Ardern to mandate for Aparthied | Bob |
| a very loud NO | Valda |
| This is a blatant erosion of democratic rights. Even if there are some extreme voices, they have a right to be heard. | Matthew |
| It is time she lost her position an stopped manipulating the press. Freed om of expression should be a given | Avril |
| Absolutely not!!! Let’s get rid of this government and especially Ardern. | Darryl |
| Great article Muriel I too look at the difference between the Akl & Wgtn protests Police having coffee and mingling up north and riot shields and weapons south. Bloody disgraceful | Alan |
| The last definition of so-called “hate speech” laws was to make it a criminal offense to say something that another person finds “offensive” | Doug |
| Evil | Carol |
| Already too many restrictions. | Shaun |
| Showing a vaccine pass is ridiculous when you could still walk into a restaurant or somewhere as asymptomatic person & infect others. A RATS or temperature test would be the safer thing to do. In Europe no one even talks about COVID any more – they are more concerned about rising costs, oil etc. due to the ridiculous UN climate crisis agenda. | Margo |
| We have had enough of this Government and everything they do | Ray |
| Absolutely not. | Addrianne |
| We have enough restrictions – we are adult enough to run our own lives | Trinda |
| Lies and deceit cannot fool me JA | Tony |
| Of course not! I have supported NZCPR in the past and will do again [altho’ only govt super income plus some very modest savings.. because I support freedom of expression and agree on some issues: specifically re the response to Covid, but also the “partnership” and increased, extra, rights for Maori . I completely disagree with Muriel’s blog site about Climate Change and consider this obviously real and an existential threat to all life on this precious earth planet. And I do not think Jacinda or James Shay have more than a little bit of Green in them, mostly some pale green rhetoric. | Rochelle |
| lt would be appropriate to restrict the freedom of expression of comrade Adern. A prison cell would most apt. | Charles |
| She should resign. She will go down in history as the worst, most damaging Prime Minister NZ has ever had | Jacky |
| fortunately we have a three year term, unbelievable that labour got a second term, surely this will be the last | bob |
| Absolutely not. The PM is intent on destroying New Zealand on a number of fronts; social cohesion, productivity autonomy and our financial stability for tribalism and the UN. | Sam |
| DANGER DANGER | Richard |
| we do not agree with any thing that the so called communist leader , has ever said…….all has eventually been proven to be a non event or just plain lies , spoken by a person with absolutely zero knowledge of all things worldly . | Roy |
| I can’t stand her. | Daniel |
| What Ardern really wants is to shut down opposing political expression. I believe political expression is include in the bill. The bought and paid for MSM are already lamenting the new, refreshing independent media outlets. At some stage we will probably have even bigger protests as people need to be able to express themselves and have their voices heard. | Janine |
| There needs to be much less restrictions. Media needs to return to being independent and get back to its core job of investigating and covering all sides of current issues, not just regurgitating and parroting Government press releases. It has been a sad time since they took the money and sacrificed their principles. | Tony |
| Cindy needs to go | Dave |
| She’s just the same as Putin | Ranald |
| It just shows how paranoid she has become about loosing power over free speech. She sure is a Communist member and puppet | David |
| She needs to go NOW | Roger |
| What a wallia! Roll on elections and may the population see through the subterfuge and restore our normal living standards | tony |
| We are being lead down a garden path my the media who supports the causes of these government without investigating the whole facts. | Peter |
| This has gone too far already ! | Deborah |
| She should change her name to Putin | George |
| This amounts to a gagging order. Freedom of expression is needed more now than ever so that we can talk about the issues that are dividing this country and come up with solutions about how to move forward. There has never been a more crucial time for free talk between people and government and council’s and all representatives of the people. In an open democracy that is to be encouraged, the alternative is a dictatorship where the population are beaten into submission by a tyrannical government | Tracy |
| The LEFT fought for the so-called freedom of “oppressed” people only to genuinely oppress those people further with decisions for restrictions and mandates reminiscent of totalitarian states of which Russia was, and still is, one. The idea that communism died with the dissolution of the USSR and the coming down of the Berlin Wall has now been proved wrong. Marxist Communism/Socialism went underground and has been nibbling at the roots of Western civilization for 20 years until it has finally reared its ugly head in many of the governments of the world today. New Zealand under Jacinda Ardern is only one such country and it has to be stopped. | Elsie |
| The woman is a marxist tyrant, and needs to be given the boot before she totally wrecks NEW ZEALAND | Gordon |
| Absolutely not, too many of our rights & freedom have already been taken by stealth by this government. They must be stopped before it’s too late | Loretta |
| No! | Pamie |
| I am not a communist. | Philip |
| The Labour government over-reach has been unprecedented on all aspects of our lives: our kids, our bodies, the sacred relationship between patient doctor regarding our health, our jobs, our businesses, our water, our worshipping, our voices our minds!! And more!! | Theodora |
| Definitely not . | Eleanor |
| Restrictions are only needed on the occupants of the beehive..we the people need protection from them!! | Matt |
| Absolutely not. Our freedoms are being totally eroded. | Helen |
| Too many freedoms have been taken away from us already. | Digby |
| Let’s just plow on through omicron (which is just a bad flu), and when out the other side carry on life as normal again. | Eric |
| NO! Make Speech Free Again – completely. Once speech is gone we are finished and our P.M. knows it. She doesn’t care about the people she is supposed to govern, only her baseless mystical ideology that has always led to misery, poverty and death when fully implemented. She needs to read the 858 page BLACK BOOK OF COMMUNISM – Crimes, Terror and Repression. (1999) | Don |
| I don’t agree with her on anything at all. | Bronwyn |
| Absolutely not. | Allan |
| We should always have freedom of speech. We are a democracy’s do not take away our freedom. | Heather |
| This is the PMs push with malevolent intent to further control people. This woman is in my opinion of the leash ( no pun intended) He hate and vitriol for our democracy dripping from her every pore. Ardern is a clear & present danger to new zealand, an extremist, painfully using our money to develop & spread her propaganda of division and hate . | Tracy |
| There should never haver been any restrictions but this is a bigger story than that. What has need done will in the end bring to the surface the criminal agendas that have been holding back human development since time imorial. | Richard |
| P art of the PMs communist mentality | Ray |
| The tide has turned in that whether a person is vaccinated or not, no-one is exempt from the virus except those with excellent immune systems. We should be free now to choose to wear a mask or not for our own health reasons, if we’re concerned. It’s all about tyranny and another agenda, which it has been all along. | Anne |
| We have too many restrictions already. Time for a new government | LesW |
| Vaccination mandates must go! | Alan |
| Freedom of speech is paramount | John |
| No No NO! Go away Jacinda and her Green cohorts. New Zealand is going down the tube with the present administration. Get our oil and gas industry going again and forget “your Nuclear moment”. | graeme |
| We know things she doesn’t want us to talk about (eh Jacinda) Things that could could topple her reign. as PM and now she wants to make it illegal for us to discuss her past. Well wooped di do. | Rod |
| We need a new government with Muriel as PM. | David |
| She is the most DANGEROUS person to democracy we have ever had . Bill Friend. | William |
| This is a very slippery downhill slope. They must be stopped before it is too late | Don |
| Absolutely not. So important in a democratic country for every voice to be heard. Because it’s not your opinion doesn’t make it wrong | Sharon |
| Labour are going down the path of Putin. | Carl |
| Outrageous. | Tina |
| Once a communist always a communist | dave |
| ardern is now no longer the nz pm. what her twisted mind thinks is of no interest to nzers | mark |
| Just Go Jacinda. | Geraldine |
| Herr Jacinda is always right or maybe left | Arthur |
| Ardern needs to pull her head in. She knows the writing is on the wall against her and her rabble of ministers. Time to go Jacinda to your cushy UN job and wreak havoc over there. | Robert |
| The biggest intolerance is not tolerating someone else’s point of view. Everything should be in the open , debated & be able to be put under scrutiny. | Kevin |
| My answer is no. But it all depends upon the overall knowledge base and maturity level of our general population. Freedom of expression may work for the majority or work against the majority. We must be mature enough to handle either situation in a calm manner without going to pieces. It should be important to all New Zealanders that we are a successful anglosphere western type country that has always treated our freedom of expression as necessary as our ability to breath the air and for that we will need to fight to keep it so if we are ever to be a people worthy of our current quality free life style. It’s better than any alternative way of life. | Garry |
| Freedom of expression must be guaranteed for a true democracy to flourish | Bernie |
| So much for open and caring government. The government’s actions are frightening. | Willy |
| No way! | Pam |
| Leave me alone,Jacida. | Doug |
| Ridiculous idea, this Marxist lot should quit.. | Clive |
| Its a wonder she still has her head on her shoulders | trish |
| NO, of course not. If any restrictions are needed it should be applied to how much power the government has over us. This is the worst government NZ has ever had. Snap election please. | Peter |
| Disgraceful undermining of our Constitutional Bill of Rights already. Too late for the mob in Wgtn to recover any respect they may have felt they had with responsible citizens> | Edgar W. |
| Absolutely NOT! | Brenda |
| It is a basic right for everyone. | Tony |
| Definitely not! | Ann |
| Ardern is becoming Putin of the Pacific. | Roger |
| I believe that ever New Zealander has the right to their view and to interfere with that is against our HUman Rights. | yeverley |
| All restrictions must go -now!, along with this incompetent government that enacted them. This has never been about public health and safety, it’s always been about control of the people | Trevor |
| This editorial in its entirety should be sent to the new National Party leader and ask him for his comments so they can be published in this column | William |
| Jasinderella must be a Socialist and will never get my vote. | Ken |
| More government control | Gareth |
| This would be a further erosion of our democracy. | Elaine |
| Jacinda Ardern has been the very worse MP that NZ has ever had the dis-pleasure to experience, I despise her totally. | Don |
| As past PM of the UK Margaret Thatcher once said; “The trouble with Socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other peoples money!” The current economic path is unsustainable and fast reaching a point where reducing borrowings will not avoid the descent into the abyss of a gut-wrenching depression. A parliament with national interest would table a “Vote of No-Confidence.” in the house and keep repeating it until this government is removed. Better that path than the next protest at parliament which will be twice as large as the last. They are Socialists who lack the will to make the decisions needed; and are unable to rise above ignorance; and they carry envy into new policy development. As Winston Churchill once said of Socialism; “The Philosophy of failure; The Creed of Ignorance; and The Gospel of Envy.” We would add one more today; “The Practice of Deceit!!!” | Frederick |
| We need to get rid of this undemocratic labour government. | Allan |
| We are very close to State control now. Does any right minded New Zealanders want to see this go further | Mike |
| The Labour government must be reminded over and over that NZ is a democracy. This means by the people, for the people.There is no place for racist agendas. All the part Maori MPs should be reminded of this before every sitting of parliament. Free speech is a fundamental right in any civilised country. | Steve |
| Resignation would be the honourable thing to do, but I’m not holding my breath ! | Dick |
| She needs to resign | steph |
| Restrictions are not required as the health system is NOT being overloaded, despite high numbers of positive cases | John |
| No, we have enough restrictions! | Kate |
| While we do not have a free press, we are a dictatorship. Who holds the government to account? | Mel |
| Rebel news have printed a tee shirt depicting mans journey threw evolution.t starts with a ape, through to humans as we know it today, then back to a knuckle dragger, then onto a sheep.Look out NZ, if you act like sheep we will be fleeced. | Sam |
| Our forebears fought 2 world wars for this right – and we will fight another one if necessary to retain this God given right. Period. | John |
| we have had way too many already | Eddie |
| We already have too many and it started a couple of decades ago with OSH but has accelerated since and particularly over the last two years. | Doug |
| Nooo.. Any government that tells us what to do is slipping down to a state of making its citizens dependent on that government. And thus securing votes for a continuation of the socialist ideal. | Michael |
| Socialist Cindy is really showing her true colours now. Her buddy Putin is obviously her role model if only she could just get the pesky NZers to bend to her totalitarian will. Disgusting little creature. | John |
| Sad times indeed, adern has to go, enough damage has been done, personally I think she should be up on charges. | Noel |
| All we need is to be shot of Jacinister | Collin |
| Just part of her power grab | Julia |
| NZ badly needs some investigative journalists, and aunbiased editorial policy in our media. Reporting should be objective, not subjective;unless the article clearly indicates that it is the journalists opinion about the event. | Bob |
| We want free press and opposition to Adern | George |
| If it wasn’t so serious, it would be laughable. What does the word ‘Freedom’ start with? FREE. And that means LESS restrictions – not bloody more of them! | Carl |
| All mps and bureacrats that have been indoctrinated to WEF and UN agenda must be outed and named and shown the evil they are a party to. | Alan |
| We need to get rid of this Labour/Greens regime. We need to restore New Zealand to the country it was before this woman was foisted on us | Claire |
| That would be yet another Jacinda tactic to undermine the freedoms held dear by us in democracy. We do not need or want any more socialist policies, thankyou | Ian |
| This is called dictatorship | Andrew |
| I never thought NZ would ever slide into a police state but, my GOD, here it is. | Mstt |
| It is all about control | Colin |
| What we do need is either her resignation or the Gov Gen to close the Govt down. The sooner the better. | Helen |
| Resign resign please. Jacinda, go and join the UN. | Ian |
| no all restrictions need to be removed now they are no longer fit for purpose Ardern & her cronies need to be removed as well ASAP as well as all the ridiculous policies that have been put in place since they have been in power, we do not need to import coal or oil it is all right here | Nigel |
| absolutely ridiculous . How radical!!!!! | Hendy |
| we require new restrictions on the powers of our MPs | NOEL |
| never have been – mimsy moves orchestrated by a nefarious agenda- We need help to get out from under this Govt! | murray |
| She knows that her arguments don’t stand up to scrutiny and so the only defence she has is to restrict freedom of speech. Just shows the true tryanny of this person. I haven’t got the time or space to write all that needs to be written here so will leave it at that. I will say what I like and if she doesn’t like I don’t give a rat’s ….. | Kevin |
| Are we mad?! allowing the Govt to run our lives.. I suggest she/they relocate to Russia……. NZ can do without such stupidity. | Esther |
| She must resign and the Police Commissioner with her…A disgrace to our country | lesley |
| Ardern wants the final day on everything and to that end, she manipulates and frankly is untruthful. It’s time she was gone before she destroys democracy in New Zealand. | Gifford |
| We haven’t needed these mandates ever.. And Omicron is no more that a light cold for 99% of people | Raphael |
| She’s Hitler’s clone already. | Evans |
| Ardern would say yes being a communist. | steven |
| Jacinda’s “Hate Speech” law is simply a suppression of free speech and nothing else. She is one hell of a treacherous leftie and must be stopped. I dread what she is going to say to Harvard students but no doubt somewhere it will involve climate change and indigenous peoples — elsewhere but mainly in NZ. With regard to climate change it is cyclicle and always has been over the billions of years. Look up the letter from 500 REAL scientists who wrote to the UN wanting a meeting as they insist there IS NO CLIMATE EMERGENCY. Also check the names of various other EXPERT climate scientists who say we are being conned. Not one of all climate change predictions made in 1990 to be in effect by 2010 came true. Check the lies told with regard to the middle age warming period and also check the emails hacked from the CRU and you will see what a fraud we are being saddled with. (MONEY !!!!) | Alan |
| Absolutely not. This government must go asap to prevent even more freedoms being removed. | Kristene |
| There is no intelligent or moral reason to do so. | Helen |
| The current global fighting is just highlighting – the failure of socialism and climate change. We need to get real NZ | maurice |
| We have allowed ourselves to be dictated to by this PM (who’s only achievement was a bachelor’s degree in media) who has no background in the real world we have allowed ourselves to be cowered by fear – all from the Goebbel’s playsheet | Lloyd |
| Hell NO | Michael |
| Tyrant | Jeff |
| She’s driving us towards Socialism / Communism. All the trials with these systems have led to mass murder & a very few elite getting very rich & powerful. Everyone else ends up in extreme poverty. She thinks she can do it better this time. She’s young and stupid. This won’t work for her & will destroy ‘God’s own’ New Zealand. NOT Aotearoa which is a newly developed WOKE term. | Simon |
| We are not in Moscow. | Doug |
| Stupid woman. She needs to GO. | valerie |
| absolutely not | alastair |
| WHAT A DANGEROUS LOAD OF RUBISH BY A DISCUSTING WOMEN | KEITH |
| My Grandfather went to war to save our freedom, labour government do not have the right to take that away for us | Linda |
| NWO puppet. Myocarditis anyone? Follow the money You will own nothing and be happy (lobotomised?) but your rulers will live in palaces and jet around still. Follow the money. It was only ever seasonal flu | Zoran |
| We need this PM ousted her dangerous reign is wrecking NZ | Susie |
| I am worried about the control maori have over our Government than I am about mandates etc that no one in that demonstration showed. | Barbara |
| All this is happening in an orchestrated and well organized way. This Communist we had forced on us is only a minion carrying out orders from higher up. New Zealand has ceased to be a sovereign state. The gates are wide open for the jackals to move in and do their best to tear down all that is good and honourable.. Political opposition is non existent in Parliament. It all has turned into a swamp. Never in its entire history New Zealand has been in greater dire straits than at present. The reactions and actions of these criminals in the Beehive did not come as a surprise. This is only a copy cat action of what happens in Canada , France Germany US. | michael |
| All restrictions need to be removed immediately, The covid response restrictions are not protecting our health they are all about control | sue |
| And they were never right, moral, or justified, NEVER! | James |
| It’s got to stop. Labour are control freaks. | Andrew |
| Do I need to comment. | Sven |
| It’s to prevent criticism of the government. It is imperative that we retain the right to our voice and opinion of politics and life. | Christine |
| Suicide numbers would increase. | Evelyn |
| She’s deranged! | Kate |
| Ardern STOP the control!! | Sheila |
| Noooo!!! Labour is gagging the media already resorting to financial bribery. A vote of no confidence is needed for this Maori supremacy government. | Brenda |
| When will Kiwis wake up and demand better? Why do we settle for this over-reaching and mediocre government?? | Tjaart |
| Democracy as we knew it is doomed under the present regime !! | henry |
| Too much interference by the Red queen in ordinary N.Zer’s lives already. hare brained schemes without mandates. Compounded by silence and/or more lies | mike |
| Government’s unilateral authoritarianism has gone too far | Bryan |
| Absolutely not. Freedom of expression restrictions are exactly what historical dictators enforced on innocent and free independent people until the people rose up. , Aen look back in history at what happened to those autocrats? | Stuart |
| Without free speech the country will become another third world country very quickly | Chris |
| This prime minister and this government are the MOST repressive and dictatorial in our history and must not be allowed to stand. | Roger |
| As the potential for control via Covid 19 peters out, the ‘climate emergency’ will see renewed fanatical vigour, providing both another undemocratic control lever and another opportunity for Cindy to save us all. | Ron |
| Call our govt what it it nazis | Domald |
| The PM can get stuffed. She has already ruined more lives than any other PM I can remember. She is a treasonous individual. | Chris |
| Don’t trust govt or prime Minister | Carl |
| Why do we need FURTHER restrictions we have too many as it is. | |
| This current government is a complete dictatorship, racist, and is supporting an uncontrollable group of radical and racist band of power hungry PART MAORI activists. | Bruce |
| More restrictions? I think we’ve had enough. | Lyn |
| I’m sick of the costly rules and regulations this govt has forced eponymous us.Get rid of them please. | Maurice |
| Further restrictions on our PM are needed. How can MP’s ignore those pleading on their doorstep against the illegal mandates imposed. Surely trampling on freedom is a higher ranking crime than pointing it out to the govt? All Parties have disgraced themselves in dissing the protestoers. I reckon a 1/3 of NZ were involved throughout NZ. That is the the heartblood of the country. | Kevin |
| She will use it as an excuse to impose restrictions on free speech. She is a very dangerous individual. | jd |
| Definitely not | Barbara |
| Only dictators see the need to restrict freedom of expressions and, even then, only those expressions that do not support their narratives. Jacinda is a dictator and the Labour Party are too comfortable riding on her coat tails to question her policies. She is aiming for the United Nations Secretary General post where she would have global influence. No doubt global expressions would be restricted to minimise opposition to her policies. | Martin |
| Absolutely not!! | Alistair |
| The only restrictions we need would be those that put restraints upon her and her totalitarian regime – preferably using those we already have to their fullest extent – this would be a good start! | Scott |
| Democracy occurs one day every three years in New Zealand, on election day. The party with the most votes then does as it likes for the next three years. Take the case of the referendum to allow two unelected members of the maori race to be on councils. This current bunch of (aah) individuals disallowed that! That is undemocratic and racist. Our very own bunch of greens wants the dairy and beef industry to reduce their herds by some 30% due to flatulence! Have they not not heard about the 60,000,000 bison wandering the great plains of North America doing the same thing until the coming of Europeans, reducing the herds to about 300,000? I used to help my cousin deliver bread around Christchurch 65 years ago, in electric vans. Where would we be now if we continued with electric transport had we carried on from that time? Leave our freedom of speech alone! | Kevan |
| Restrictions are not about the flu. They are about control to bring in the New World Order | Neil |
| There are enough restrictions to last a life time, or at least until the Labour Government has been beheaded for good!!! | Roy |
| communism here we come. | graeme |
| Never ever in anyway! | Dave |
| I’d be delighted if Jacinda, her govt & the media were no longer able to peddle their lies and misinformation in order to divide and control us in preparation for totalitarianism! | Fiona |
| Certainly not and the sooner this government goes the better | Sidwell |
| She is bonkers along with her socialist mates in government. Her ultimate aim is to control all facets of our lives and when the damage is done and irreversible she will be off to the UN leaving the very mess that she has created for the rest of us to somehow correct. | Joseph |
| The science clearly demonstrates that vaccines (especially the mRNA ones) do not stop Covid, and worse, they weaken the body’s natural immine system – that is, they cause Vaccine AIDS , i.e.VAIDS! | Dennis |
| No not at all but should be put on her freedom of expression. | Ron |
| Even more concerning is the Covid Bill that will take affect on the 1st April. We are no longer a Democracy. Tyranny at the highest level . So anyone thinking Jacinda will stop the mandates are fooling themselves. Kiwis need to wake up time is running out to get our beautiful country back. | Christine |
| That was a fine letter from Muriel | June |
| Most definitely not, there are too many restrictions on our freedom of speech now! | Maree |
| No bloody way !! | Michael |
| Go away Jacinda, leave us alone. | Janine |
| I don’t agree with anything that woman suggests | Chris |
| She must go. | Pam |
| The only 2 things we need now are the removal/cancellation of The Treaty of Waitangi and a General Election!!! | Gerard |
| The Govt only wants to stop justified criticism of their bad decisions like Three Waters Promotion of the Maori language in the Public Service. Communism. Nanny state knows best for its Citizens | Frank |
| We should buy Lucinda a ticket to Russia so she can see how the average Russian lives [ its not nice ] beleive me i had a look long time ago | Roger |
| Our PM is out of control and is obsessed with bringing about restrictions of one form or another. She simply does not have the mandate to do this, although this seems to matter little with this administration. We must fight to reject her socialist agenda and protect democracy for all Kiwis – it is not negotiable. | chris |
| Tyrants need restrictions, democrats invite input. | Howard |
| PM has never worked in the real world or earnt a dollar through real work. She should resign or call an election and see how the real working NZers think of her. To remain PM she will continue to divide various groups who vote. | Mike |
| Utter rubbish! | Brian |
| I wish this were a stupid rhetorical question! It’s hard to imagine that anyone would say yes. | Hilary |
| We need less not more! | John |
| We need restrictions on the political classes not freedom of expression | Phil |
| No……. way….. | gill |
| End mandates and resign | Marc |
| Why? | Vic |
| Definitely NO | An |
| Only a dictator would suggest that. | Graham |
| This bunch of racist communists is hell bent on controlling the sheeple | Ihaia |
| Perhaps her DNA is related to Putin | Brianb |
| we have lost enough – this is terrifying for us all | anna |
| WE are quickly heading into a communism state when we will not be able to say anything without censorship and controlled as to what we can do! | Peter |
| No NO NO come on Jacinda enough is enough. Get reel. I think you are trying to control everyone. | William |
| This Government is totally irresponsible. | Diane |
| It’s a no brainer. What sane person would want their freedom of expression curtailed? The question is pretty pointless. | Ronnie |
| These proposals are the weapons for/ of control used by Dictatorships and Autocrasies against there citizens. | Hugh |
| No way, Cindy. You are a total disgrace. Well past time to sling your hook! | Frank |
| Our free speech has already been eroded so no. | Rhonda |
| The woman’s a lunatic. While the protest was trounced by Police brutality, we need to learn to fight smarter if we want to get rid of her. | Jenny |
| Almost all JaSinner’s restrictions were never justified | Robert |
| BUT – the current laws need to be enforced! Such that people’ s right to freedom of speech is tempered by their responsibility to respect others and different points of view. This is what was missing at the Parliamentary protest. For too long, protesters were allowed to trample over the rights of others (actually the majority of NZers). Finally, when the protesters were held responsible for their antisocal and illegal actions there were innocent and legitimate protester’s caught up in the mayhem. The peaceful and legal protesters have to bear the responsibility for allowing their protest to be hijacked by those acting illegally. I respect the Shelly Bay and other protest organisations for refusing to to allow the ousted rabble rousers from Parliament to join them. | Anne |
| Another facet of control by her socialist regime. | John |
| put simply, the prime sinister is a communist | mike |
| Just where does Putin-sorry – Jacinda thinks she is taking NZ.. Of course she knows exactly, that is down the road of Socialism and communism and racist control of NZ. Isn’t she wonderful? WAKE UP NEW ZEALAND!!!. | Don |
| She is a zealot that should never be anywhere near the leadership of a middle ground political party – she has turned Labour from what may have been a force for good into her private tool to inflict her obsessions. She is the worst decision maker that New Zealand has ever elected. | Michael |
| To curtail freedom of speech takes away all democratic rights and takes us down a pathway of no return. | Anne |
| What do Emperor Xi, Czar Vlad the Invader and Mummy Jacinda have in common ? – controlling or desiring to control the sharing of views and opinions. | john |
| Insane and out of control woman who lacks any moral fibre and zero compassion for Kiwi’s. | Grrg |
| just get rid of her | Rex |
| Adern needs to remember her promise to listen & govern for ALL NZers. Not just those ones she has deemed to be more NZers than the rest of us 🙁 | FloJo |
| 1984 thought police state | Mike |
| Absolutely not. Who wants to live in a country controlled by a Nanny.? We are not children, although more and more being treated like them. | Carol |
| There won’t be any left soon!! | Bruce |
| Hell NO! Enough already with mandate BS and the narrative that we are all too weak to hear a differing opinion to our own. When is that woman goi g to resign???!! | Maddi |
| the government has already over stepped | Ray |
| As for the CO2 tripe, with natural resources (such as the Tonga volcano) producing 97% of the atmospheric CO2, and NZ contributing about 0.13% of the 3%, it just shows how dumb this whole CO2 thing is. | Ted |
| Our Freedoms are lessening every day so NO! NOT AT ALL! | Ray |
| Quite the opposite, we need open debate on everything | Vincent |
| Absolutely not and never | Be |
| It would contravene our democracy and civil liberties. | Peter |
| We are becoming similar to a Communist regime, with Adern’s guidance. She is clearly a Communist, no other word for it. | linton |
| It’s the government that is spreading misinformation. Only the truth can make us free. | Christine |
| The people you are muzzling, are the people that trusted you to listen to them, Jacinda You don’t care for anyone who doesn’t agree with your socialist propaganda | David |
| absolutely not and a great piece Muriel, I just cant understand why so many will not see the truth | Mike |
| I will not comply, either way. | Coral |
| It’s over now. Let us all move on! | Sheila |
| She needs to be restrained not the people. | Moyra |
| Allow people to think and decide for themselves. | Janet |
| Stop Ardern ! | Mo New |
| Freedom of speech is a fundamental tenet of democracy, to support a restriction as does Indy just shows her to be what she really is. | Anon |
| Nope. This woman and all other Party leaders and the media know exactly how and why the ChCh massacre happened in March 2019. I have been investigating it for past 8 years (the build up to the massacre) and I tried to give evidence to that RC Inquiry but was blocked by Dept. Int. Affrs. This happened under National’s watch. Labour knows that and that’s how they swept to that massive MMP victory. Labour blackmailed National. The media blackmailed Labour and the senior bureaucrats involved in the cover-up blackmailed all politicians. Just follow the list of honours and honorifics dished out since 2016, including John Key. The trail of circumstantial evidence doesn’t lie. | Brian |
| Absolutely not. Already there are limits on “free” speech. Hate speech, an ill-defined subject, is the focus of harsh new laws. Further discrimination is totally unwarranted. | Gavin |
| Do not vote for Labour at next years election and help get rid of this Maori infested Government | Graham |
| We are not Russia. | Geoffrey |
| definitely not | Paul |
| The fact that his was suggested shows what dangerous territory we are in. We have a political elite who are both unwilling and unable to listen to an opposing point on view. Sounds like North Korea to me! | Jan |
| Further control by the NZ Dictator who insists that all her views become law. | Jeff |
| Absolutely not. 1984 written all over it | Graeme |
| She is communist scum along with gutless Seymour and Luxon completely undemocratic only there for their own egos | Greg |
| I think your editorial this month is brilliant. Your comments regarding energy supplies in Europe and especially Germany are totally accurate. The west has given away sovereignty of their lands in pursuit of a myth. Shame on their stupidity. | Deborah |
| Way too many restrictions have been imposed by this Government. These need to be walked back…..not more added!! | Maurice |
| How can we put the skids under this mob. It is so outrageous thar surely the media will have to get back to reporting as it should. | Tim |
| My father fought for this country to be FREE! Most folk have forgotten history and we are looking doomed to repeat it… | Debs |
| This Commie government absolutely MUST go. | Logan |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! SHE AND HER CORRUPT CREW HAVE TO GO!!! | Peter |
| Already Freedom of expression has been breached over and over by Jacinda Ardern This Government Agenda needs to be stopped | Maree |
| Our freedoms have been grossly restricted already in a way no one could anticipate under a democracy, or alleged democracy. Arden has much in common seemingly with dictators elsewhere. Shame. Untenable and horrific. | Christina |
| Restrictions should be on politicians personal endeavours to further their ambitions!!!!!! | Raewyn |
| Where the hell are all the people that do NOT support COMRADE ARDERN? Sheepoles? | Rick |
| I am lost for descriptive words to express how I am feeling/thinking after this last week both in NZ & Russia/Ukraine as there seems to be SO much going down everywhere, it’s difficult to know which way to LOOK! The PM’s disgraceful behaviour & arrogance in not engaging with the Protesters of Mandates on her front lawn at Parliament, is despicable showing SHE is such a cowardly gutless PM who can’t face the music knowing that the TRUTH may get exposed & SHE would HATE that. All MP’s were Gutless Cowards as they were hiding behind LOCKED doors in their comfortable Ivory Towers, scared of people wanting to start a dialogue, which they have every right in any Democracy….well at the moment, that could change rapidly with this Tyrannical, Communistic leaning Govt who are moving NZ in a direction most Kiwis do NOT want to GO…!!! | Bruza |
| No bloody way. Freedom of expression is just that – freedom. to say what you want / feel. | Michele |
| When did she say this. Hasn’t Parliament seen Bill Gates stating that Omicron was a better vaccine than his and he now has lots of unsold stock? Munich Security Conference two weeks ago. | James |
| The ‘horns’ are growing. | Dave |
| No way | Richard |
| Comrade Jacinda has shown her true colours. | Mitch |
| Very disappointingly you have it mostly wrong about Ukraine. Please do more investigations into the real evidence. | Peter |
| This is against the NZBORA and a bit crazy. | Chaquila |
| What an out of touch PM we have. I do not need nor require any restrictions on freedom of expression. | Peter |
| they should be arrested and put on trial. | Douglas |
| Ardern needs to resign along with the rest of these fake people in parliament. They’re supposed to be representing the people of NZ. Clearly by their actions, they are definitely not! | Terry |
| The PM exhibits a ‘Wall of indifference and accountability…with a poverty of enthusiasm in what New Zealand’s needs ‘ | Chris |
| Far from imposing more restrictions, those restrictions there are MUST be removed NOW. Freedom of speech is an essential precursor to basic freedom. | Ron |
| She is quite out of her depth | Margaret |
| Why are we not hearing from opposition parties what they think about te pua pua and three waters and mandates. Do they not agree with NZCPR? | Peter |
| lets just get on with living our lives without government interference | Erin |
| She is power hungry & rules on fear | Tony |
| we need to get rid of the mandates we have | Margaret |
| Jacinda is the one who needs to be restricted. | Helen |
| Hasn’t that sad excuse for a leader done enough damage | Jan |
| I am extremely concerned about our freedoms of speech being curtailed and more censorship of what we can access for ourselves on the internet. | lynne |
| Jacinda should resign | john |
| Socially and medically indefensible | Kathryn |
| She took the guns, she can do what she likes | Hemi |
| This ‘government’ are nothing but a lying pack of bastards & the sooner the buggers go the better. | david |
| Definitely not too many restrictions now, she loves control | Suzanne |
| None of Jacinda’s restrictions to control Covid has failed, worst of all opening NZ Borders to Vaccined incomers without MIQ. It is the beginning of the end for NZ. I am sure She and the Greens have lost the plot !! | Pierre |
| we need an entrenched bill of rights | Phil |
| Sorry for the language, but no bloody way Ardern needs to pull her commi head in, the sooner we get her out of government the better, send her to Ukraine on the front line | Peter |
| Never! | Trevor |
| Whoever answers Yes to this question may like to consider emigrating to North Korea or China. What we need is more honesty from the MSM, rather than them simply taking the money a bowing to this pig of a P.M. She will go down in N.Z. history as the worst P.M. we have ever had, as will this govt. and in fact this parliament! This is not the country I know and love. One way or another it will be taken back for all, and not just the leftist woke elitists. | Mark |
| Freedom of speech means just that – no exceptions! | Rod |
| Too much already | Paddi |
| She is seriously evil!! | Steve |
| Absolutely NOT. Hate is not ok but neither is suppressing the voice of the population. This country has fallen to the woke mob and it needs to stop. How can we address the thorny issues if we cannot discuss them | Vanessa |
| This is a nobrainer restrictions I hope will be replaced with more unrest and more violence. Let’s wait and see what happens when three waters is mandated | Andrew |
| We need to get rid of every single politician who didn’t talk and listen to the protesters. Jacinda is a disgrace. I am ashamed to be a NZr | Diana |
| I am not aware of my freedom of expression being restricted | John |
| Once upon a time we had a democracy. | Ross |
| The restrictions on freedom of movement and the right to a job are a joke, cruel to the core! Driving mum and dad business to bankruptcy and driving people out of their homes! I’d like to know if it was possible to call for public to vote of no-confidence motion? I’d bet the government would survive! | Robin |
| Who wants to live in a communist country? | Anna |
| yes because it is easy to destroy things rather than create and freedom of speech appears at the moment is both distructive insulting and corrosive and the internet gives people the ability to be faceless till this issue is addressed we face a huge risk of the lunatics running the asylum. if you cant stand up and be counted then y should u have a say | tony |
| We are suppose to be a Democratic country unlike Russia, North Korea, China etc. Everyone I talk to is feed up to the back teeth with the government BS Mandates. Jucinda Putin must go. Her be kind mantra is dead in the water now after the way she has ignored the protested and Labour turned the sprinklers on the protesters, it is like Putins mentality of bombing civilians. What next 15 yrs imprisonment for anyone that speaks out against what she and the labour party are planning for the country by 2040. | Bazza |
| She’s a nutter hr & the government have to go now | Lynne |
| Just Political Control | Henry |
| We spent 10 years in France in the early 2000s and when we returned to NZ in 2009 we felt we had come to a police state. Here there there seemed to be strictly enforced laws against everything. Under this present regime it has become many times worse! Our lying Marxist PM should be exiled to Russia where I’m sure she would feel comfortable with the likeminded rulers there. | Alan |
| Hell no the government is trying to turn us into another Russia | Peter |
| Freedom comes from the Lord who made us, not the Prime Minister | John |
| absolutely not!! | judith |
| Definitely not, less restrictions are needed | Graeme |
| Hell No! | Ron |
| Why do we have the Bill of Rights? | Richard |
| Absolutely not, they were never needed in the first place. They are ruling by tyrannical fear, reminiscent of a former European dictatorship This is not NZ anymore, she is destroying us by one thousand cuts. She has to go, before breakfast preferably | Carolyn |
| Coved was a gift to this woman. A dictators dream. That’s what won her the last election. She has a has a a political agenda which is clearly not democracy. She is changing the very foundational laws this Nation was built on. She is a very wicked woman. | Dene |
| I do not want to live in a communist state! | Judith |
| Slippery slope if further legislation enacted heck.Turner from Sleepyhead was labelled racist for calling out racist government doctrine | Richard |
| Never forget that this disgraceful traitorous Prime Minister is Winston Peters legacy. | neil |
| No, we have enough now | Ted |
| I am a fifth generation NZ and have had it with Jacinda Adern and her Government’s brutal suppression of basic freedoms, including the freedom of expression. I’ve decided to leave New Zealand for good. | Martyn |
| We need a big dose of political disobedience right now. | Pamela |
| No more mandated lies if that woman’s lips are moving she’s…..you fill in the blank | Elizabeth |
| Totally disagree on the mandates, enough is enough. | Bernadette |
| No no no no, never Freedom to speak, opine, debate, discuss, and argue are essential for a true democracy. | Kelvin |
| Enough – stop her now! | Graham |
| Legal remedies already exist to deal with slander or exciting violence. Freedom of speech is essential in a democracy, preferably without the PIJF. | Mark |
| I feel I have been punished enough for my beliefs. Would love a haircut. | Diane |
| restrictions on authoritarian powers are needed | Bill |
| I am speechless…….. | RICHard |
| Nzers have already had enough of this govts rubbish communist totalitarian attitude. This IS NOT NZ . we should to coin a phrase “Refute” all the labour party stands for particularly its sudden love for communist ideals. sack the lost of them .. we need to adopt employment regime such as any kiwi at a job interview. managed by 5 judges (tested for bribery etc) . if the politician doe snot live up to requirements then sack them. | alex |
| We are not communists, freedom is what has made the western world great. | Larry |
| We need no restrictions now. | Neil |
| She needs to stop being so damn arrogant and run the country instead of trying to ruin the country and rule the people! Worst PM in the history of NZ. | Barbara |
| Who the hell does she think she is! Sick of this controlling Government. | Steve |
| The social media misinformation needs to be controlled or limited somehow. | Bernadette |
| NO… NO…. NO!!! | Alexandra |
| Should. Be less. Personal responsibility | Bev |
| Typical commie tactic. The day after the Wellington protestors were disbursed, Ardern at her TV interview stated ominously that “foreign influences” were involved in the protest. The only foreign influences apparent were in the Labour party with the Jackson family Libyan/Gadaffi visits and of course Arderns favourite go to “Karl Marx”. If Ardern wants a good nights sleep without a handful of pills perhaps a clear conscience might provide it. Anyone heard anything about Gayford lately? Seems to have gone to ground. I do hope that he isn’t involved in another misdemeanour with Ardern frantically trying to cover up for him again. But you know, rumours, they do tend to surround this pair. They seem to deserve each other. | Terry |
| No, No, No! No further restrictions on our ability to find the truth are NOT needed. If the Prime Minister hadn’t bought off the media, we wouldn’t have become so dependent on foreign information. The Prime Minister has brought all of this onto herself. By thinking she knows better than anyone else, she has become a dangerous dictator! | Kevin |
| Absolutely not. New Zealanders need fewer restrictions not more! | George |
| If the Prime Minister takes us down the same track as Russia, we will have to start calling her Jacinda Putin! | Darren |
| How arrogant the girl from Morrinsville has become. Thinking she can laud it over us all. She needs to pull her head in, | Murray |
| There is no justification for a further crackdown on free speech. Jacinda Ardern has brought this situation, where we are now being forced to look overseas for information, upon herself by funding the media to promote her agenda. If they held the government to account and ran stories questioning their wisdom and providing alternative views – like they used to – our reliance on overseas information would be minimal. | Susan |