Matua Kahurangi
Just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes.
Chris Hipkins wants to be the next prime minister. He wants the trust of the New Zealand public, the keys to the Beehive, and another shot at leading the country. Before anyone even considers ticking his name at the next election, we need to know why we should vote for someone who refuses to cooperate with the Covid-19 Royal Commission?
This inquiry is one of the most important in decades. It is meant to hold leaders accountable for their decisions during the pandemic. Decisions that tore families apart, destroyed businesses, cost jobs, and in some cases, cost lives. Hipkins, along with Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall, will not give evidence. That alone should set alarm bells ringing.
During the pandemic, Hipkins was front and centre, standing beside Ardern as part of the so-called “single source of truth”. He was happy to lecture the nation, dictate rules, and insist that everyone get vaccinated, regardless of personal risk or hesitations. Now that leadership is being scrutinised, he is suddenly silent.
Hipkins’ advice and mandates ruined lives. People lost their jobs for refusing the jab. Others were coerced into taking it and now live with serious health complications. Some died after doing exactly what the government told them was “safe and effective”. On top of that, thousands were barred from farewelling dying loved ones because of harsh lockdowns, all in the name of controlling a virus that, in hindsight, was not the monster it was made out to be.
Hipkins wants your vote, however he will not give you the truth. If a man cannot be transparent about his own record during a national crisis, he does not deserve to lead New Zealand again.
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
