Summarised by Centrist
Jordan Rivers, a former Shortland St actor with a large social media following, posted an edited video of Finance Minister Nicola Willis using official parliamentary footage on his personal social media accounts.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee ruled the edit could breach standing orders and asked for it to be removed.
Rivers has worked part-time in the Labour leader’s office since January as a social media adviser for the party’s Māori caucus.
Across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, he regularly shares or collaborates on anti-government content. None of his platforms discloses that he works for Labour, which the party notes is not required.
The post at issue used short, edited segments from Willis’ speech in the House. Brownlee said, “Standing orders make it very clear that no one can use or take footage from a parliamentary feed and then manipulate it to give a message contrary to that of the person who is speaking,” he said. Brownlee warned that anyone who repeatedly breaches the rule could end up before the Privileges Committee.
Labour confirmed the post was removed and said Rivers acted in his personal time using publicly available footage.
Parliamentary Service rules state that employees must not bring the institution into disrepute, but they are permitted to use social media privately.
Rivers remains employed in the Labour leader’s office. The Speaker says further complaints could trigger a formal investigation.
Read more over at The NZ Herald (paywalled)
Image: Facebook
