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When one of your own MPs comes out against your party with allegations of bullying and cover-ups, you just may have a bigger problem than at first it seems. Time will tell. The mainstream media won’t.
“Sharma made a myriad of accusations first in an opinion piece for the NZ Herald and then in an explosive follow-up social media post. In the opinion piece, Sharma accused Parliamentary Service of promoting and facilitating bullying, including between MPs, “by working behind the scenes” with party Whips offices, leaders’ offices and the Prime Minister’s Office.”
PM Ardern not standing down MPs accused of bullying, says she’s seen nothing to substantiate claims (msn.com)
In response, and not content with being the single source of truth, Jacinda Ardern has now declared herself the only one with eyes to see what the facts are in the Dr Sharma saga. The single source of insight.
Ardern said the bullying allegations were prompted by intervention over complaints against Sharma from his own staff.
“This comes back to the fact that there were accusations made by staff members around the conduct of an MP [Sharma]. Rightly, the whips and Parliamentary Services intervened because this was not just one case there was more than one case, so it gave them grounds for intervention.”
“The MP [Sharma] has not agreed with those interventions. I have seen nothing to substantiate the claims that have been made against these MPs in the way they have intervened,” Ardern said. (Emphasis added.)
When asked whether the reason she hasn’t seen any proof is because there hasn’t been a review, Ardern said she has gone through “the documentation that exists around these issues”.
PM Jacinda Ardern not standing down MPs accused of bullying, says she’s seen nothing to substantiate claims | Newshub
There will be no investigation, no follow-through. Just denials and victim blaming.
Years ago, while completing my Master’s Degree in Management I used Dr Seuss’ Yertle the Turtle as an example of leadership and how not to do it.
What does this mean today, for Jacinda Ardern and Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma, aka Mack of the bedtime story? Let’s consider Yertle…
On the far-away island of Sala-ma-Sond, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond. A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat. The water was warm. There was plenty to eat. The turtles had everything turtles might need. And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.
Take-out. On the faraway islands of New Zealand prior to Jacinda Ardern’s ascendency to the throne, we mostly enjoyed our little islands. They were clean. They were neat. And they were free from the spectre of “co-governance” and the march of the tribal elite and numbers about water. We were mostly happy and mostly well fed. Crime was low. Ramraids were unheard of.
That was . . .
until Yertle, the king of them all, Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small. “I’m the ruler,” said Yertle, “of all that I see. But I don’t see enough. That’s the trouble with me.”
Take-out. And so Jacinda, with her degree in communications, i.e. hand-waving, frowny faces, hundreds of words to say nothing and with a complete and total lack of the honesty and transparency she campaigned on, set out as leader. She set out to lead the country on a path of change that was not ever mentioned to the rest of the turtles, and the scope and rate of that change is astonishing in its depth, breadth, and its implementation by stealth. Yertle, or Jacinda, satisfies her ego and ambition. And she built her throne higher with fake tears and headscarves.
So Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command. He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone And, using these turtles, he built a new throne. He made each turtle stand on another one’s back And he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack. And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile. What a wonderful view! He could see ‘most a mile.”
Take-out. Bullying in action. We have a self-serving, ambitious ‘leader’ stacking MP’s to pursue interests and protections that are of benefit to her and her collaborators. Until one speaks out against her and her regime, and then all bets are off. As we know, thanks to her Covid policies, she is a consummate bully.
Back to Yertle…
Until ’long about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh. “What’s that? snapped the king And he looked down the stack. And he saw, at the bottom, a turtle named Mack. Just part of his throne. And this plain little turtle Looked up and he said, “Beg your pardon, King Yertle.” I’ve pains in my back and my shoulder’s and knees. How long must we stand here, Your Majesty, please?”
Take-out. Both Mack and Dr Sharma have had enough. Their physical and mental health is suffering. Unlike Mack, Dr Sharma has access to sophisticated technology, an extremely well-trained brain, and qualifications and skills that far surpass those of Ardern. He has put together timelines and communications. He has evidence and an audit trail. But Ardern continues to defend her administration and refuses to stand anyone down, while at the same time slinging mud at National’s Christopher Luxon for standing down one new MP for undisclosed sins past.
Luxon made the right call. He can gather information, assess all facts and concerns, and then decide his course of action. Ardern simply says there is a non-issue with her henchmen, and slams Dr Sharma.
“Is this a tough place to be? Yes,” she said.”
Rogue NZ Labour MP set for party showdown | Riverine Herald
So that makes Dr Sharma’s claims that the party “bullied” and “hushed” him OK then. It’s just a “tough place to work”. Once again Ardern goes on the attack and denies any problem.
And so the situation continued for Mack…
From all over the pond, they came swimming by dozens. Whole families of turtles with uncles and cousins. And all of them stepped on the head of poor Mack. One after another, they climbed up the stack. “Your Majesty, please . . . I don’t like to complain, But down here below, we are feeling great pain. I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, But down at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
Take-out Jacinda Ardern et al continue to blame the victim, Dr Sharma, erode his rights, and make the whole issue one of his own making; a contemptible paradigm shift orchestrated by this ‘leader’ who is a know-it-all dictator turtle who will do anything to discredit and vilify Mack way down in the stack.
Jacinda Ardern is unlikely to fall plunk in the pond, but she should. Most likely she will push the hapless Mack, Dr Sharma, into the mud of her making.
And Yertle the Turtle, the king of the trees, The King of the air and the birds and the bees, The king of a house and a cow and a mule . . . Well, that was the end of the Turtle King’s rule! For Yertle, the King of all Sala-ma-Sond, Fell off his/her high throne and fell Plunk! in the pond!
If only.
