Comrades.
You know shit be cray when I’m stepping up for the National Party.
Look, I gleefully out myself as the first person to use the Handmaids Tale reference to Luxon’s prescription fee blunder, because it was satirically hilarious and highlighted how Luxon has a history of making reactionary statement and walking it back 24 hours later.
In this instance it was his religious conservatism that knee jerked his refusal to allow women free prescription contraception and sure Labour are hypocrites for doing nothing for 6 years, but they have made the change and Luxon walked right into it.
Fair cop.
He then tap-danced where angels fear to tread by making some throw away comment about women having more babies, which if you’ll remember is kinda the core of the Handmaids Tale story.
His bewildering ability to open his mouth and have Wayne Brown leap out is at this point becoming extraordinary, but his issue over our lack of babies is a legitimate debate to have because it would demand more actual effort on Luxon’s behalf to help solve!
At the centre of the Gender Pay Gap is the biological reality women carry the babies. If we as a liberal progressive society want to ensure everyone has equal agency, then surely recognising biological reality is a starting point?
The first 12months should be maternity leave – or paternity leave, either one, but one of the parents should be paid to stay home with the infant for its first year of life. Who else do you want to look after an infant other than the parent?
Meanwhile, ECE should be nationalised and made completely free for 2 year olds to 5 year olds while all after school care should be free.
Childcare costs fall unevenly and unfairly on women, so why not eliminate those costs altogether?
Playing the Gender Pay Gap Game even when implemented, doesn’t lead to the outcomes desired.
If women having babies is stunting their pay careers, then subside the cost of having that kid with 12months maternity/paternity leave, Nationalise ECE and free after school care!
That is a debate worth having, unfortunately Luxon wasn’t actually wanting that debate and was just brain farting instead.
So.
All fun and games to date and issues of actual importance alongside real solutions are once again missed by any of the media.
So far, so usual.
Then this fucking happens at a press conference with Nicola Willis…
…???
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Cushla!
Cushla Norman from TVN fucking Z???
The State Broadcaster Journalist?
The State Broadcaster just asked Nicola Willis to compare a flippant question by Luxon (that he wasn’t actually prepared to engage in intellectually with – and neither were our mainstream media for that matter), to the Nazi plan for genocide and industrialised white supremacy mass death cult???
The State Broadcaster asked that of the National Party?
Again.
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Cushla!
Look, I’m a genuine fan of Cushla’s on TVNZ, she’s a really good journalist and I think her body of work is far greater than this moment, but FUCK.
I mean, you can’t as the State Broadcaster make a comment as unhinged as that!
TVNZ must urgently apologise National Party for such an insanely off the rocker question, the radioactivity of which damages those asked of it, those who hear it and ultimately the person asking it!
This isn’t a fucking blog or Twitter call out! This is a press conference with a senior member of the Opposition.
Hey, I don’t like National either and think Luxon’s first reactionary knee jerk always ends up being conservative Christian, and that’s fair game, but to manufacture his ‘have more babies’ as a plan to expand our military to invade Australia and kill everyone there because of racial superiority is bordering on the Counterspin level conspiracy theory.
This is an unacceptable question and TVNZ must immediately apologise.
There’s legitimate criticism of Luxon’s conservative Christianity and how he always kneejerks that way, but constructing a Nazi agenda at a press conference by the State Broadcaster is fucking outrageous!
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