In a debate last night Winston mentioned the 11,500 people that got vaccine exemptions from the authorities.

https://twitter.com/kiwiwayne2/status/1711696471584575533

I don’t give much credence to the polls, but this is interesting. 

NZ First has overtaken ACT.

NZFirst has passed Act in the latest Poll pic.twitter.com/oBHx3f7LZj

— Holyhekatuiteka (@2ETEKA) October 10, 2023

The Australian media seems to have caught on.

One interesting development was a well-reasoned personal testimony from a supporter of Liz Gunn’s New Zealand Loyal. Liz’s response.

Farmer James another Post on NZ Loyal pic.twitter.com/fME47UJ5mF

— Pamela Taylor (@PamelaTaylor000) October 8, 2023

To take legal action.

This takes the cake!

Threatening Farmer James

Pathetic!

From the great advocate of free speech Liz Gunn, what a fake &
a hypocrite

NZ Loyal have imploded & the fruit loops have taken control!

Don’t bother wasting your time even thinking of voting for these muppets!! pic.twitter.com/oaQ3g9LBjm

— Vlad Barbalich (@VladBarbalich) October 10, 2023

Farmer James’s comments seem to have been taken down from social media, presumably in response to LIz Gunn’s ‘Cease and Desist’ letter, so here is a rough transcription

Unfortunately, some people have chosen to not read my posts and possibly struggle to comprehend a simple message. I will explain my position below to give some context.

I had reached a point a few months ago, where I had given up on politics and decided I was just going to sort my own stuff out first, then my family and friends and then my community, which I think I’ve made some real progress on all fronts.

I was somewhat blindsided by Liz starting a political party of what the origins are rather cloudy and apparently popped up out of thin air tui ads springs to mind.

I was very reluctant to become involved but felt pressured to support a friend. Even though I knew deep down this wasn’t the answer to me.

I reached out weekly are more. A method of authenticity chats, started to turn into loyalist propaganda campaign, which didn’t feel right as plenty of great Amoa more supporters had been loyal to other organizations and parties. And well before this was ever a thought. And to me, that was great, as we had always encouraged a diverse range of people.

But somehow along the line Liz has coined the term Loyal to only people that support her, but as soon as you question her motives or stay true to another group, you lose that right to be called that….to me that’s not authentic at all.

I had a rather sour taste in my mouth but went along to one of the New Zealand Loyal meetings and to be honest, I drank the Kool Aid, and probably made one of the worst decisions of the last couple of years when I went away from trusting my gut instinct, and drank the sweet Kool Aid of an apparent friend. Looking back now, I know what the loyal to J A crowd might have felt like when they got swept up in the echo chamber of Jacinda mania…..

It wasn’t until the party list mistake that I, for lack of a better term, started to reawaken and realized I might have been hoodwinked.

I waited for Liz to reply, and to be honest, I thought she had a great opportunity to show that she was really in this for this for the right reasons. Own her mistake and then aim for the next best outcome, which to anyone with a brain would have been to put all the resources into backing a couple of really strong candidates in selected electorate and try to get some representation.

What came next shocked me. There was absolutely no stepping back. There was plenty of excuses and blame and a few ownerships mixed in with buts and finger pointing. To anyone that has done some HR training would easily be recognized as below the line behavior. to

This to me was my final string and I pulled back my support, although I felt in a terrible position of

-what if I was wrong?

– Have I let people down by leading them to drink some of the sweet Kool Aid?

This was when I knew that why my gut felt the way it did. I didn’t rush into this decision to publicly withdraw my support. I’d waited for a couple of weeks trying to find the right way to do this. which I don’t think there is a right way.

To the people that are telling me to keep my mouth shut until after the election…wow, you guys really do promote free speech. After voicing my concerns to Liz my response from her only solidified my position. She took this as a personal insult even though it was nothing of the kind. She attacked me like I’ve like I have seen many people get attacked on various forums for raising a difference of opinion questioning Liz by so called “loyalist”.

So…

No, I am no longer drinking the sweet Kool Aid. I will certainly not waste my party vote on New Zealand Loyal if other people are still drinking that sweet tasting drink good on them. Enjoy it while it lasts but be careful. It may leave a sour taste.

My only regret is I never stood up earlier. Sorry for momentarily losing their signature courage.

With love and respect for different views. FJ

There we have it.

Only three days to go.