Paul Goldsmith, the National MP for Epsom, and the man who wanted Te Reo Māori gone on global Matariki invitations, could have been an ACT MP any day.
An admirer of Don Brash and ACT Godfather / Atlas Network supporter, Alan Gibbs, Goldsmith pushed through the voter suppression law this week that will disenfranchise tens of thousands of Kiwi voters.
And it will likely boost National Party seats by 2-3, based on historical precedent.
In other words, it’s enough to steal an election in a tight race.
The law was passed, in opposition to the deluge of criticism it received during the Select Committee process. As outlined in ’New Zealand losing democracy rapidly’, the Coalition government appears to care very little for the voice of the people, nor is it concerned about accountability in this regard. They pushed the law through despite the overwhelming opposition.
RNZ confirms:
The bill makes a suite of changes, including ending same-day voter enrolment, banning prisoner voting (irrespective of length or charge), changes to treating on Election Day and expanding anonymous political donation limits.
It would also close enrolments a whopping 13 days before the election.
New Zealand, unlike other democracries like Australia, does not have mandatory voting, and the government was previously warned, including from Judith Collins, that this law likely breaches human rights and the Bill of Rights.
Further, the government’s pretext that its changes would speed up counting was found to be untrue - with the Electoral Commission and other experts confirming this was not the case.
Goldsmith is also in media for another reason this week.
The Post’s Henry Cooke revealed Goldsmith has also been found to have unlawfully appointed ACT pick Stephen Rainbow as Human Rights Commissioner, and Free Speech Union’s Melissa Derby as Race Relations Commissioner.
That’s not new news. Mountain Tui has covered this topic in numerous articles over the last year and a half, but it’s worth mentioning that both Rainbow and Derby are on record with comments alluding to transphobia, and one sided pro Israel sentiments (Rainbow) and others on Māori and transgender that have raised eyebrows (Derby).
But the High Court was looking at process, rather than candidate resumes.
They found:
…that Goldsmith applied the incorrect legal test and failed to properly consider mandatory statutory criteria when making the appointments in August 2024.
And indeed the hiring panels, which found against Derby and Goldsmith separaetly, were concerned about the candidates’ experience and ability to handle the job.
Despite this, Goldsmith appointed both anyway - a nod to assisting ACT’s David Seymour, who Rainbow had previously texted (Spinoff has an excellent article on this), and Free Speech Union / Jordan Williams.
Goldsmith is in the blue team but the partnership between National and ACT is as clear as day.
Another day - another unlawful action by a Minister in government, which have form on this.
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Yesterday's electoral law changes smack of US Republican style voter suppression tactics.
Everything you say is true. The best thing about this CoC is consistency - they ALWAYS ignore proper procedures/processes, preferring to just do the wrong thing
Justice Minister. His head should roll.