Which local government candidates in Wellington and East Coast have ties to disinformation groups?

The local government election race is heating up, and around the country those who wish to represent their communities have thrown their hats into the ring.

Before voting closes on Saturday, October 8, check out which candidates in your neighbourhood are running on anti-vax ideals, or with links to anti-mandate groups, including Voices for Freedom (VFF).

In Wellington…

Kāpiti Coast

Graham Fox is running for a seat on the Ōtaki Community Board. He is listed as the media contact on press releases from New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out With Science (NZDSOS), a small group of registered New Zealand GPs and nurses led by Wellington doctor Matthew Shelton who are against Covid-19 public health measures.

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Jonny Best is a four-term Paraparumu/Raumati Community Board member running for a seat on the new Raumati Community Board. He donated to VFF last year, is on their mailing list and attended the 23-day occupation of Parliament grounds earlier this year.

Porirua

Nicole Foss​, an economist originally from Canada who previously lived at the failed Atamai eco village in Nelson’s Motueka Valley, is running for a council seat in the Pāuatahanui ward. She appeared on five videos on the VFF website in June and July, where she made references to conspiracy theories like the ‘New World Order’.

Wellington City

Dr Ate Moala, a registered doctor, is running for a seat in Paekawakawa/Southern ward. Her candidate statement says she “loathe(s) poor decision-making that violates people’s health, rights, and freedom”, and she protested in the Freedoms & Rights Coalition’s anti-government marches against lockdowns.

Barbara McKenzie, a Wellington mayoral candidate, has claimed children cannot spread Covid-19, that the Covid vaccination is “very unsafe”, and has spoken out in favour of the occupation of Parliament grounds. Online she called for Covid-19 vaccinations to be stopped and defended the Trump-inspired rioters who stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

Nicholas Hancox, a senior New Zealand Symphony Orchestra musician running for Wellington City Council, has links to Voices for Freedom and supported the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament. “I’m going to get fired for this,” he told Stuff Circuit at the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament earlier this year. His words are captured in the documentary, Fire and Fury.

Hutt Valley

Keith Bennett, mayoral candidate for Upper Hutt, denies links to VFF, but his online presence shows he supports a range of its claims – including conspiracy theories about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Government. Bennett said he did not speak to mainstream media.

Max Shierlaw, a former councillor running for the Hutt Mana Charitable Trust, attends VFF rallies and took part in the occupation of Parliament. He posted on social media about masks being a “Government tool” of control and shared a meme suggesting vaccinated people were lab rats.

Jordan Milburn, a candidate for Upper Hutt City Council, has been linked to neo-nazi group Action Zealandia and accused of espousing “pro-white” views.

Daniel Reurich, a candidate for the Hutt City Council tweeted that Dr Anthony Fauci, White House medical adviser should be tried and executed for “crimes against humanity”. Twitter removed the post for promoting violence and violating rules about abuse and harassment.

Simon Gibbs, a candidate for the Hutt City Council, is sympathetic to beliefs held by anti-vaccine groups and supported the occupation of Parliament grounds, including by posting material casting doubts on the science behind Covid vaccines.

Kari Lloyd​, a candidate for the Hutt City Council who also goes by the name Kari Patricia​, has posted material wrongly claiming 648 athletes had suddenly dropped dead after being vaccinated for Covid.

Mark Atkin, a candidate for the Hutt City Council, is a high profile spokesperson for Fluoride Free NZ, a group that believes fluoride in water lowers the IQ of children. He made no mention of his views on fluoride in his council profile.

Do you know more? Get in touch at news@dompost.co.nz

Wairarapa

Jill Greathead, a longtime Carterton district councillor, admits involvement with anti-vax group Voices for Freedom. She admitted she was on the group’s mailing list and belonged to its Wairarapa branch, but described the “ungovernable” comments by VFF leader Claire Deeks as “ridiculous” and “unprofessional”.

Dot Watson, a Tararua District Council Māori ward candidate, admitted involvement with VFF but did not disclose this on promotional material. She said voters she had spoken to in Tararua “didn’t seem to mind” about her connections with VFF.

Claire Bleakley, deputy chairwoman of the Featherston Community Board, was among the hundreds arrested at the Parliament occupation. She is running for the Featherston ward of the South Wairarapa District Council.

And on the East Coast…

Napier

Louise Burnside, who is running for Napier City Council, claimed she had seen “more vaccine-injured people ending up in our ICU than patients with Covid”. She was the spokesperson for Nurses for Freedom during the protest, and although she no longer holds the role, she said she was “obviously very sympathetic” to their cause.

Hastings

Melanie Petrowski is running fo the Hastings-Havelock North ward on Hastings District Council. She is “loosely affiliated” with VFF, and said during the past two years she had seen the “overarching of globalism” of groups like the United Nations “infiltrate local councils” – a commonly held view among local government candidates with connections to VFF.

Michael “Mike” Ngahuka (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ranginui)​, a pastor at Destiny Church, has also helped organise and manage the Hawke’s Bay branch of the Freedoms & Rights Coalition. He said his issue was with the Covid-19 vaccination mandates. “If there are medicines and vaccines that are safe, then go for it,” he said – but confirmed he attended both the Wellington Parliamentary occupation and the more recent protest.

Marcelle Raheke, a Flaxmere ward candidate, said she was not vaccinated and had attended the FRC protest in Napier last year.

Gisborne

Darin and Jen Brown are a married couple, both Gisborne District Council candidates, espousing anti-vax rhetoric and dangerous conspiracy theories. Jen is a local co-ordinator for VFF, and Darin is a 5G conspiracy theorist who wants to be the East Coast city’s next mayor.

Peter Jones is an anti-vaxxer. He runs two Facebook pages, both of which are littered with disinformation and material spreading conspiracy theories.

Leighton Packer is a Destiny Church pastor who organises “freedom protests” for Brian Tamaki’s anti-mandate Freedoms and Rights Coalition. Ahead of the recent protest at Parliament, where Tamaki and his supporters staged a “mock trial”, she posted pictures of a convoy leaving Gisborne for Wellington.

Sorting the informed from the disinformed

The democratic process can be particularly vulnerable in local body elections because there’s often a relatively low voter turnout and people’s understanding of candidates and their policies can be extremely limited.

Adding to that general lack of candidate awareness is the fact that misinformation groups have been encouraging members to stand for local bodies while hiding their affiliation.

This is particularly concerning when they say their aim is to make New Zealand “ungovernable”.

Here is a guide on how to find out more about your local candidates, and sort the informed from the disinformed.

• This list of candidates will be updated as we find out more
• If you know of candidates with links to anti-vax/anti-mandate or conspiracy groups, get in touch at news@dompost.co.nz