‘Revenge’ and anti-vax agendas – the motives behind Hamilton’s mayoral hopefuls

She thinks the Covid vaccine is a bio-weapon that kills and hospitals are death camps – and she wants your vote to become Hamilton’s next mayor.

Donna Pokere-Phillips​ is amongst three Hamilton City Council candidates using their social media platforms to disperse misinformation about vaccinations and anti-government conspiracies.

She is a deputy leader of the Freedom and Outdoors Party , while other candidates include one hopeful linked to the Hamilton Residents and Ratepayers Association and a standalone candidate who has shared misleading anti-vaccination views.

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Donna Pokere-Phillips

Standing for the mayoralty for the first time after more than two decades in politics is Donna Pokere-Phillips.

On her page she promotes content from conspiracy site Counterspin Media, whose operators are facing charges of distributing an offensive publication. Pokere-Phillips also promotes the medical views of comedian Russell Brand as well as a leading voice in New Zealand’s anti-vax movement.

All of them discuss alleged vaccination harm and allege that governments are using a co-ordinated response to coerce the public.

They’re views Pokere-Phillips completely agrees with, according to her Counterspin interview on July 27 this year.

”I refuse to call it a vaccine, because it is not. It is a bio-weapon that kills people.”

She also revealed her agreement with an unnamed individual who she claims told her New Zealand hospitals are “death camps”.

”Our people go in, and they never come out.”

She also told Counterspin exactly why she’s aiming for Hamilton’s top political job: Revenge.

“I’m after political utu and I want this government gone.”

These motives were not shared by Pokere-Phillips with voters at a recent mayoralty debate.

She claimed, without providing evidence, that her father died because of the vaccine and she herself chose not to be vaccinated – a leading cause for her exit from her previous alliance with Te Pāti Māori.

Speaking to Stuff she said she stands by her view the Covid vaccine is a bio-weapon.

“I’ve got evidence of this. I stand by what’s happened to my father,” she said.

“I have data behind me.”

She also disagreed that millions of people have received the Covid vaccines across the globe without incident – and that her views could turn potential voters off.

“I’m not worried about that at all. They’ve not experienced what I’ve experienced.”

After jumping from political party to party, this election Pokere-Phillips has settled with New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party as co-leader alongside well-known conspiracy theorist and Tauranga based lawyer, Sue Grey.

Pokere-Phillips’ online following has reached 14,000 on her campaign Facebook page, where she has shared and discussed content relating to anti-vaccination theories and Covid 19 misinformation in live feeds and videos.

Pokere-Phillips was standing for tino-rangatiratanga and mana-motuhake as a passionate Māori wahine as well advocating for those impacted by the Covid-19 mandates or those she claimed had been vaccine injured.

As well as the mayoralty, she is also standing for the new Kirikiriroa Māori Ward.

Rudi Du Plooy

Rudi Du Plooy is a member of a four-strong Team Integrity group seeking election to Hamilton City Council.

Across his 500 Facebook followers, Du Plooy who is vying for a west ward seat, has shared anti-vaccination videos marked as inaccurate by Facebook’s fact-checking system and ones promoting ivermectin, a worming treatment once touted by Donald Trump as a Covid remedy but found to be ineffective.

When asked about this, Du Plooy said “I think there were a lot of truths that were suppressed”. He said he was not against vaccinations but opposed the mandates.

He said he always intended to share reliable information and some anti-vaccination material he has shared previously may have not been accurate.

“I think it’s always important that you have an opinion about anything… Sometimes your opinion can be right, and sometimes it can be wrong,” he said.

“I’m certainly opposed to vaccine mandates… For me to understand anything, I’ve got to look at this side of the story, that side of the story.”

Du Plooy has been part of the New Conservative party as well as the Hamilton Residents and Ratepayers Association.

He promoted social media material by the Freedom and Rights Coalition convoy earlier in the year when it made its way to Parliament. However, he said he was not a part of the group but rather supported the right to protest.

“You can only be effective in government if you actually listen to the people.”

Roger Stratford

Roger Stratford was an early adopter when it comes to an anti-vaccine stance, but says he’s changed his tune now.

As far back as 2019, Stratford shared misinformation relating to Covid-19 vaccinations.

“Ban vaccinations in New Zealand now! They are extremely unsafe, causing autism, Spina bifida, motor neurone disease among other life-threatening ailments,” Stratford said.

There has been no proven connection between vaccines and these conditions, with autism claims long debunked after a British doctor, who was subsequently struck off, claimed a link to vaccines but was found to have conducted “unethical” research.

But when asked about the matter, Stratford said his views had since changed and he was vaccinated but was opposed to vaccine mandates.

In long, rambling posts, Stratford also linked the “illegal vaccine mandate” to 5G contamination and the closure of the Marsden Point refinery – with the prime minister responsible for all.

Stratford denied he was misinforming the public and sharing inaccurate information, saying he was encouraging debate between contrasting opinions.