Written By:
- Date published:
1:35 pm, October 19th, 2025 - 15 comments
Categories: Dirty Politics, education, erica stanford, health, Judith Collins, simeon brown, tertiary education, Unions -
Tags: doctors, Mega strike, nurses, strike, teachers, Unions
Reposted from Mountain Tui Substack
Judith Collins, who once declared she “stabs from the front”, referencing a pregnant PM Jacinda Ardern, has penned an open letter1 to all Kiwis today.
In it, she makes a number of disturbing claims, as valued workers (doctors, mental health nurses, scientists, midwives, teachers, principals, social workers, oncologists, surgeons, dentists etc) ramp up to one of the biggest strikes in history.
At least 110,000 are expected to go on strike this Thursday October 23rd, and thousands of other Kiwis will participate around the country.
But Collins and the National Party is playing dirty politics – blanketing social media with ads and messages to malign teachers, doctors, and unions.
The Minister has also used official government websites to issue the same proclamations.
One of her claims is that:
In early October, when we were trying to negotiate with the secondary teachers’ union, the number one item on their agenda for a meeting with Education Minister Erica Stanford was Palestine.
Palestine. Not terms and conditions. Not student achievement. Not the new curriculum. Palestine. That’s not what students or parents should expect
She then had friendly, allied social media accounts fan the mistruth for her. An example –
In fact, Judith Collin’s Private Secretary instructed the PPTA to bring agenda items outside of pay/conditions. And subsequently the teachers named a few including AI marking, NCEA, and Palestine.
But Collins has used this outcome to smear teachers – claiming they’re only interested in Palestine as their “number one” topic.
Dirty politicians, dirty politics, ugly for the country.
Is there any mystery as to why Judith Collins and allied journalists/commentators featured as the stars in Nicky Hager’s ‘Dirty Politics?’
For some people, and parties, the more things change, the more they are the same.
As reported this morning, doctors have been requesting meetings with Health NZ prior to the strikes. But Health NZ, under Simeon’s leadership has refused.
Despite this, Judith had the audacity to repeat Simeon’s misleading garbage:
Health Minister Simeon Brown even wrote to the Chair of Health New Zealand, and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists union seeking their agreement to attend binding arbitration, and for the union to not proceed with the strike action.
Judith laments the financial situation in her “open letter”, claiming it was due to Labour that we are in this stage.
She ignores the fact that John Key left a $60b debt at 22% of GDP while privatising assets & Labour left it in better hands & saved 20,000 lives (at 18% GDP with a nominal increase of $24b).
Meanwhile, while this current government are on track to borrow $100b more while privatising multiple industries actively.
I’ve previously addressed why debt is not inherently negative in any case, but for now, even on the financials alone, National is being facetious.
But Collins uses Labour’s “debt myth” to say this is the reason National can’t pay our doctors, and nurses, or agree on safe staffing levels and adequate resourcing – which is their primary concern.
Same with our teachers, which has had $153 million re-allocated away from them to fund places like John Key / Crimson Beaton’s existing schools.
Screenshot: I am Elliot. Mountain Tui also covered this here
Dirty politics.
The only people who lose out are ordinary Kiwis and the prosperity of the country.
Is this who we are, New Zealand? Is this what our country deserves?
MT. Good to see you, with again, the scalpel (literal/surgical?). This time cutting on Judith Collins. And of course Dirty Politics is her go-to.
IMO a deeply ugly soul…..(and all her praying…ha, I laugh)
Its strike Brothers and Sisters. Comrades. Fight back !
FIFY
An old dog never loses its bad breath and fleas.
The idea that thousands of NZ public sector teachers, nurses and doctors are willing to inconvenience the people they serve because they're bothered about Israelis is so moronic it gives a good idea of what Judith Collins thinks of the average voter's intelligence.
Readers of her open letter could usefully ask themselves "What is the likelihood that a National Party cabinet minister would ever, under any circumstances, announce that public sector workers have the right to strike and the minister respects their exercising of their rights?" My money's on "Probability approximates to 0."
Collins has clearly inhaled while in the USA and she is now parroting their right wing narratives.
Calling the left, here union action, fellow travellers with "Palestine" (commies pre end of the Cold War and then terrorism for opposing the regime change in Iraq).
People whose social media would have banned from travel to the USA – the new no fly list as of the Patriot Act era.
Language to disparage any resistance to diktat.
It's hard to know whether you are operating in good faith when the article clearly shows that teachers are not striking in any way for Palestine – and yet you present your comment as that conclusion.
Judith Collins has good company when people are willing to fan her lies without care or contrition.
My comment says the idea that teachers et al are striking for 'Palestine' is moronic and that Collins must have a low opinion of voters' intelligence if she expects them to believe it.
My apologies, Psycho Milt. I need to lay off the cupcakes. Thanks for the clarification.
No worries, I have a bad habit of implying my argument rather than stating it clearly, so I should learn from that.
Where is the rebuttal from the mainstream media……….most likely a wee bark and some tittle tattle from Morning Report……oh and where is Kim Hill when we need her…….who else misses her………
MSM is part of the problem letting the coalition BS go unchallenged. They simply publish their rhetoric with some wibble or another around it rather than tell the public these bit's are not truth and/or being honest.
Take the Health Ministers whopper about Doctor salaries, he's done it more than once depsite it being debunked outright when he first produced it. Spray and walk away.
Like Kat above, I would love the likes of Aaron Smale to write an open letter in reply to Collins.
With her legacy of disgraceful conduct, there is one common factor in her behaviour and that is serving herself. From Whaleoil/Dirty Politics, personal nest feathering side trips in China through to her conduct in regards to the Torture in State Care survivors.
Does the stupid woman not realise that she has just given yet another reason for salaried, high skilled professionals to leave the country?
The Coalition regards them as a costly line item in their budget calculations and is doing its utmost to reduce it by any means possible. This includes making up pig-fucker accusations & assertions with indemnity – even with ‘corrections’ or ‘retractions’ [in the House, which is nothing more than a performative circus show], the stench & stain remain on the accused.
They'll know all about it when a large number of medical staff end up in Australia and the UK. Something for Hipkins et al to get there teeth into
The Greens smash her in their open letter response
https://www.greens.org.nz/open_letter_to_hon_judith_collins