Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins has said that the party’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen over-stepped when she accused Police Minister Mark Mitchell of being ‘paid to kill people’.
Andersen also asked Mitchell if he maintained a ‘tally of how many you shot’ regarding his previous work as a private security contractor in Middle East hotspots.
Mitchell described Andersen’s comments to Newstalk ZB as ‘outrageous’ and demanded an apology.
In a written statement Andersen did not offer an apology initially but later acknowledged her comments had ‘crossed the line’.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was important not to delve into MPs’ backgrounds. ‘I would prefer we as politicians kept out of MP’s own backgrounds,’ he said.
Mitchell, who has defended his work in conflict zones, spent approximately eight years in the Middle East, including Iraq, undertaking tasks such as hostage negotiation and logistics, and was involved in efforts to deliver aid in countries like Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The controversy arose during a Newstalk ZB politics segment when Andersen and Mitchell discussed various topics before the conversation turned to Mitchell’s past employment overseas. Andersen’s comments led to a broader discussion on character attacks and the moral implications of Mitchell’s work, with Andersen insisting on her right to express her views.
After you have listened to the frantic and possibly unbalanced Ginny Andersen on the Hosking show this morning, remember that she is being touted as a short listed candidate for the Labour party leadership. When Hipkins goes as he inevitably will.
It is obvious from the… pic.twitter.com/YRNxaMBh0H
— The Redbaiter (@TheRedbaiter) February 21, 2024
Ginny Andersen made some bizarre and unfair comments on ZB this morning. She doesn’t seem to understand how aid, hostage negotiations, hostage extractions etc are delivered in war zones. I was quite shocked. pic.twitter.com/AyAM9PFcJI
— Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) February 20, 2024
Did I hear right?
Did Ginny Andersen just accuse Mark Mitchell of committing murders?
‘Mark, how many people did you shoot in Mogadishu?’Possibly the vilest thing I’ve ever heard an MP say. That is low. Well done Labour, so much for going high.
What the hell is wrong with her? pic.twitter.com/x7s6rKsp7g— taane te arawa (@rotovegas_taane) February 20, 2024
Hipkins, just another deep state agent, defending another publically known agent really. Both sides of the politics are run by globalist/deep state agents. Vassals.
Trivia
What else is going on
National/Labour = globalist, neo con coin….if they want to have a go at each other, frankly , why would I care?
Another one on the way out with “stress/mental” issues. Only a labour MP would make that sort of statement on radio and not be sanctioned in some way ,