NZ First candidate and former Defence Minister Ron Mark is standing by his campaign advertisement blaming “woke b******t” and diversity, equity and inclusiveness for the sinking of the $100 million HMNZS Manawanui in 2024.
Along with arguing that so-called DEI policies had gone too far, the ad criticised the appearance of military personnel, questioning if soldiers with “man buns” would intimidate anyone. Mark then called for the NZDF to restore its “proud warrior ethos”.
Mark has rejected suggestions that the video was an attack on women in the military, saying the focus was on the decisions that led to the sinking. “The people I listen to most in my life happen to be women, so let’s just end this nonsense,” he said.
The Manawanui sank after running aground off the coast of Samoa. It was captained by Commander Yvonne Gray, who has since been charged over the loss of the vessel.
Mark said more attention should be paid to men who made bad decisions and pointed to NZ First’s defence policy, which aimed to protect female-specific roles, lift defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2032 and increase regular-force numbers to 12,500.
National leader Christopher Luxon said there had been a “decent review” into the incident and suggested Mark was “cosplaying [US War Secretary] Pete Hegseth”. However, Luxon did not rule out assigning the defence portfolio to Mark, should the coalition be re-elected.
Mark has elsewhere backed retired NZSAS commander Bernard Isherwood, who has highlighted how poor leadership and accountability have weakened the NZDF and that the Public Services Commission lacked the military experience to competently select NZDF staff.
In response to the ad, Opportunity Party leader Quilae Wong said that ruling out NZ First as a potential partner in government was now a “serious consideration”. NZ First Leader Winston Peters responded that his party had “long ago ruled out working with this bunch of pinko communists”.
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The only question I have had that I have not found answers to is “do dildos float?”
Of course he is correct.
Ha ha ha. Lets be honest, he’t not wrong. That said, I don’t think NZ should even have a military. Its only there to help keep the locals subjugated. We need a similar model to Costa Rica/Iceland with a police force only. It would free up millions if not billions, to be spent where its actually needed.
Fire the people who hired Yvonne Gray.
Fake democracy party politicians have a fake mass-debate for (s)electioneering purposes in Clown World.
You know it’s a farce, and you know it’s going to keep on being a farce – unless the system changes completely.
A lesbian woman at that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zluIU7iAzr0
Yes. Ron Mark publicly endorsed principles closely aligned with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) while he was Minister of Defence in Jacinda Ardern’s government. The clearest evidence is an official government statement from August 2019 in which he explicitly supported gender equality, inclusion and diversity in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).
22 August 2019 — Pacific Defence Gender Network
As Defence Minister, Mark announced a regional initiative intended to increase women’s participation in Pacific defence forces.
He said:
“The Network will promote gender equality in regional defence forces while encouraging men to become champions and advocates.”
He also described the initiative as having “a foundation of inclusion and collaboration”.
The Beehive
Source: New Zealand Government, Beehive
Read the official ministerial statement
Most significantly, Mark went beyond simply announcing the initiative. He explicitly defended the operational benefits of diversity:
“We’ve seen how diversity in our own Defence Force has grown our reputation and capability.”
He continued by arguing that promoting an integrated and diverse military improves operational effectiveness and supports resilience and stability.
The Beehive
That is direct public advocacy for gender equality, inclusion and diversity, rather than merely a statement that the Defence Force should comply with equal-opportunity requirements.
An earlier example: June 2018
Mark also advocated inclusivity in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, while serving as Defence Minister. He described inclusivity as valuing diverse perspectives and enabling a range of voices to be heard.
The Beehive
Read his official 2018 speech
An important distinction
The evidence supports the conclusion that Mark publicly endorsed diversity, inclusion and gender equality during his time as minister. However, it does not establish that he endorsed every policy now described as DEI, such as hiring quotas or selecting candidates on criteria other than merit.
His 2019 statement specifically framed diversity as a way to improve military capability and effectiveness.
Bottom line: Yes. There is clear, documented evidence of Mark publicly supporting DEI-aligned principles while serving in Ardern’s government. The August 2019 statement is particularly strong evidence because it contains his own explicit words, published by the government at the time.
An honest politician is as unthinkable as an honest burglar, and if their lips are moving you just know they are lying through their teeth.
Everything Ron Mark said is true. The sooner we get him in as Minister of Defence the better
Nah, he’s just another globalist war-monger. He can’t get enough of Ukraine, supports them to the hilt and has made numerous self-funded visits to support them personally. Check out his social media page – it’s a 100% Ukrainian zionazi love fest…
https://www.facebook.com/RonMarkFormerMinDefMin4Vets/