West Coast – Tasman Taxpayers’ Union debate exclusion raises the very questions highlighted by Nicky Hager

Sue Grey West Coast–Tasman candidate lawyer and NZ Outdoors & Freedom party leader says her exclusion from the Taxpayers’ Union’s Greymouth election debate highlights the questions about political influence, gatekeeping and supposedly independent political organisations raised by investigative journalist Nicky Hager in his new book Dirty Work.

Hager’s investigation focuses on the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union and political influence on elections.

Sue Grey attended the meeting, but was not allowed to speak, despite requests from many in the audience. She was excluded by the Tax Payers Union on an arbitrary 5% polling threshold. ((20+) Facebook

The polling was conducted by Curia Market Research, whose director David Farrar co-founded the Taxpayers’ Union and is a current shareholder previously served on its board, a relationship the Taxpayers’ Union itself publicly discloses.

Grey says the circumstances surrounding the Greymouth debate deserve close public scrutiny.

There are serious problems with the way polling is done. Before respondents were asked which electorate candidate they intended to vote for, the survey asked specific questions about the National, Labour and New Zealand First candidates. They did not ask equivalent questions about Sue Grey.

Pollers were asked who they would vote for only after they had been specifically prompted to think about those three candidates.

There are also discrepancies between the script published by Curia polls and claims made by Tax Payers Union .

“This risks becoming a self-reinforcing system,” Grey said.

“Voters are specifically asked questions about three selected candidates but not me. They are then asked who they intend to vote for without being given the candidates’ names. The resulting polling is then relied on to exclude me from a public election debate because I supposedly don’t have sufficient support.”

“The issue is not whether people support me. The issue is whether voters are being given a fair opportunity to hear the different candidates before making their decision.”

Grey said the circumstances were particularly striking in light of Hager’s latest investigation.

“This is why the questions Nicky Hager is raising do matter. Political influence isn’t limited to political parties. We also need to look at who commissions political polling, how questions are framed, who gets visibility, who sets eligibility thresholds, and who ultimately gets access to influential public platforms.”

The Taxpayers’ Union publicly acknowledges that its national political poll is commissioned by the Union and conducted by Curia Market Research, and that Farrar is both a Curia director and a co-founder of the Taxpayers’ Union. The companies’ office records Jordan Williams, David Farrar and Ruth Richardson as current shareholders.

Grey says those relationships do not by themselves invalidate polling. But she says they make transparency particularly important when polling is being used as a gatekeeper for participation in an election debate.

“The West Coast–Tasman electorate has been poorly represented in parliament with its current MP being closed down by her own leader, when she’s attempted to share local concerns such as the Paris Accord/Climate Change.

The unique combination of West Coast Tasman issues including mining, tourism, 1080, farming, fisheries, local government, infrastructure, health services and the future of our communities, needs a strong independent voice”

“Voters should hear the competing perspectives and make up their own minds.”

“We’ve been asking hard questions from outside parliament and we’ve got many solutions that the public are not hearing about. Over 50% of the public are very frustrated about the current direction of New Zealand. Democracy requires that people be aware of all their voting options.” – Grey said

“Don’t decide for voters which political perspectives they are entitled to hear. Put the candidates on the stage. Ask us the difficult questions. Let the public compare our answers. Then trust West Coast–Tasman voters to decide. Democracy requires nothing less”