Summarised by Centrist
Duncan Garner’s latest podcast attacked mainstream media for treating Te Pāti Māori with kid gloves while giving harsher scrutiny to other parties. He noted the party banned RNZ, TVNZ, Stuff, and the Sunday Star-Times from its election night event.
“On the night of the election, Te Pāti Māori took their hatred to a new level by blocking One News from their event. So Oriini wasn’t interviewed. Those who watch One News who care about this Māori seat were blocked. Who blocks coverage after they’ve won? It’s pathetic.”
Garner contrasted this with how TVNZ’s Mikey Sherman covered the by-election, accusing her of activism instead of critique. Sherman said Kaipara was “authentic” despite fumbling basic questions about what TPM had achieved. She later added Kaipara was “light on policy knowledge… something that she’ll need to work on.” Garner shot back: “Why didn’t Sherman pile in?”
He also highlighted Sherman’s framing of Labour–TPM cooperation: Sherman described it as “a big conversation.” Garner retorted: “It’s more than a big conversation! It’s obvious they’re not up to it.”
Also, TPM co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s claim that reporters were “jumping out of bushes” at candidates was a story she could not substantiate. Garner said the media let such excuses slide instead of demanding evidence.
He concluded by accusing political journalists of double standards: “I’ve seen the media chase David Seymour around trying to link him to some new world order… but they’ve wimped away into the corner wetting themselves when it comes time to call out the Māori Party.”
