Summarised by Centrist
Broadcaster Sean Plunket, in a segment on The Platform, delivered a sharp critique of what he calls the “war on woke.”
Plunket pointed to the Wellington City Council’s street-cleaning contract criteria, which mandate supplier diversity and alignment with the Treaty of Waitangi principles, as absurd distractions from practical governance.
“Why not just ask if they can clean the streets and how much it costs?” he quipped.
Plunket also criticised TVNZ for its “woke” reporting, highlighting a recent story about housing deprivation rates among LGBTQI+ New Zealanders. He criticised the story for prioritising the struggles of the rainbow community while downplaying those of Pacific peoples, who are the most affected by the housing crisis.
According to Plunket, this reflects a broader trend of media prioritising advocacy over balanced journalism.
He praised Judith Collins’ decision to cut funding for humanities
and social science research under the Marsden Fund, calling it a step toward defunding politically motivated “woke” projects.
Projects like “decolonising hospital waiting rooms” and studies on niche social issues were, in Plunket’s view, emblematic of wasted public money. While academics decried the move as harmful to critical social research, Plunket dismissed their outrage as self-serving.
“If we don’t wage this war now, we’ll keep funding nonsense instead of addressing real issues,” he argued.
