Voices for Freedom, the pro-whaling lobbyist and the links to NZ First

Sunday, 3 September 2023

A letter sent by a controversial lobbyist to a key member of the anti-vax movement has laid bare the links between NZ First and Voices for Freedom.

Winston Peters’ party has seen its popularity jump in recent weeks, in part due to growing support among the wild herd of vaccine sceptics, so-called sovereign citizens, anti-globalists and the broader ‘freedom movement’.

Glenn Inwood, who has worked for both the Japanese whaling and tobacco industries, last month wrote to Elizabeth Mundt, a Selwyn councillor affiliated with Voices for Freedom (VFF), championing the party as the only vehicle likely to represent the ‘freedom’ constituency following October’s election.

Inwood, a long-time friend of NZF deputy leader Shane Jones, who recently returned to the party, claimed Peters had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment after attending the occupation of Parliament grounds in the summer of 2022.

He said Peters met with former GP Matt Shelton, who has claimed Covid-19 vaccines contain self-assembling nanobots and can make people magnetic; Inwood also said Peters’ views had evolved “since going to the Parliament Protest (the only politician who did)”.

“From then, I think it’s been a gradual awakening to a whole variety of things … No other party or politician would even consider meeting Dr. Shelton.”

Inwood – who is behind the right-wing website Resistance Kiwi – goes on to say he hosted Jones at his Wellington home “where he met 50 of the Wellington freedom movement, everyone who was at Parliament”.

Last month, the Sunday Star-Times revealed it had identified several NZ First candidates who have shared false or extreme views about the pandemic and other topics, including Kirsten Murfitt.

In his note to Mundt, Inwood wrote: “The party NZ First is not only Winston.

“The party itself has new people, new members, new candidates (Kirsten Murfitt, NZLSOS [Lawyers Speaking out with Science]/ Casey Costello, Hobson’s Pledge), some from VFF, some just independent freedom thinkers who understand the globalism inflicted by Labour and National and ACT.

“A number are ex-New Conservative, others have come up and said they just need to take a stand. There are a number of Resistance Kiwi people who have seen the change in the party, know that there are no longer “pro-mandate” people in it, and have backed it whole-heartedly.”

Mundt posted the letter to a VFF Telegram channel, adding the message: “Just asking people to keep an open mind and remember some of us are working very hard behind the scenes in many spaces! All will reveal in good time!!”

The councillor also urged people to attend a NZ First meeting at Christchurch’s Chateau on the Park last month.

She did not return a request for comment.

Inwood has a colourful history. Once a Morning Report producer, he served as a press secretary in the Helen Clark government, until his pro-whaling activities were revealed.

He was also a spokesperson for Te Ohu Kaimoana, the Māori fisheries trust then-chaired by Jones.

Inwood specialised in astroturfing, where campaigns planned by a company or organisation are disguised as spontaneous, grassroots movements.

More recently, Inwood he has applied his skills to fringe politics. He joined the three-week protest, and was among intermediaries who met ACT leader David Seymour to discuss a de-escalation of the stand-off.

In his letter to Mundt, and in a Telegram chatroom, Inwood said he sent text messages to Peters urging him to visit the protest.

After the occupation ended in fire and violence, Inwood spoke at a ‘freedom’ rally in Wellington’s Civic Square. “We are working behind the scenes trying to bring people together and working on building that political response,” he said.

He crowd-funded to pay the legal bills of ‘naked girl protester’ Laura Cassin who was filmed being dragged through police lines without any clothes and recently awarded $5750 after a judge found police had botched the case.

Last year he helped coach local government candidates running on the Refreshing Local Democracy ticket established by VFF supporter and Carterton councillor Jill Greathead.

Inwood also established Better Wellington, a website endorsing city council candidates, broadly on the right, many of whom distanced themselves from the site.

For a time he was involved with DemocracyNZ led by former National MP Matt King. In a message in a Telegram group, he says he was a founding member of the party, on its board, head of fundraising and travelled regularly with a roadshow.

But he began to distance himself when candidates, including Shelton and Murfitt, left.

By July, he had returned to NZ First, attending the annual conference in Auckland, where he was pictured with Murfitt and Daniel Tither, a Wellington co-ordinator for VFF and former New Conservatives and DemocracyNZ supporter.

Inwood proposed a successful remit that the party would review adherence to international agreements.

Also that month, Inwood registered The S.B. Group with the Electoral Commission as a third-party promoter – a group that advertises about a candidate, party or election issue – along with Tither.

During last year’s local body elections, VFF campaigned to get supporters into decision-making positions but told candidates to hide their affiliations. The group said it wants to make the country “ungovernable” and “sway the results [and] throw our weight around”.

Inwood said he is not a VFF supporter. He gave Mundt ‘media advice’ when she was running for council last year, he said.

“Elizabeth asked me for some information. She asked me why should anyone vote for NZ First so I gave her my opinion. I didn’t actually know she was part of Voices for Freedom.”

He wouldn’t class himself as ‘anti-vax’ but said: “It's a growing discussion worldwide on whether or not there are the injuries and deaths that are possibly coming from this particular vaccine… I think it's very difficult to argue that there aren’t levels of injuries especially with the rise of myocarditis, especially.”

Vaccines, like all medical treatments, can have side effects. One of the most well-publicised – despite being rare – side effects of some Covid-19 vaccines is myocarditis, which has been linked to two deaths in New Zealand. As of December 2022, another two deaths were possibly linked to the vaccine and two remain under investigation.

The S.B. Group will be promoting NZ First, particularly in the Northland electorate, where Jones is a candidate, he said.

“NZ First hasn't gone chasing the freedom movement,” Inwood said. “You could say that there is no such thing as a cohesive freedom movement… I think people are just working the best way out of where to put their vote.”

Jones, who was a minister in the Jacinda Ardern-led coalition government until October 2020, confirmed the meeting at Inwood’s home.

“I was invited to address a whole host of people out of that movement,” he said. “I can't remember in any detail what the questions were, but the theme was as follows: there was, during the period of the pandemic, the clear sense that the bureaucracy massively overreached and there was very poor oversight from the politicians at the time, as to keeping the bureaucracy in check.

“It's something that I myself feel very strongly.”

Jones is not worried about the proliferation of mis- and disinformation. “I see it as a global reality that there are a large number of voters who are dislocated … and, rightly or wrongly, in this particular election they are bringing their ideas forward.

“Politics is a contest of ideas. And I'm not in the business of, quite frankly, censor.”

Nor is he concerned about entryism, where fringe activists infiltrate mainstream organisations, parties or institutions to give a bigger platform to their thinking.

“I don't think this is a case of political hijacking. This is a case of people being attracted to a narrative.”

Stephen Judd from Fight Against Conspiracy Theories Aotearoa (FACT) said the group was concerned about the infiltration of mainstream parties by those who spread misinformation.

“If conspiracists enter Parliament they will gain a platform and access to resources that will hugely increase their ability to spread misinformation and derail public debate. Even if not elected, their ability to influence party policy as members or even office-holders is a huge concern.

“It is bad for our democracy when political parties welcome conspiratorial candidates into the fold. They are either unaware of the danger they pose, or are wilfully turning a blind eye.”

Judd said parties needed to take care with vetting and exercise due diligence on new recruits.

“Voters deserve to know who they are voting for.”