Ghahraman goes

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, January 16th, 2024 - 77 comments
Categories: greens, Parliament, Politics - Tags:

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has resigned from Parliament.

From the Herald:

“It is a great honour to serve as a Member of Parliament. I am proud of my advocacy work on human rights and foreign affairs, and particularly proud of campaigns that resulted in practical improvements to the electoral laws governing donations and overseas voting,” Ghahraman said.

The Green MP said that her mental health had been “badly affected” by the stress of her work as an MP.

“This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them,” she said.

”People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. I’m sorry. It’s not a behaviour I can explain because it’s not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I’m not well,” Ghahraman said.

”The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma,” she said.

Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw said it was clear Ghahraman was in a “state of extreme distress” and supported her decision to resign.

“Green MPs are expected to maintain high standards of public behaviour,” they said in a joint statement.

“It is clear to us that Ms Ghahraman is in a state of extreme distress. She has taken responsibility and apologised.

“We support the decision she has made to resign.”

Former Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown is the next person on the Green Party list.

She came to New Zealand as an asylum seeker.  Dealing with childhood trauma can have devastating effects on later life.

Go well Golriz.  Take time out to mend yourself.

77 comments on “Ghahraman goes ”

  • Comments are now closed

  2. Ad 2
    16 January 2024 at 12:57 pm

    No other call to make.

    Wish her full recovery.

  3. observer 3
    16 January 2024 at 1:12 pm

    It has been a sad story, poorly handled by attention-seeking commentators and their media enablers.

    On the other hand, respect for Shaw and Davidson goes up. They knew their first priority was a human being, not the headlines. PR "experts" (so-called) urged them to spin it better. A classic case of being lost in the game.

  4. Kay 4
    16 January 2024 at 1:13 pm

    She came to New Zealand as an asylum seeker. Dealing with childhood trauma can have devastating effects on later life.

    Thank you for acknowledging that, Mickeysavage

  5. Sanctuary 5
    16 January 2024 at 1:28 pm

    Does all this mean the venerable ex-mayor of Wellington Celia Wade-Brown is now a Green MP?

  6. mary_a 6
    16 January 2024 at 1:37 pm

    Thanks MS.

    I thank Golriz for her contribution to politics and service to the people of NZ. She will be missed.

    Go well Golriz. Take good care of your health.

    • mickysavage 6.1
      16 January 2024 at 2:08 pm

      This is one of the reasons I cannot understand Israel’s behaviour. Having tens of thousands of traumatised kids will ensure a never ending supply of adults wanting to be martyrs.

  7. observer 7
    16 January 2024 at 1:48 pm

    But of course a resignation is not enough. Vultures need a corpse.

    Note the phrasing here: "Footage emerges …". But footage does not emerge. It is not a chick from an egg. It is provided. By somebody.

    The job of journalism is to ask who and why, not just say "more, please".

    Scotties security camera footage emerges of ex-Green Golriz Gharaham | Stuff.co.nz

    • Ghostwhowalks 7.1
      16 January 2024 at 2:26 pm

      I would say the boutique provided the footage to the Police when requested .

      I guess we know the rest , how national party ministers get inside information under the no surprises rule ( ROFL)

      Not that Mark Mitchell would do anything like that

      • weka 7.1.1
        16 January 2024 at 2:53 pm

        Are you suggesting that the police supplied the National government with video from an ongoing investigation?

        • Anne 7.1.1.1
          16 January 2024 at 3:45 pm

          weka, its not unheard of for rogue police officers to spill the beans. Not suggesting it happened in this case because I don't know. Gww though makes a valid point.

          It was a former National PM who revealed the Colin Moyle police investigation under parliamentary privilege in 1976. The information came from someone in the force. The ins and outs of it were hushed up, but it much later transpired Moyle had been the victim of a nasty hoax. He also had to resign from parliament but later returned to become one of the best Agriculture Ministers the country has had.

          • weka 7.1.1.1.1
            16 January 2024 at 3:56 pm

            yes, but GWW was implying not leaking but an actual pipeline from police to the National government in 2024. Which is a different thing.

            • Anne 7.1.1.1.1.1
              16 January 2024 at 4:27 pm

              The historic case I referred to was about a police pipeline to the PM of the day, Robert Muldoon. Colin Moyle was being touted as the next leader of the LP and Muldoon used privileged information about Moyle he was not entitled to have. The allegation inherent within the information proved to be false yet Moyle's career (at that stage) ended in tatters.

              Over the years, there have been a few other instances of official info. getting into the hands of Nat. politicians or their lackeys who then used them for political gain.

              • weka …
                16 January 2024 at 4:31 pm

                Over the years, there have been a few other instances of official info. getting into the hands of Nat. politicians or their lackeys who then used them for political gain.

                instances such as?

                • Anne …
                  16 January 2024 at 4:52 pm

                  Having been involved in politics on and off for nearly 60 years I recall them. The details have become misty with time but that doesn't mean they didn't happen. None of them reached the same level of hysteria as the Moyle Affair.

                  John Key had a top drawer full of them but he was smart enough not to talk about them – at least not to us peasantry. One or two of the more recent public examples involved former minister, Labour leader and Auckland mayor, Phil Goff… and some fellow by the name of Cameron Slater. Goff eventually received a public apology from the appropriate government entity.

                  • Robin The Goodfellow …
                    16 January 2024 at 5:29 pm

                    Its not a left or right thing, its a power thing.

                    Politicians will do a lot of morally questionable actions for "the greater good"

                    Ask Peter Doone

            • Ghostwhowalks 7.1.1.1.1.2
              16 January 2024 at 5:48 pm

              There is an actual 'pipeline '.

              It says so in the BIM when Hipkins became Police Minister in 2022

              "The Media and Communications team maintains direct links with your Press Secretary about upcoming press releases and responds to requests for support around media enquiries and emerging issues. This includes keeping your office informed whenever there is a high profile or significant national event involving a Police response, such as the recent New Lynn Mall attack."

              • weka …
                17 January 2024 at 8:19 am

                There is no equivalence between an MP getting caught on CCTV in a shop and a terrorist attack.

                The latter is a matter of national security. The former is a routine crime. Governments don't get involved in day to day policing at that level. The reason for this is to prevent political interference in policing eg a government Minister instructing police to not investigate an MP in the said government accused of shoplifting.

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Police

                While the New Zealand Police is a government department with a minister responsible for it, the Commissioner and sworn members swear allegiance directly to the Sovereign and, by convention, have constabulary independence from the government of the day.

                The New Zealand Police is perceived to have a minimal level of institutional corruption.[5][6]

                That convention is why Stuart Nash is no longer in parliament,

                In mid–March 2023, Nash resigned as Minister of Police following revelations he asked the Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to appeal a decision Nash felt was too light, a breach of the expectation that the Government remains neutral in regards to operational Police matters.[21] On 16 March, Nash faced further calls from the opposition National and ACT parties to resign from his remaining portfolios after revelations that the Attorney-General David Parker had reprimanded Nash for making remarks during a 2020 Newstalk ZB interview calling for murder suspect Eli Epiha to be imprisoned for his actions during the murder of Matthew Hunt. At the time, Epiha was facing trial and had not yet been convicted for murdering Hunt.[22] Nash subsequently admitted to a third incident of misconduct where he contacted the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to advocate for a migrant health professional in Napier in September 2022. In response, Hipkins demoted Nash to the bottom of the Cabinet rankings as a "final warning" but declined to strip him of his remaining cabinet portfolios.[23]

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Nash#2023_ministerial_indiscretions_and_resignation

                This is also why Shaw and Davidson are at pains to make it really clear that they can't talk about the shoplifting charge. They're not in government, but technically one of the GP caucus could be Police Minister in the future.

                I haven't followed Anne's comments, but it's why I have asked both of you to be clear. Because it's a serious allegation to say that the government is being supplied information by the police about the details of a specific crime like shoplifting.

                • weka …
                  17 January 2024 at 8:20 am

                  from your link,

                  1. The Commissioner is not responsible to, and is required to act independently of, any Minister of the Crown (including any person acting on the instruction of a Minister of the Crown) regarding:

                    • – the maintenance of order or enforcement of the law in relation to any individual or group of individuals
                    • – the investigation and prosecution of offences
                    • – decisions about individual Police employees.
                • Incognito …
                  17 January 2024 at 8:48 am

                  @ 7.1 GWW clearly insinuated that the video footage found its way to the media through the Police and/or Minister of Police. He provided no evidence at all for this and he dodged answering your question.

    • newsense 7.2
      16 January 2024 at 10:26 pm

      Ms Gharaham has caused the obsessed right no end of gnashing of teeth since forever.

      Someone observed somewhere else that involvement of dirty politics era figures.

      The way footage has come out deserves to be answered by the website and the shop. It is basic harassment that deserves people fronting up and being accountable for.

      What was the journalistic reason for obtaining and showing that? Was the footage offered and by whom? Or did you approach the shop?

      There policies are to kill 5000 people who smoke to allow a tax cut. Why should anything else they do show a higher level of humanity than that?

  8. tsmithfield 8
    16 January 2024 at 2:04 pm

    Very sad. Not the way I would like to see anyone leave parliament.

    I also hope that the police now apply the same standard they do to other instances of shoplifitng which is to completely ignore it.

    • Tiger Mountain 8.1
      16 January 2024 at 4:17 pm

      Well done TS, you got a rueful smile if not full Lol from me with that observation.

    • Johnr 8.2
      16 January 2024 at 7:19 pm

      Bin driving most afternoon. Only reliable radio was 'red neck radio' (zb) .

      All afternoon Golriz was debated, I cannot believe the nasty venal crucifixion. Think Jesus had an easier trip to the cross.

      Sure she seems to have messed up . But do we have to become an awful vindictive nation.

      • Robert Guyton 8.2.1
        16 January 2024 at 7:52 pm

        Kiwiblog is seething, writhing, pulsating, heaving with pustular blue & yellow bile; it's a dam bursting, a boil lanced, a can of intestinal worms, unscrewed and poured into the gaping maws of the malnourished sycophants who cower there …

        it's not very nice.

        • joe90 8.2.1.1
          16 January 2024 at 8:06 pm

          Will no one think of KB's marginalized status-seekers…

        • Tricledrown 8.2.1.2
          17 January 2024 at 10:17 am

          Why haven't the Police prosecuted any of the thousand s of mongrels who have continuously made death threats rape and violent threat s against this MP .

          Far more serious crimes than shoplifting which she no doubt plead guilty with mitigating circumstances.None if the real lowlife would even have the balls to come forward and admit their crimes.

  9. ianmac 9
    16 January 2024 at 2:10 pm

    Saddened for Golriz. People like her are needed to help reform our world. Best wishes for her recovery.

  10. Tiger Mountain 10
    16 January 2024 at 2:27 pm

    Lest anyone be tempted to look too kindly on Scotties…wage theft by an employer is also theft, and Scotties sought various subsidies from us taxpayers to boot…

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/126663561/highend-boutique-ordered-to-pay-nearly-28000-after-unjust-dismissal-of-worker

    Very sad Golriz had to leave in these circumstances. A friend of mine, experienced senior School Principal, having cancer treatment including Steroids was in a very small % that suffered psychosis as a side effect, really went AWOL and was sectioned for self protection until the medical people got on top of the issue.

  11. Gosman 11
    16 January 2024 at 2:54 pm

    It is rather sad as even though I disagreed (and often times disliked) her political viewpoint she did add to the vibrancy and diversity of the NZ Parliament and made a good show of promoting the political views and people she represented. I hope she gets the support and help she needs now.

    I would like to add that I don't think it is helpful to speculate on any trauma that may have contributed to this. This is best left to Ms Ghahraman and the people she chooses to help her through this time.

  12. Corey 12
    16 January 2024 at 2:59 pm

    The Justice portfolio is the NZ politics equivalent of teaching defense against the dark arts at Hogwarts.

    I wish her well and think there needs to be more mental health awareness in parliament, I think maybe all mp's should have regular counselling session or something to deal with the pressure of parliament and the public.

    I do wish mp's would have the courage to ask to have their portfolios stripped from them temporarily when they are struggling and can't handle the pressure.

    Hopefully this and the way Kiri's ended will encourage parties and mp's to take their mental health seriously

    However, as a class lefty I hope she is held accountable for her actions and treated like any working class kiwi and if she's found guilty I hope she gets the same level of punishment a working class kiwi would get if they stole thousands of dollars worth of gear on multiple occasions.

    • weka 12.1
      16 January 2024 at 3:33 pm

      on that last note, my hope is that working class kiwis get treat more fairly in the courts. In this case (whether Ghahraman or a working class person), don't send people to prison for retail theft, that's madness.

      • JerJer 12.1.1
        16 January 2024 at 3:40 pm

        Three strikes is coming back. Lucky for her it is not in place currently. There are three known offences here already.

        [I can’t in good conscience let this degree of stupid into the Standard commentariat. 1 month ban. If you come back, read the site Policy and bring some actual political argument to the table. – weka]

      • tsmithfield 12.1.2
        16 January 2024 at 4:18 pm

        I think the Police pretty much ignore retail theft now given reports of people just wheeling out trolleys full of groceries from Supermarkets without paying for them etc.

        In the current case, I think Golriz, due to her profile, has probably suffered a lot more than the average shoplifter that probably carries on with little consequence. Hence, why I think the police should just drop the matter and treat her the same as the others.

        • weka 12.1.2.1
          16 January 2024 at 4:27 pm

          I don't think the police let people off who steal trolleys full of groceries, it's more than they don't catch them.

          If someone shoplifts and the shop has CCTV footage and make a complaint to the police, I'm not sure the police can or should ignore that if it's clear and repeated.

          I'm sure the value of the goods is a factor too.

        • Foreign waka 12.1.2.2
          17 January 2024 at 9:59 am

          This is not true at all. It would imply that police is nonchalantly ignoring retail theft. Fact is that in many cases the perpetrators have planned their get away very well and only if they are caught on camera can some actions be taken. Could be that gangs are involved, especially sending under aged into the "field".

          No one should see theft as a cavaliers delict as the costs of retail theft, a staggering 2.6 billion dollars per year will be recovered by increasing pricing to you and me. Not to forget to mention, there are those incredible ghastly instances where a shop employee is killed, another persons fingers hacked off with a machete.

          There are always victims and it seems no one is spending one syllable about what they endure.

          • Incognito 12.1.2.2.1
            17 January 2024 at 11:26 am

            You are conflating theft and robbery.

            Can you provide examples (with links) of instances [plural] in which “a shop employee is killed, another persons [sic; singular or plural?] fingers [plural] hacked off with a machete”?

            There’s a lot of RW ‘mission-creep’ when discussing hot topics such as crime, alleged or proven, here on TS.

  13. Phillip ure 13
    16 January 2024 at 3:06 pm

    A shame she has gone..

    She was a very effective mp/spokesperson..

    • ianmac 13.1
      16 January 2024 at 3:35 pm

      A terrible consequence from this may be that the miserable bastards who attacked her might feel emboldened so turn will turn to – who next?

      I think also that some MPs don't give a toss about what people think of them because they are un-empathetic people. These are not at risk.

      If you care about people you might be more vulnerable. Jacinda? Golriz?

  14. roblogic 14
    16 January 2024 at 3:50 pm

    As a refugee from Iran, the misogyny of the reactionary right in NZ must have wearyingly familiar to GG. Go well Golriz.

    James Shaw said Ghahraman had been subject to continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence and death threats “since the day she was elected to Parliament”.

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350146185/live-greens-co-leaders-speak-after-golriz-ghahraram-quits

  15. Darien Fenton 15
    16 January 2024 at 4:27 pm

    I feel incredibly sad about Golriz today. She has done the only thing a politician can do by resigning. I feel for her, James and Marama and the Greens who are left doing their best to support her. Life is not equal for all politicians. Sometimes we make the mistake of believing you can stand up for injustice, you can protest, you can shout when no-one listens. Many MPs come into parliament genuinely believing they are there to make a difference. It takes courage to stand up to the vitriol. Death threats, the name calling, the personal attacks, (which last years), the never ending critique. And if and when someone falls, we are in like robber's dogs. I want to see difference in our Parliament. I want people to be human, and different, and vulnerable. I want people with different pasts, from different backgrounds and experiences. Being an MP is no picnic, believe me. I wish everything good for Golriz, and the Greens. and send my solidarity.

  16. weka 16
    16 January 2024 at 4:29 pm

    Press conference with Shaw and Davidson. Lots of good explanation of complex issues (and as always, listen to the Greens if you want to understand them).

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/506833/watch-greens-leaders-respond-as-mp-golriz-ghahraman-resigns

  17. observer 17
    16 January 2024 at 5:10 pm

    And now we have the media staking out her home.

    Golriz Ghahraman: Police visit home of former Green MP amid shoplifting investigation – NZ Herald

    FFS. She has resigned. She has given a full apology, accepted responsibility and the consequences. Her party leaders have fronted and answered more questions than Luxon ever does.

    This is now an entirely unjustified hounding and bullying, nothing more.

    • Pat 17.1
      16 January 2024 at 5:42 pm

      Agreed….the media should take a good hard look at themselves…..if they do they may discover why they rate so lowly with the general public.

    • observer 17.2
      16 January 2024 at 5:44 pm

      The pack hunts as one …

      Watch: Police visit ex-Green MP Golriz Ghahraman's home | Newshub

      "Watch"? There is nothing to watch. When can she go to her home, unmolested?

      • Robert Guyton 17.2.1
        16 January 2024 at 6:43 pm

        "Two officers doorknocked the property around 4.30pm, it was reported, but there was no answer."

        Riveting viewing!

      • newsense 17.2.2
        16 January 2024 at 11:48 pm

        There was the anger against Ardern and Golriz, but now the right wing media landscape is growing in place where it was missing before to do the damage.

        NZ is not immune or special to the murderous misinformation and attacks of the pandemic and against democracy.

        Chris’s mob? The Lux pack on the attack. A warning to others the Brexit boys and Trumpettes of NZ are on top. Proper two track in a way Hipkin’s will never be able to do after his career to date. Luxon will be serene.

  18. Robin 18
    16 January 2024 at 5:37 pm

    MPs need to not only behave according to the law, but be seen to be do so.

    Ghahraman did neither. She wrecked her own career. Sad but correct.

    To the extent that anyone believes she made any positive contribution, and that is a matter of opinion, she surely undermined most if not all through her actions.

    Many people have stressful jobs. Some very much more stressful than being an MP.

    It was not one event, but at least two and maybe three or more incidents. That is a pattern of behaviour. If she was under particular and undue pressure, anyone involved in NZ politics knows there are many avenues to obtain support and assistance. But she didn't.

    My guess is that if she hadn't have gone, even Shaw and Davidson are by now aware that Ghahraman's position was untenable. They couldn't have "spun it". It's unclear whether they knew all the way along and hoped they could keep it hidden and under control, which is what would have happened under the previous governments, or whether Ghahraman lied or omitted to inform them of additional offending.

    Bottom line: don't break the law, and if you don't know where the line is then stay well away from it. Do the right thing.

    [permanent ban for a subsequent comment that contained a potentially defamatory claim about an MP with zero evidence presented – weka]

    • observer 18.1
      16 January 2024 at 6:16 pm

      It's unclear whether they knew all the way along and hoped they could keep it hidden and under control,

      Wrong. It's very clear if you bothered to follow the story. The co-leaders were communicating with and sensitive to the wishes of the Scotties owners. They could have ignored those wishes, and perhaps politically they should have, but they are decent human beings, if you can grasp such a concept.

      It is fascinating that the victims of the crime mean nothing to people like you who only want to stir the pot. So much for the Right’s faux concern for victims.

    • roblogic 18.2
      16 January 2024 at 6:23 pm

      So, zero curiosity as to why people do self-destructive things? Just write people off when they make a mistake?

      That is judgemental and small minded. Of a piece with RW trolls who love to punch down on the unfortunate

    • Robert Guyton 18.3
      16 January 2024 at 6:37 pm

      *wags finger, sucks air through teeth.

      • Barfly 18.3.1
        16 January 2024 at 10:27 pm

        Hey genius –

        One effect of MS can be mania

        Google MS drugs mental side effects and the first thing you read is that they can cause psychotic episodes

        Arriving in NZ as a child refugee – would you like a side of of ptsd with that?

        A history of receiving death threats and threats of sexual violence from the wonderfully racist and mysognostic RW loons of NZ

        Being a 'punisher' is a known dysfunctional personality type I suggest you research it and have a good look in a mirror.

        • Foreign waka 18.3.1.1
          17 January 2024 at 8:41 am

          To point the finger at RW is a bit vague, NZ has its own breed of people with a racist tint to their character. And belief me, they come in all shapes and colors. Motto is to just don't be the "other" and try to match the wall paper as a requirement to "assimilate". Either way, theft is a failure of judgement in the face of temptation. It also has a faceless victim, the shop owner who is paying for it not just money but also psychological. We seem to forget that there is a victim that through the politicising will not see justice. This is the true tragedy of it all.
          On a separate note, if a person is to represent the people, exceptional character is required. How else can you argue in disputes to speak the truth.

    • weka 18.4
      17 January 2024 at 8:52 am

      mod note.

  19. Mike the Lefty 19
    16 January 2024 at 6:28 pm

    Terds like Hosking gleefully celebrating the fall of a Green MP.

    You can hide your money in Cayman Islands bank accounts to evade millions of dollars of tax but don't steal a $300 item from a shop.

    No No no!

    • roblogic 19.1
      16 January 2024 at 7:24 pm

      You can steal the future of Aotearoa, throwing away a trillion dollars of assets, and enrich all your mates, and wallpaper over a sordid history of land thefts, that's all good, because the "right" people did it

  20. Rolling-on-Gravel 20
    16 January 2024 at 8:17 pm

    My thought:

    I think Golriz has done all she could have done as far as she could. She will have to have a think about her actions. Her part is done, more or less.

    What I want to critique is the constant media attempts to controversialise left-wing/left-leaning female politicians from Metiria Turei to Jacinda Ardern through to Golriz Ghahraman whenever they have stumbled or committed crimes. We have enacted harsher consequences in terms of controversy and condemnation upon them than we have done to right-wing/right leaning male politicians like David Garrett, Ben Uffinell and John Key whenever they have done such things despite their allegations/crimes generally being measurably worse in terms of morality and severity than whatever most of these LW/left-leaning female politicians may have done.

    We put these women through more fire than we do these men. Whenever these men's scandals are done, we rarely look back to them to condemn the current direction of a given political party like we do with the Green or Labour etc parties and these women.

    It's like the media is licking at the bits to bring down these women more than anything else in a way.

    Ultimately, it's not just left-wing female politicians they want to bring down, it's left-wing politicians of all genders. However, there's always an extra bit of an ulterior dimension to their condemnation when it comes to people in groups that has been historically targets of bigotry and fear.

    And that's what I see in all of this. And it's not an aspect of our 4th Estate that we should encourage or praise. The media needs to change and we need to give whatever of the political moment we are in an un-excitable and truthful yet human sort of media reporting. That is what we need to aim for imo.

  21. No-Skates 21
    17 January 2024 at 9:25 am

    The glimmers of hope I see for our futures in otherwise miserable circumstances around Golriz and Kiri Alan is the humanity that's been shown towards them, by their leadership and by the less callous and attention desperate members of the media.

    They've highlighted their past successes, assured others that they're fundamentally good people that have unfortunately fallen into a dark place, and now they need to focus on self-care and for those around them to respect that.

    Ten years ago, I had a mental meltdown. I lost my job, lost friends, got in trouble with the police. I felt discarded, irredeemable, finished. I was treated like a leper that had to be avoided like the plague, or a minefield you had to tread carefully around. It led to drinking myself into a hole I thought I could never escape, and people who knew me from the era believed it too. I wasted a lot of years believing I could never be rehabilitated.

    And of course the underfunded public mental health services, in spite of the genuinely good people on the front lines trying, could only give me a friendly but firm pat on the back in the direction of the door. A jobless alcoholic wasn’t going to be able to afford private either.

    Somehow I got out of it, though still scarred by the experience and well behind my peers in regards to career, home ownership and starting a family. But I feel that was more luck with the good people I did have around me pulling me through rather than my own effort and willpower. I'd have been on the street if it weren't for my parents.

    But I’m seeing real change to how mental health is treated, from workplaces to popular culture. Glacially slow, and I’m somewhat bitter it wasn’t there for me then, but I’m glad progress is being made.

    Also shows our politicians are still real people, mostly… They’re trying their best to make sense of the world too.

    • ianmac 21.1
      17 January 2024 at 9:39 am

      No-Skates. You describe the realities of being human so well. Thankyou.

      • No-Skates 21.1.1
        17 January 2024 at 9:53 am

        Cheers. I've practiced being human most of my life 😛

        It's just "do unto others." I ain't a god-fearing man, but I'd like more people following that lesson. We're all capable of falling on hard times, that's what a social safety net is meant to save us from.

    • Ad 21.2
      17 January 2024 at 9:56 am

      Powerful and real mental health crisis story there No Skates. Thankyou.

      Great to hear you came through all of that.

  22. Reality 22
    17 January 2024 at 9:59 am

    The Post's cruel headline today "from political scrapper…to scrapheap". The blood sport glee indulged in by media has been appalling. Bad enough we have the Neanderthals who can't cope with women in public roles, especially young(ish), coloured, attractive, forthright. I despair.