Garry Brown

Love always wins.

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@MomoStJohn One hopes his medical judgement is better

[Suit and tie @Suitandtie9999]

Terrible optics for the Opportunity Party.

As the party milks media attention, it has failed to publicly disclose its direct connection to a powerful public relations firm — a link that clearly raises questions of perceived conflict of interest.

While growing numbers of people on social media openly question the relentlessly glowing coverage the Opportunity Party continues to receive, the party has still not publicly disclosed to voters the direct family connection between its deputy leader, Daniel Eb, and his mother, Deborah Pead — founder and director of Pead PR.

Pead PR actively promotes govt relations services, emphasising how closely intertwined PR and GR have become. Its clients include Ballance Agri-Nutrients (deeply embedded in the Emissions Trading Scheme and agricultural policy), the Port of Auckland (a major infrastructure player with significant government interests), Xero (which operates in the heavily regulated financial services sector), and others.

All of this is happening while Deborah Pead’s son serves as deputy leader of a party positioning itself as a potential kingmaker in the upcoming election. This may mean the party is in a role that could give it disproportionate leverage over coalition agreements, confidence-and-supply deals, and specific policy concessions in agriculture, environment, infrastructure, and regulation - the very sectors Daniel’s mothers company operates in.

Compounding the issue is the fact that Eb also worked at Pead PR as an account manager — a fact that has not been disclosed as even a potential perceived conflict of interest.

Given his previous employment and the family connection to one of New Zealand’s most influential PR firms, he could reasonably be seen by some as an extension of Deborah Pead’s powerful network.

With this background, legitimate questions arise about the procedures in place to manage sensitive policy discussions, strategic planning, and donor networks.

Pead PR has a well-established practice of supplying product samples to journalists — standard industry behaviour, but one where the firm has anecdotally earned a reputation for being particularly generous.

Last year, the NZ Herald published a glowing piece on the launch of the family’s Danbri Farm premium meat brand that read more like a paid infomercial than independent journalism. The article described Daniel’s mother, Deborah, as a “public relations powerhouse.”

The party’s General Manager, Iain Lees-Galloway, doesn’t seem to have picked up on — or dealt with — any of these obvious risks. That’s pretty worrying, especially when you remember he was kicked out of Cabinet back in 2020 after an inappropriate relationship with one of his former staff members. It doesn’t exactly help when the party is trying to position itself as holding the moral high ground.

Just to be clear, there’s no proof of any wrong doing. However, the Opportunity Party has a clear moral obligation to be fully transparent with voters about these family connections.

Perhaps most damning of all, the party’s own public material makes no mention of these links, even as it loudly demands tighter lobbying and disclosure rules.

That is pure hypocrisy.

In New Zealand’s small political and business world, some overlap is inevitable. But undisclosed family connections to a major PR and government relations firm create an obvious perceived — and quite possibly real — conflict of interest that seriously undermines public trust and confidence.

[Darren Watson @DarrenWatson_NZ]

My dear left and/or slightly left friends. Before you consider switching your party vote to the so-called 'blue-teal' of the imho ludicrously named 'Opportunity Party' please consider this:

1. As far as I can assertain this party's structure is ENTIRELY undemocratic. It is governed by a three person, unelected board. They select all the candidates. The party 'membership' does not get to vote on anything internal to the party, and especially not policy.

2. It's new leader, a very personable and erudite younger person, applied for the leadership role as one would a JOB, from an advertisement. She has no previous history as an active member of a political party, or activist of any kind, and we have no idea of what her real deeply held political views are - if any. She was essentially hired as a spokesperson by a small, undemocratic board. This party appears to be essentially a corporate structure that makes National look super democratic...

3. The party's day to day operations are run by a former Labour Cabinet Minister who was publicly sacked by Jacinda Ardern in 2020 for a severe lack of judgment involving an inappropriate relationship with a staffer under his authority, which ended his parliamentary career in disgrace.

4. The 'party' is massively funded by some real big money Kiwis.

If, after reading that - and checking the facts, you think yep, I'll vote for that, then good luck to you I guess.

I couldn't. YMMV

#nzpol

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@DrFrankTurek Have you read Brad Jersak’s “ Her Gates Will never be shut “. ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@owenthcarey Yes. God is constant love , full of grace and mercy. So yes, of course . But easy …?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@ZanderFearsYAH An unspoken core belief of many folk is that death concretises one’s eternal destiny. Really ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@5Solas Might I recommend “ Her Gates Will Never Be Shut “ by Brad Jersak

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@wendelltalks Did initially. Then unsure ( those who never hear , faithful devotees of other systems etc etc). Now Yes, of course, via universal reconciliation

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@DavidBCollum SRNI. Yes, v long slow taper under professional advice

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@MalcolmBacchus @ScottRoberts Yep, you can read this mankind’s view of God in the Bible. But it doesn’t look like Jesus ….. so I’ll critique that God too

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@TomBuck Q:- I’ve heard this is the only parable that names a person by name. I wonder why ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@ScottRoberts Which is “ the “ truth ? Arminianism? Calvinism ? Universal Reconciliation ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@JesusDied4UToo Depends of whether one sees God’s justice as retributive pay-back or restorative reconciliation. ALL of us sit under the latter because none of us is perfect. 1 Cor 3:11-15

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@Truth_matters20 How do you biblically justify the idea that post-mortem repentance is not possible ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@adelethelaptop Interestingly this “ anti-others” book is apparently contemporaneous with its rebuttal , Ruth.

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@damienmgrant Yeah but Orewa ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@GodlyAction Interesting. Biblically how do you defend “ there won’t be any more choices “ ?

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@Iriagal You think House is good ? Watch Blackadder

[Garry Brown @GarryBrown]

@DroppingTrooth @WithinAllOfUs @ScottRoberts Agree , I was responding to, on my view, a lack of nuance in the original post