Stu

YOU COULD HAVE JUST ASKED... An open letter to New Zealand's mainstream media Dear New Zealand Media, Well, haven't you been busy! Our Vote Smart 2026 campaign has generated quite the flurry of media attention over the past couple of weeks. Articles, interviews, television reports, political commentary. We've even made the lead item on the 6pm news. You've interviewed politicians, speculated about who's paying for it all, and devoted plenty of airtime and column inches to what our campaign might mean for Saturday's election. And yet, amongst all this breathless reporting, something rather obvious seems to have escaped you. You've barely bothered to speak to the people who actually came up with the campaign. You know, the women running it. Which is funny because, you know, women are all the rage these days... That would be Claire and me. Hello! We're right here. 👋 Had you bothered to pick up the phone or flick us an email, we'd have happily answered your questions. Instead, we've watched an increasingly tangled narrative about billionaire funding, Electoral Commission complaints and police investigations. It's rather like watching someone make aeroplane noises while spoon-feeding the public a great big mouthful of mashed-up information, hoping nobody notices what's actually in it. So, since you haven't shown much interest in asking, allow me to explain a few things. Vote Smart 2026 ( votesmart2026.co.nz ) is our campaign. Claire and I conceived it in August, developed the strategy, assembled the team and went looking for funding. A couple of dozen larger donors have contributed $1,000 or more, alongside many other generous supporters. Yes, Mr Harry Mowbray is one of those donors. His contribution arrived on 18 October, when our campaign was already well underway. Whilst we’re grateful for his donation, it represents approximately 2% of our budget, roughly the cost of one of our 20 full-page newspaper advertisements. He didn't conceive, organise or direct our campaign, and his separate Split Your Vote initiative is exactly that. Separate. We've spent nearly six years building our own organisations and community networks. More than 16,000 people have contributed financially to our work over that time, and we have over 100 local groups throughout New Zealand. We didn't need a billionaire to tell us what to think, say, or do. Now, here's something you might find interesting. For years, you've had a remarkably narrow vocabulary when describing us. Far-right. Anti-vax. Anti-mandate. Anti-government. Anti-mainstream media. You've become so accustomed to telling the public what we're supposedly against that you've rarely shown any curiosity about what we're actually FOR. We believe people should be free to speak their minds, make their own medical decisions, raise their children according to their values, and enjoy the rights and freedoms generations before us fought to protect. We want decent schools, public services that work, sensible government spending and politicians who make decisions based on evidence and common sense. We value our Kiwi culture, our traditions, property rights and the freedom to disagree without being treated as the enemy. Surely none of that should be particularly controversial? Yet somehow, you've managed to spend six years describing us without ever really explaining us. Perhaps that's why this campaign has caught so many of you off guard. Two women you've spent years dismissing have helped organise 30+ billboards, a million flyers delivered nationwide, 20 full-page newspaper advertisements, a substantial digital campaign, a website, several explainer videos and interactive educational tools, all with the help of a remarkable community of ordinary New Zealanders. And you've been so busy looking for the mysterious puppet master that you've missed the people standing right in front of you. Which brings me to the most obvious question of all, and one remarkably few of you have bothered to ask. Why are we doing this? To understand our determination, you need to remember the Covid years. We certainly do. We remember the people who lost their jobs under government mandates, the families torn apart, friendships destroyed and businesses lost. Ordinary Kiwis who felt coerced into medical decisions and people still living with the consequences. We remember the division, vilification and cruelty directed at those who questioned government policy. And we remember the critical role the mainstream media played in ALL OF IT. While people were losing their livelihoods, you were often more interested in labelling and ridiculing them than listening to their stories. And when it was all over, where was the reckoning? The difficult questions? The accountability? Chris Hipkins and other senior figures from that Labour government have continued their political careers without acknowledging the harm caused. And much of the media has carried on as though nothing happened. Perhaps you think New Zealanders have moved on. We haven't. Nor have many of the people whose lives were turned upside down. That's a large part of why we're fighting so hard. And before you assume we're cheerleaders for National, we're thoroughly unimpressed with plenty of its decisions too. Our campaign reflects our dissatisfaction with both major parties and our belief that New Zealanders deserve to understand how their votes work under MMP. You can question our strategy and scrutinise our advertising. Please do. But at least understand what we're doing before telling the country what you think we're up to. And while we're talking about trust, have you wondered why public confidence in mainstream news has been declining for years? Why independent media has grown? Why RCR exists in the first place? When important context is omitted, when labels replace genuine inquiry, and when people aren't given a fair opportunity to explain themselves, trust inevitably suffers. You can blame social media and misinformation all you like, but perhaps it's time to examine your own contribution to the problem. We saw an enormous gap between the questions ordinary New Zealanders were asking and those the established media seemed willing to pursue. So we built something of our own. Whatever happens on Saturday, we're not disappearing. We've spent six years building our own media platforms, establishing nationwide networks, and learning just what ordinary people can achieve when they stop waiting for someone else to do something. We intend to keep asking uncomfortable questions, challenging those in power, and holding people accountable for decisions that affect our lives and our children's futures. The thing is, I suspect some of you regard us as a rather unpredictable wild card. A grenade sitting on the table, its pin almost entirely extracted. You don't quite know what to make of us, what we might do next, or how much influence we might have. And perhaps that makes you uncomfortable. I would be, if I were you. But here's a thought. How about you try talking to us? You might discover two Kiwi mums who love their country, care deeply about their children's future, and have families and lives they'd quite like to get back to occasionally. We also have long memories, and we've learned that being dismissed and underestimated can be a remarkably powerful motivator. There's an old saying about a woman scorned. Well, I wouldn't underestimate two of them. 😉 Yours sincerely, Alia Bland Co-founder, VFF and RCR Media