New Zealand has very few fascists. The lunatic that murdered Muslims in Christchurch merits that description. But in general, the country’s most right-wing nutters are still a long way from being out-and-out fascists. And New Zealand needs to keep it that way. Which is what makes some of the country’s right-wing propaganda so stunningly dangerous.

Take Mike Hosking and Heather du Plessis-Allan for example. Every day they have unfettered access to drip, drip, drip feeding right-wing poison. Every day they test the limits by edging further away from right-wing and closer to fascism. du Plessis-Allan is more dangerous than Hosking. Hosking yells his opinions through the microphone demanding his audience accept the logic of his semi-educated babble. du Plessis-Allan in soft feminine tones suggests and infers. Her appeal to the right comes lightly through the back door. A quality that, in my opinion, makes her very dangerous indeed.

But first we should go back to the beginning. What is a fascist and in what way is du Plessis-Allan pushing us in that direction? Well, the relevant part of being a fascist is described by Wikipedia as follows.     

The extreme authoritarianism of fascism often manifests a belief in racial purity usually synthesized with some racism of a demonized “Other“. The idea of racial purity has motivated fascists to commit  sterilizations, mass killings, or deportations against the perceived “Other”.

So, what evidence do we have that du Plessis-Allan’s soft tones could be spreading a vile message. Well, first, she was born in South Africa, not known for its white liberalism, especially among the whites who couldn’t wait to emigrate elsewhere. du Plessis-Allan and her family got out when she was twelve years-old. One does wonder whether the genesis of the sadder chapters in South Africa’s history are being spread here? If they are, we can do without it.

In the meantime, it would be interesting to know where the du Plessis-Allan family stood during the apartheid years. Were they part of a small group of whites who fought for an end to apartheid and the liberation of South Africa’s black population? Or were they part of the majority of whites who enjoyed blacks being paid 10% of white pay for the same job. Did they support blacks being denied the right to buy or rent property on confiscated land? Did they vote for the National Party and support its laws to implement apartheid?

What we do know is that du Plessis-Allan’s racial history in New Zealand is not squeaky clean. For example, in 2019 the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) upheld a complaint against du Plessis-Allan’s who described the Pacific Islands as leeches.

It found her comments were inflammatory, devalued the reputation of Pasifika people and had the potential to cause widespread harm. The BSA ruled that du Plessis-Allan had breached good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards. The BSA noted the public condemnation of du Plessis-Allan and acknowledged the Authority’s responsibility to reflect the values and attitudes of New Zealand.

du Plessis-Allan’s is reported to have said, “I mean, it’s the Pacific Islands. What are we going to get out of them? They are nothing but leeches on us. I mean, the Pacific Islands want money from us. We don’t need money from them.”

There are many comments I would like to make about the character and morality of anyone guilty of that verbal atrocity. Certainly, in my opinion, the author has no place in a country like New Zealand. That is not free speech. That is an obscenity.

And then tonight, in my view, she did it again. This time du Plessis-Allan was commenting on an exchange of emails between a Government COVID advisor and the Ministry of Health. According to du Plessis-Allan the advisor wrote to the Ministry saying that testing for the virus should focus on Pacific Island people in South Auckland. That, the advisor warned, was where the disease could first get out of control. The Government rejected the recommendation, saying the idea of selecting a race and location for medical procedures could be seen as “racist and dangerous”. Thank God for a Government that understands the origin and dangers of racial profiling.

Of course, du Plessis-Allan did not agree with the Government’s reply. To quote her from two years ago, “I mean, it’s the Pacific Islands.” To quote from Wikipedia, “a demonized (South Pacific) other”. du Plessis-Allan’s arrogance appears to know no limits. What doesn’t she understand about the world history of selecting racial groups for special medical procedures? People are not cattle. Every Pacific Islander in South Auckland would be totally justified in refusing to participate in the advisor’s recommended medical profiling. I would recommend that du Plessis-Allan read “Medical Care and the Nazis” at this link, Medical Care, Nazism, and the Holocaust | Experiencing History: Holocaust Sources in Context (ushmm.org)

I wonder what she would say about the view that anyone born in South Africa should be denied COVID health care? But I guess from her point of view. “I mean, it’s the Pacific Islands” not a racially pure Arian from white South Africa.  

As I have said, in my opinion, she is an extremely dangerous woman.