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Liz Gunn
Elizabeth Jane Cooney, commonly known as Liz Gunn (born 1959 or 1960),[1] founded and led the New Zealand Loyal Party.[2] She is an anti-vaccination activist, conspiracy theorist, and a former television presenter from New Zealand.[3][4][5][6] Early lifeLiz Gunn was the second child of Chisne and Max Gunn (d. 2015 and 2009 respectively).[7] Max was an accountant who became known as an activist shareholder in the 1980s.[8] He married late in life after serving in World War II. Liz said she had a "difficult relationship" with her mother Chisne, who self-medicated back pain with alcohol. Her uncle Jack Gunn captained the New Zealand Davis Cup team.[9] Law and broadcasting careerGunn was a litigation lawyer before beginning her TV career on the TVNZ show Sunday in 1992.[10] From 1997 she was the first Breakfast newsreader, becoming one of the show's co-hosts (alongside Mike Hosking) in 2001. She unexpectedly quit that role on-air during the year's last episode. By then she had also begun broadcasting on Radio New Zealand.[11] Other television roles included reporting for Holmes and newsreading on 1News. Gunn moved to Australia after her TV presenting days ended in 2002, returning to New Zealand a decade later.[12] She rejoined RNZ until 2016.[13] In 2017 she became a director and one-third shareholder of a new company, Lifeforce Water Limited.[14] Anti-vaccination activismDuring the 2020s she became a leader in the anti-vaccination movement in New Zealand, and championed conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine causing harm.[15][16][17] When an earthquake struck the North Island in October 2021, Gunn called it Mother Nature's response to vaccination targets (which she described as "jab rape") and other covid-related policies implemented by the "tyrannical" Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.[18] She was a leader and spokesperson in the 2022 protests occupying the New Zealand parliament grounds.[19] In December 2022 she was the spokesperson for parents who refused to allow their child to have a blood transfusion using blood donations from vaccinated people.[20][21] Auckland Airport assaultIn February 2023 Gunn assaulted Auckland Airport security co-ordinator, Anna Kolodeznaya, at the airport's international arrivals gate.[5] Along with cameraman Jonathan Clark, she was there to film the arrival of an unvaccinated family arriving from Tokelau. They scuffled with the security guard and were both arrested by airport police.[22] She appeared in court the next month, charged with assault, trespass, and resisting arrest. Her plea was not guilty, and she was released on bail.[6][23] Gunn missed her next court date in June, citing illness, but appeared in October and at a pre-trial hearing in January 2024.[24][25] Gunn and Clark's trial started on 7 May 2024. Speaking to supporters upon arrival, she asked for prayers and said that New Zealand ought to "come back home to God".[26] The judge dismissed the trespass charge, leaving Gunn defending charges of assault and resisting arrest. The victim, Kolodeznaya, testified that Gunn and Clark were asked to stop using professional filming equipment in the airport, for which they hadn't sought permission. During an argument that followed, Gunn grabbed Kolodeznaya's arm, hurting her.[26][27] Kolodeznaya also testified that Gunn asked her, “Where are you from originally?” and that she said, “the way it started in Germany was with little freedoms being taken”.[26] In her own testimony, Gunn attempted to explain her description of Kolodeznaya and another airport worker as "real Nazis".[28] Judgement and convictionGunn was found guilty of assault.[29] Both she and Clark were found not guilty of resisting arrest. The judge's verdict, delivered on 21 May 2024, described Gunn's behaviour at the airport as "arrogant, rude, overbearing and offensive".[30][31][32][33] Gunn applied for a discharge without conviction and also attempted to appeal her case to the High Court. These actions conflicted with each other (an appeal requires a conviction, which could not be entered while her application was being considered) so her appeal failed.[34] Gunn was convicted and discharged without being sentenced on 19 November. The judge agreed that Gunn's offence was low level but noted her "remarkable lack of insight" or remorse, as well as her "entirely self-serving" actions which served her "broader political purpose". The judgement also described her as a "conspiracy theorist", which Gunn disputed outside the court. Despite being found guilty, Gunn applied unsuccessfully to have her legal costs covered by Police.[35] She indicated that she might appeal to the High Court again.[36] New Zealand Loyal (2023-24)New Zealand Loyal was a short-lived political party founded by Liz Gunn in June 2023, and which participated in the general election that year. In the launch video she discussed conspiracies involving fluoridation, 1080, Bill Gates, "gender programming", the World Economic Forum, media, the 15-minute city urban planning concept, the "brown mafia", and odd weather patterns. She requested donations of up to $1,000,000 and stated an ambition to have 500 people (the minimum required to register a party) join within a week.[37] Gunn said at the time that it is a "compliment" to be called a conspiracy theorist, but by the end of the election campaign she was tired of that label.[25] New Zealand Loyal was registered two months after Gunn's initial announcement. Its official logo included the slogan, "Loyal to You, Not to Them".[38] Gunn said that the slogan refers to "the globalists".[39] The party was officially deregistered at what the Electoral Commission called the party's own request in July 2024, but that November a new party board claimed that Gunn had deregistered the party unilaterally. Without Gunn's involvement, they announced their intention to rebuild the party and fight the next general election.[40][35] 2023 general electionNZ Loyal intended to enter a 15-person party list in the 2023 New Zealand general election, but failed to register most of those individuals in time. Ultimately, Gunn was one of only two candidates on the party list.[41] She consequently started calling a vote for NZ Loyal a "protest vote" that would reduce the number of MPs in parliament, by effectively electing empty seats.[42] Gunn initially took responsibility for the administrative debacle, putting it down to "human error" within the party. Some days later she instead blamed "contradictory advice" from the Electoral Commission, which the party suspected may have been deliberate sabotage.[43] The party had misunderstood the difference between its "bulk information schedule" (which applies to constituency candidates and could be amended until noon on 15 September) and its actual party list (which could not).[44] New Zealand Loyal stood candidates in 33 electorates. Liz Gunn was not one of them.[45] During the 2023 election, NZ Loyal received 1.20% of the party vote (34,456 votes), and won no electorates, so did not enter parliament.[46] Having claimed during campaigning that her party would win 2 million votes, Gunn's response to preliminary results was that New Zealand was ruled by a "criminal cabal and at the very least, utter bullies."[47] References
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