, the name Benjamin "Bussy" Doyle came up once again. I found myself praising Penny for her quick work in capturing screen recordings from Doyle’s official Instagram account, no small feat considering he has it completely locked down.
This led me to a bigger question: Why do we have a Member of Parliament whose official social media accounts are private, yet still promoted through the Green Party’s own website?
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If you visit Benjamin Doyle's profile on the Greens’ official website (greens.org.nz/benjamin_doyle), you’ll find two social media links:
What’s troubling is that both accounts are locked down and inaccessible to the public.
While Doyle’s Facebook page offers little to see, his Instagram account is more revealing, at least through the bio, which reads:
"Green Party list MP 💚 Kirikiriroa Ngāpuhi, Te Kapotai, Te Popoto, Pākehā Mana takatāpui 💅🏻 Free 🇵🇸🇨🇩🇳🇨🇸🇩 Auth: M Ross, L5/108 The Terrace, WLG"
The authorisation line ("Auth: M Ross, L5/108 The Terrace, WLG") indicates this is not just a personal account. It is an official political page endorsed under New Zealand’s electoral advertising laws. This suggests that his Instagram account is intended for public political communication. So why is it hidden from the very people funding his salary?
Now, I could understand if Doyle chose to restrict comments to avoid spam or trolling. Political social media can quickly turn into a battleground, and managing that kind of engagement can be a full-time job - especially if you’re into posting pedophile emojis and captioning photos of children as ‘Bussy Galore’ or boy pussy to put it blunt. However, the decision to make the entire account private raises deeper concerns about transparency and accountability.
What exactly is being shielded from public view? If an MP’s official communications channels are closed off, it undermines public trust and the principle that elected representatives should be visible and accessible to their constituents.
Another important point: I’m no expert in Official Information Act (OIA) requests, but considering the clear authorisation noted in his Instagram bio, it raises the question: Could this account, despite being private, be subject to OIA scrutiny?
If it is, then New Zealanders have every right to ask: What is going on behind those locked profiles?
It's great to collab with you @matuakahurangi! Here is something important to take note of (I have only done this for Instagram, and only the party's main accounts, so not each MP's followings such as Doyle's own accounts...
I counted up Instagram followers of each of the political parties, this is very concerning:
OPPOSITION:
Te Pati Maori = 165,000
Greens = 93,900
Labour = 79,300
TOTAL: 338,200
COALITION:
National = 80,100
ACT = 13,400
NZ First = 3,500
TOTAL: 97,000
How is it that Te Pati Maori has more followers than any other political party?
My query is:
- the young (usually left-leaning) voters,
- the maori activist voters
- the people on benefits and
- the people in public sector/with govt salaries, who are typically left-leaning voters.
There are more 'politically activated' people on the left. That's not the same as the majority of the population. Just the majority of activists. We know that many Labour/left people are within our govt agencies, universities, education, medical system. In government advisory positions.
It's great to collab with you @matuakahurangi! Here is something important to take note of (I have only done this for Instagram, and only the party's main accounts, so not each MP's followings such as Doyle's own accounts...
I counted up Instagram followers of each of the political parties, this is very concerning:
OPPOSITION:
Te Pati Maori = 165,000
Greens = 93,900
Labour = 79,300
TOTAL: 338,200
COALITION:
National = 80,100
ACT = 13,400
NZ First = 3,500
TOTAL: 97,000
How is it that Te Pati Maori has more followers than any other political party?
My query is:
- the young (usually left-leaning) voters,
- the maori activist voters
- the people on benefits and
- the people in public sector/with govt salaries, who are typically left-leaning voters.
There are more 'politically activated' people on the left. That's not the same as the majority of the population. Just the majority of activists. We know that many Labour/left people are within our govt agencies, universities, education, medical system. In government advisory positions.