Willie Jackson: Millionaire mouthpiece for the struggling?

Willie Jackson jumped on X this morning to deliver one of his usual sermons on poverty, injustice and the so-called horrors of Budget 2025. "We have two New Zealands," he wrote with dramatic flair. "One where the rich are wealthy and sorted, and one where people who aren't suffer." Stirring words, until you remember that Willie Jackson is very much in the wealthy and sorted group, and has been for a long time.

This is a man who earns over $160,000 a year from the taxpayer, owns a South Auckland home that was recently on the market for $2.5 million, and has spent his career pretending to be the voice of the working class while enjoying every benefit that comes with political status and ‘Māorish’ privilege. The hypocrisy is staggering.

Jackson speaks of people getting only the crumbs from the table. But Willie Jackson has never missed a feast. He has never turned down a parliamentary pay cheque or declined a taxpayer-funded benefit. He has not sold off property or taken a real financial stand against the inequality he claims to fight.

If Jackson truly believes in unlocking potential by helping others, he could start by living the values he preaches. Sell the mansion. Donate some proceeds to youth homelessness organisations. Resign from the public gravy train and put in the real work at the coalface of the communities he claims to champion.

Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament: Summary of annual returns as at 31 January 2024

We all know that will not happen. Because this is not about the people. It is about political posturing and protecting privilege, all while trying to sound like a revolutionary from a place of comfort and security.

There really are two New Zealands. One where people sleep in their cars, skip meals and live in uncertainty. And another where Willie Jackson complains about inequality from the comfort of a multi-million dollar home and hopes the rest of us will not notice.