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Anti-vax group wanting to make NZ 'ungovernable' targets local body elections | Stuff.co.nz

 

An anti-vaccination, anti-mandate group which says it wants to make the country “ungovernable” is standing candidates in local body elections to “sway the results (and) throw our weight around”.

 

Voices For Freedom (VFF) openly campaigned to get supporters into decision-making positions but told candidates to hide their affiliations - prompting a warning to voters to thoroughly research candidates before voting.

 

A prominent VFF guest speaker, Gill Booth, confirmed she was running for her local community board, after telling supporters in June to “absolutely disrupt and rip to pieces our local council”.

 

Jaspreet Boparai, a Southland dairy farmer who pushes a conspiracy about a UN agenda to enslave humanity through the Covid pandemic, also put her name forward for election.

 

Boparai regularly speaks about the conspiracy to thousands of VFF supporters online, spreading disinformation that New Zealand councils directly follow “orders” set out in an agenda by the United Nations and World Economic Forum.

 

In an email sent on August 9, Deeks told potential candidates not to make their support of Voices for Freedom known. “Don’t put “Voices for Freedom” or “VFF” as the affiliation or group represented when filling out the candidate paperwork,” the email read.