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Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson say their MP Benjamin Doyle has received death threats following criticism of Doyle’s social media posts.
The controversy began on March 29 when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters posted on Facebook that the media needs to “start asking serious questions about Doyle and his ‘alternate’ social media account ‘BibleBeltBussy’ – what that really means and his posts – some of which have apparently been deleted.
“If it were any MP from a Government party the media would’ve already headlined it.
“The silence from the Green Party leadership amongst the swirling allegations and innuendo online is deafening.
“This is the guy who wants to provide puberty blockers on demand and surgery for children.
“Doyle has been placed in Parliament to sabotage ethical beliefs our society stands for.”
Doyle uses the pronouns “they” and “them”.
It’s been suggested Doyle’s use of the term “bussy” is a reference to a male’s anus.
News media are reporting the ‘BibleBeltBussy’ account posted a photo of Doyle with a child and the caption “bussy galore”.
Today, March 31, Swarbrick and Davidson said they’re calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon “to end the attacks on the rainbow community coming from his Deputy Prime Minister”.
“This morning, the Deputy Prime Minister has decided to double down on disinformation, fanning the flames of hatred towards the rainbow community that we have recently seen can lead to real world violence,” Swarbrick says.
“Over the weekend, we reached out to the Prime Minister directly, and New Zealand First’s chief of staff, to ensure they understand the danger this behaviour creates.
“We have been screening immense numbers of death threats and abuse directed at our MP, Benjamin Doyle and their child.
“These are driven by dangerous conspiracy thinking amplified by Destiny Church and the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Members of any minority community, like our rainbow community, are accustomed to using and co-opting terms that may not be well understood by external groups, oftentimes with irreverence and absurdity.
“The central conspiracy here is that the use of such a word on a private account by an MP, before they were an MP, is inherently suspicious.
“This isn’t a game. We’ve seen Destiny Church physically attack people at Drag Story Time only a month ago, grounded in the deeply dangerous trope that the rainbow community presents a danger to children.
“These attacks on Benjamin come from the same playbook.
“Enough is enough. The Prime Minister must shut down this behaviour.”
Following a press conference at Parliament by Swarbrick and Davidson this morning, Peters again took to social media to say the “deluded” Green Party wants to invoke and hide behind “identity politics”.
“How are Doyle’s own social media posts, that he posted himself, suddenly ‘disinformation’,” Peters says.
“Or is there a new thing called ‘self-inflicted disinformation’ now?
“All we have said is they are inappropriate and the media need to ask questions.
“How is that ‘disinformation’? How is that an attack on ‘rainbow community’?
“If it was a ‘straight white male MP’ doing the same thing with dodgy posts, we would call it out too.
“It’s clear the Green Party think that Doyle’s posts, language and innuendo are perfectly acceptable.
“The rest of New Zealand does not, including members of the rainbow community.
“Any Kiwi looking at those posts would have some serious questions and doubts about the suitability of these Green Party MPs.”
Peters also says there are questions to be answered about Doyle’s use of the term “bussy” on social media.
“We are not accusing him of anything. If the police want to investigate they can.
“The public can decide their judgement. But the public have a right to know who and what they are voting for.
“It highlights without doubt the type of dubious standards the Green Party has when selecting their MPs.”
The Green Party says Doyle will not be at Parliament this week and the party is working with the Parliamentary Service to manage the security threat.
