For the record

In an interview with the Herald Green MP Golriz Ghahraman says:

7 When did the trolling start and what do you know about these people?

The trolling began immediately after I announced my candidacy for Parliament. They tend to fall in two camps; one camp is the Dirty Politics commentators who are being paid to take a certain position. 

I’m not sure if she is referring to me, but when she announced her candidacy I welcomed it:

Great to see a refugee do so well in New Zealand they gain a Masters from Oxford and want to stand for Parliament. There will be many areas where I disagree with her, but I welcome her candidacy.

The Greens are certainly doing far better than Labour in attracting young talented New Zealanders to stand for them.

I only criticised Ghahraman when it turned out months later that her biographical claims were misleading (her own leader repeated false claims).

This isn’t trolling. It’s called holding MPs to account.

I’ll also give Ghahraman credit. During the period late last year when I was criticising her over her biographical claims, we were at a function together. She came over introduced herself, and we had a pleasant chat for 20 minutes or so (to the distress of her partner who kept complaining she was spending too much time talking to the one person in the room who would never vote for her!). I thought that took guts, and told quite a few people I was impressed she did so.

I have continued to criticise her when it is warranted, and I have also agreed with her occasionally.

And as I have stated many times, no one pays me a cent to blog anything.