Now-former chair of Te Whatu Ora Rob Campbell is refusing to go quietly, tensions are high at Napier public meeting and Indonesian forces negotiating the Kiwi pilot held hostage to be released in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Conspiracy theorist Liz Gunn has broken her silence on her Auckland Airport arrest, describing police actions as “vicious” and claiming she offered no resistance to a “hulk” of a police officer.
Former TV presenter Gunn was arrested on Saturday night after a scuffle at the airport’s international arrivals hall.
Gunn made the comments in a lengthy text message to Sean Plunket, which the broadcaster read in full on-air.
The message, which made several references to both fascism and communism, offered her retelling of the arrest in detail. Police told the Herald they could not comment about Gunn’s claims while the matter was before the courts. Auckland Airport directed any questions to police.
She described the moment she was arrested as “vicious”.
“Once he had viciously cuffed my hurt wrist for no reason except intimidation and dominance, I had offered no resistance, I repeated my question. I was at all times in lawyer mode, seeking answers, and exploring my rights calmly and cogently. I said twice ‘under what piece of legislation are you doing this’ and the second time he snarled: ‘I don’t have to tell you that’”.
Gunn said she was “less than half the size” of the man who arrested her.
“I’m 63, weighed less than half the hulk’s size, offered no resistance and within 15 seconds he had my arm sharply and very roughly high twisted behind my back, was pulling at my thumb while contorting my hand at the wrist and kicking me under my body.
Gunn claimed her arrest was "vicious". Photo / Facebook
She claimed the man responded “good” when she said he was hurting her and said she felt like her thumb was going to break during the arrest.
Gunn and a cameraman had been trying to film the arrival into New Zealand of members of a family who had been kept in lockdown in Tokelau after refusing the Covid vaccine but Gunn characterised that encounter as “simply filming friends arriving” and claimed she was not verbally trespassed by Auckland Airport staff before police became involved.
Auckland Airport requires media to seek clearance before they film there - a long-standing rule that is well-known by the media.
Gunn claimed the rules did not apply to her.
“We make no regular income and are not a commercial enterprise, we do this mahi from love.”
After starting her career as a litigation lawyer, Gunn presented Sunday for TVNZ in the early 1990s. She was part of the original TVNZ Breakfast team alongside Mike Hosking and Susan Wood in 1997. In 2001, Gunn took Alison Mau’s place as host, forming a team alongside Hosking, but sparked headlines when she suddenly quit live on air.
During her stint at TVNZ between 1990 and 2003, Gunn also worked at Radio New Zealand, hosting a number of shows before finishing in 2016.
Liz Gunn appeared on TVNZ's Breakfast before she quit live on-air.
Her more recent media activities have played out on social media in the shape of conspiratorial videos. She was also a prominent supporter of the parents in the case of Baby W - in which the baby’s parents did not want their ill baby to receive a blood transfusion from anyone who had received the Covid vaccine.
In 2021, Gunn suggested that an earthquake that hit the central North Island was Mother Nature’s response to then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement about new vaccination targets, passports, and the traffic light system.
Singer Lizzie Marvelly replied to Barry, agreeing with the popular TV host: “It feels very painful to watch. I worry for her. And also despair for the people she’s influencing and dragging down the rabbit hole with her.”
