Covid 19 coronavirus: Former Northland MP Matt King defends controversial Covid post

National leader Judith Collins in Whangārei last year with Shane Reti, left, and Matt King. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Former Northland MP Matt King is defending sharing a video which claims lockdowns are ''bunk'' and people without symptoms can't spread Covid-19.

King, who lost the seat to Labour's Willow-Jean Prime at the last election, shared the hour-long video by former Pfizer executive Michael Yeadon on his Facebook page at 7am on Saturday.

By 4pm yesterday it had attracted 569 comments and been shared 142 times, and had prompted his former boss, National leader Judith Collins, to distance the party from his post.

Yeadon also questions the safety of the Covid vaccine and describes the virus as less dangerous than the flu for people aged under 70 or without pre-existing medical conditions.

King said he was not against vaccination and believed the jab should be available to anyone who wanted it — but wanted a debate about the effect of ongoing lockdowns on struggling local businesses and Kiwis' mental health.

Many of the key points in Yeadon's video, including his arguments about why lockdowns don't work, have been debunked by medical experts.

That didn't stop the majority of people commenting on King's post applauding him for bravery, ''standing up against censorship'' and not blindly toeing the line.

One commenter, however, was concerned King might have ''shot himself in the foot'' ahead of the next Northland candidate selection, while another said similar misinformation had led to unnecessary deaths overseas.

In his post King described the video as compelling and highly informative.

''Please share widely,'' he wrote.

King told the Advocate he didn't agree with all Yeadon's views but shared his concern about lockdowns.

''I think having lockdowns as the way we deal with outbreaks is unsustainable. I'd like to know what the plan is for the future because locking us down is causing incredible suffering. I know people running businesses who are at their wits' end.''

King wanted to see more targeted approaches debated, for example putting more resources into protecting vulnerable groups while allowing healthy people to go about their business.

He also wanted the Government to give people hope of a return to normality by specifying that the borders would re-open to low-risk countries once the country reached, for example, a 70 per cent vaccination rate.

King had been disturbed by being labelled an anti-vaxxer because he believed anyone who wanted a vaccination should get one.

''We need to be able to talk freely and openly about where to from here, without venom, animosity and cancel-culture shutdowns.''

He had corrected anyone who mistook him for a current MP and made it clear any views were his own.

King said he had been vaccinated in the past but was ''waiting and watching'' before deciding on the Covid jab.

Former Northland MP Matt King (right) with National leader Judith Collins and environment spokesman Scott Simpson during a visit to Kerikeri last year. Photo / Peter de Graaf

National's deputy leader, Whangārei-based MP Shane Reti, said the post was not consistent with the party's thinking.

''My understanding is that Matt was looking to encourage a debate. I don't think he's confirming it as his views, he's just putting it on the table.''

Asked whether the video could discourage vaccinations and thereby drag out lockdowns, Reti said at times sharing views required care.

''In a democracy it's good to have a multiplicity of views but sometimes you need to be cautious with the views you put out to say, 'What do you think?', to make sure they don't have unintended, harmful consequences.''

Reti said Yeadon's claim about lockdowns was incorrect because transmission without symptoms was possible even with the Delta strain. The former GP said he had long raised concerns in Parliament about the risk of asymptomatic transmission.

''So lockdowns definitely have a role to play,'' he said.

National leader Judith Collins said King was not an MP and was free to express his opinions, but they were not the views of the party.

''National have been emphatic that vaccinations are the key to New Zealand getting through Covid-19 and back to some semblance of normality,'' she said.

The Ministry of Health said the Pfizer vaccine used in New Zealand had passed the safety requirements set by MedSafe, the body responsible for approving drugs and vaccines.

Current evidence showed two doses of the vaccine gave about 88 per cent protection against illness and 96 per cent against hospitalisation due to Delta infection.

Yeadon, an allergy and respiratory specialist, claimed lockdowns were ''bunk'' because the only people capable of spreading the virus were those who were so sick they were home in bed or in hospital.

''Everything the Government has told you about this virus to stay safe is a lie,'' he claimed.

Yeadon said he was not opposed to vaccines but objected to what he called unsafe or inappropriate use, believing the Covid jab should be limited to people in the high-risk over-70 group.

Towards the end of the video Yeadon becomes more extreme as he calls for a ''Nuremburg 2'' — like the trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II but with doctors in the dock for administering the vaccine.

The video was shared on a Queensland news site called Cairns News.

Other views promoted on Cairns News include the bizarre theory that deaths attributed to Covid-19 are caused by the Government ''activating'' the vaccine in target areas using drone-mounted laser technology.