Paul Reid

Auckland landlord and former Shortland St actor Paul Reid criticised his tenants Whammy Bar for continuing to ask for vaccine passes.

now there’s nothing more punk rock than “can I scan your vaccine pass please” lol,” Reid said in the review. ”With the Omicron peak reported to be over in Auckland, we don’t believe there is a need to stay in red – particularly if people continue to follow the health protocols and stay home if unwell.” Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said the Government needed to move the country to the orange traffic light setting immediately, and set a date for a move to green. She said the venues had decided to keep the passes because they were likely to be “wiped out” if Covid spread through staff and customers. Reid said on Tuesday he thought it was ironic a former punk rock venue which used to be “anti-establishment and anti-government” was “clinging so religiously to an outdated government mode of social exclusion”. Hospitality businesses that have continued to ask for vaccine passes despite a change in the rules have been subject to a torrent of online abuse.

Whammy Bar say they're looking after their community after landlord mocked them online.

We've made this decision based on that so to have somebody, for all intents and purposes, from the outside coming in questioning those business decisions like we hadn't thought about it is wild." "They're promoting ethics of inclusiveness and acceptance but it seems to not apply when it comes to somebody deciding not to stick a needle into their arm." "I just thought it was ironic that a formerly punk rock venue, which used to be so anti-establishment and anti-government, is clinging so religiously to this kind of government mode of social exclusion," he told the Herald. He conceded that Whammy did know its own community but thought the decision was "ironic". In reference to the marked criticism he has faced, Reid accepted that "nobody likes the landlord, I get that, it's not very punk". now there's nothing more punk rock than 'can I scan your vaccine pass please' lol [sic]." As far as Reid's claim that the decision damaged Whammy's punk credentials, Macrae said they were a diverse venue but the owners came from a punk rock background and were sticking to their values of keeping the community safe. She said his decision to discuss their financial arrangements was unprofessional and agreed with comments that suggested Reid should not be airing "dirty laundry". "We do know our own business and we know our clientele. She said the bar was taking the "temporary measure" to keep staff and customers safe while Covid numbers remained high. "And I'm the disgrace that wrote off $60,000 in rent owed that's me." "And then when they are allowed to open and get back to business are shafting themselves by excluding members of their own community into their venue."

Asked whether he was anti-vaccine or anti-mandate, Reid didn't give a definitive answer, telling Newshub: "I don't really like labels."

However, we live within the capitalist nightmare that we… “No such thing,” he scoffed. But he described Vammi Bar’s decision to keep the vaccine pass requirement “discriminatory,” saying he was opting to exclude certain members of the public.