ACT party
The Prime Minister just made a decision that could be career defining if the Ihumatao development now doesn’t go ahead.
Jacinda Ardern has legitimised unlawful behaviour by capitulating to an illegal occupation as her opening move.
The PM has cultivated a brand of a kinder, more inclusive politics, but some things such as occupying private property are always wrong. She has just sent the message: “If you occupy private property, the government will take your side instead of protecting property rights.”
It appears that the prime minister has prevented the legal owners of land from carrying out a consented development, and offered the protesters a seat at the table.
I hoped Jacinda Ardern might have some sort of master plan to persuade the protesters to back down, but instead, she left to spend three days in Tokelau, a country whose population is a quarter of Kaitaia’s.
ACT sincerely hopes that the prime minister does succeed in protecting the legitimate property rights of the developer, and the wider system of property rights that a prosperous economy requires. However, at this point, it looks more likely that she’s made a career-defining error.