The riots have of course brought into question what many people believed in. Not only have long time freedom fighters on the left, some of whom protested during the Springbok Tour where actual Police brutality was dished out, been in support of dismantling the “freedom” encampment, many right wing journalists have now seen the result of their biased reporting against the Labour Government writ large across Parliaments lawn.
Today, the NZ Herald reported:
Covid 19 Wellington protest: Riots, fire and violence as police end occupation
Andrew Coster told Mike Hosking police had tried to work with protest organisers but a lack of leadership and cohesion made this impossible.
"We were left with no option to do what we did yesterday to restore the site."
"I'm pleased that we've got to here. I never wanted it to end like that, but we did what we had to do."
Government politicians will also be doing some soul searching over the next few days, not least of all the Prime Minister. What many people don’t realise is that Jacinda Ardern truly believes in her ‘be kind’ moto. It’s not just a nice catch phrase for her.
So when the rabble first started gathering and then turned to serious acts of violence outside of Parliament, she would have been mortified that there were so many disaffected people braying at her door, some with literal pitchforks.
Because of the way the protest was conducted and concluded, other Politicians should now be questioning their actions as well, not least of all David Seymour and Winston Peters. They both knew that what the “freedom” convoy stood for was bogus, but decided to raise their profiles anyway and in so doing legitimised the anarchists. They then took to social media to regurgitate some of the propaganda they’d seen that they thought would sit well with their voter base.
Looking over at the mess left behind at Parliament grounds, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson let out a heavy sigh.
"It's been an incredibly distressing time for Wellingtonians over the last three weeks - not only have they been harassed and spat at and bullied, but they've also seen the city that they love be trashed."
Robertson said we can never excuse what happened yesterday.
"It was appalling," he told Breakfast.
Most Kiwis who once agreed with the numerous causes the protesters apparently stood for will now be questioning that support. Nobody, apart from those who want to see Aotearoa destroyed, will be rejoicing at the chaos and mayhem that erupted in Wellington yesterday. The vast majority will be shocked and dismayed at the level of violence that was on display.
Clearly there are people with malignant intent towards this great country. Many have pointed out that much of the propaganda targeting the disaffected rioters has come from overseas. However it’s people operating within New Zealand that have propagated most of the propaganda...disinformation that has now resulted in widespread carnage.
Some have pointed at social media algorithms, but the truth of the matter is that brainwashing such a large number of Kiwis has only occurred because of a concerted and extensive campaign by a dedicated and large group of people, an operation that is ultimately designed to undermine our democracy.
But as a society, Robertson acknowledged more needed to be done to stop misinformation being spread in relation to Covid-19 and vaccines.
That included the Government working closely with some of the world's big social media sites to remind them of their responsibilities around such issues.
The information war is real and our intelligence systems have largely failed to curtail its more destructive effects. For instance, it’s terribly concerning (particularly after the Christchurch Mosque shootings) that white supremacists have been allowed to operate in plain site for such a long period of time against New Zealand’s best interests.
Some of these fanatics were even attempting to identify Police officers with the use of high-powered cameras during the Parliament riot. There is obviously only one reason they would want to gather such information, and it’s not good.
I would therefore urge anybody who might be targeted by such extremists to be extra careful about their security. The Parliament riot isn’t the end of their campaign against New Zealand. In fact it could just be the beginning.
