A group of protestors set up outside Thames-Coromandel MP Scott Simpson’s Thames office at 12.30 on May 30. The event was advertised as “protesting government attacks on our communities”, and invited locals to bring along all their issues, including mining, poverty, pay parity, climate denial, budget cuts and more.
Thames’ Labour representative, Beryl Riley, said the protest was the first of many.
“People are really upset and angry… this government doesn’t seem to be listening to the people, doesn’t seem to be seeing the hardship of ordinary New Zealanders,” she said.
“We’re seeing this as a way for people who are feeling angry and don’t know what to do about it, to at least gather, meet like minds, have a chat.”
Beryl said there were around 30 adults who attended the protest, along with 40 children from Thames South School Te Kura o Te Kauaeranga. She said they came from various Thames groups, including The Basket Hauraki, the combined trade union, Ngāti Maru, and others.
“We had lots of people get up and speak,” Beryl said.
“[There was] a lot of concern about how this was not a budget that was helping ordinary people get ahead.”
They plan to hold a protest on the last Friday of each month.
Scott Simpson was not in Thames on the day of the protest. However, he told The Profile that people were always welcome to protest peacefully as a fundamental democratic right.
“The budget’s gone down very well I think with most New Zealanders,” he said.
“I get completely that Labour Party members and activists don’t like what our government is doing but the simple fact is that we’re cleaning up a mess that was the result of six years of economic mismanagement and it’s going to take us some time to put that right.”
