Come on Mr Luxon, this is a gift for you in your current situation. Pick up the phone and shout at the right person.
The recent decision by the Crown Solicitor to drop charges against Te Wehi Heketoro Ratana is nothing short of a surrender to crime and criminals. By allowing an activist to walk away without consequences after defacing a national treasure at Te Papa, the legal system has sent a dangerous message: if your politics are loud enough (or brown enough), the law doesn’t apply to you.
The Crown said there was ‘sufficient evidence’ for a conviction regarding intentional damage. But they folded simply because the defence introduced a ‘tikanga statement’. Since when did personal ideology or cultural perspectives become a ‘get out of jail free’ card for blatant vandalism? Does a self-declared communist get to steal because they don’t believe in private property? A jury trial was the appropriate venue to weigh these arguments, but the public has been robbed of that transparency.
This isn’t just about a wooden panel; it’s about the precedent of ‘public interest’. It is firmly in the public interest to protect our shared history and ensure that those who use spray paint to silence others face the music. It’s ALL about getting tough on crime and criminals. Instead, Ratana’s lawbreaking was rewarded with a theatre production and a gallery showing, while the taxpayer is left to foot the bill for the damage and the aborted legal proceedings. Yet AGAIN, the hardworking taxpayer is robbed by yet another activist. ENOUGH is ENOUGH.
By dismissing these charges, the Crown has effectively signalled that our museums and all other public property are open season for anyone with a grievance and a spray can an ideology. If we stop enforcing the law based on the identity or the ‘statement’ of the vandal, we no longer have a justice system; we have a hierarchy of privilege where some are held accountable and others are allowed to remain above the law. And the taxpayer is screwed over AGAIN.
eN-Zed 