Even the dogs had something to say the Hastings Howl of Protest. Photo / Paul Taylor
Even the dogs had something to say the Hastings Howl of Protest. Photo / Paul Taylor
Protest is a fine thing, but what happens next?
The ball would appear to be in Labour's court, at least over the next month or so. Farmers say if nothing happens in the next four weeks, they are taking further action.
In Tukituki, a former National stronghold that Labour's AnnaLorck grabbed by 1590 votes at the last election, the timing couldn't have been worse this week.
Farmers impacted by the 2020 drought, as well as Covid-19, have been demanding relief for years.
This week, they read that Labour had given $2.75 million to a Waipawa meth rehab programme that will sober up gang members, so they can carry on with gang life free of the shackles of addiction.
Labour have sure spilled the salt on to Tukituki's wound this week.
Where was Tukituki's Labour MP Anna Lorck when farmers were protesting in Hastings on Friday?
She had flagged in advance that she was going to be in Blenheim, stating she was "visiting RSE accommodation, hosted by a business that provides seasonal labour both here in Hawke's Bay and Marlborough, so I can see for myself the work under way in another growing region".
Lorck isn't shy of going to farming protests where she can sniff political gain, but in this case, what would she have gained in Hastings on Friday?
Advice bordering on abuse from National stalwarts, Berocca jokes that are getting a little old now and maybe an awkward moment with the bright spark who flew the "It's called New Zealand'' banner at the Hastings Showgrounds.
(Sadly, the person who spent all of 10 minutes painting that one didn't read the protest rules which stated "Let's be in the media for the right reasons").
Nope, not really a Labour MP-friendly crowd.
There was little political gain at the Howl of Protest for Tukituki MP Anna Lorck.
The other reason you wouldn't expect to see a local MP at the protest, is that the person who should take the biggest notice of this week's noise is PM Jacinda Ardern.
The list of seven demands from the Howl of Protest organisers Groundswell NZ are aimed higher up the political chain.
Labour will be considering whether it can move on some of the demands, given that the rural discontent is eroding the record majority it enjoyed at the last election.
And it would be worth considering how to not make life hard for itself, and its MPs like Lorck, by sticking its foot in its mouth with meth rehab projects using Proceeds of Crime money that hard-working cops helped recoup.
