BARRY SOPER: There seems to be a perception among the ignorant out there that Cabinet Ministers sit around the table every Monday, wringing their hands, thinking how they can make our lives a misery.
You only have to listen to the rhetoric surrounding the Trans Pacific Partnership to arrive at that conclusion. This Government is linking arms with Uncle Sam for the hillbilly hoedown, well that's what they'd have you believe.
But that's rhetoric and in a democracy we're all entitled to have a say, regardless of how ridiculous the proposition might be and regardless of which party happens to be sitting on the Treasury benches.
It's when the political rhetoric becomes the reality of physical abuse that it becomes a step too far and that occurred in Christchurch yesterday.
At a time when Cantabrians were remembering the 185 deaths in the city five years ago it was no time for protest. That occurred over the weekend when some rightly vented their frustration that their insurance claims still hadn't been settled.