Diplomatic Protection Service officers stand by the car.
Diplomatic Protection Service officers stand by the car.
The Prime Minister's van was targeted by protesters who used their vehicles to attempt to block it during a disturbing incident in the Bay of Islands.
Videos shared online show the group yelling abuse at a vehicle they believed contained Jacinda Ardern, as officers with the Diplomatic Protection Service stand guard.
"Shame on you!" a voice cries out, adding: "We do not consent. Ngāpuhi does not consent!"
One of the group filming says: "There's Jacinda" and another claims the PM is "hiding in the van".
Diplomatic Protection Service officers stand by the car.
The video, shot on the waterfront in Paihia and posted to social media last week, shows the Mercedes V-Class attempt to pull out on to the main road, taking to the footpath to avoid a car attempting to block it in
The video, shot from inside the vehicle that attempted to block the government car, then shows the group following the Mercedes through Paihia as they joke about being arrested.
A woman in the car pursuing says: "Oh this is fun! We're on a chase", before a man says the group just wanted "a few words" with Jacinda Ardern.
"We're in pursuit for the Prime Minister," they joke as they follow the Mercedes 7-seater.
Both the Prime Minister's office and the police refused to comment on the incident, saying they don't comment on the Prime Minister's security arrangements.
Photos shared online showed both the Prime Minister and Governor-General Cindy Kiro attending an event at Waitangi late last week, part of a low-key visit understood to be related to the decision to cancel in-person Waitangi Day events.
Her visit was met by protesters, many complaining about the Government's Covid response and sharing anti-vaccine views.
Approached by the Herald, a Ngāpuhi spokesperson noted: "Our observations from Waitangi in the weekend suggest the majority of the protesters were European, so perhaps you could get their whakaaro [opinion]?"
The spokesperson added that iwi in the region have previously made their support for vaccination clear, pointing to an online declaration that states: "Our Iwi collectively stand together in our call for all of our uri and individuals - living inside or outside our tribal territories - to have the Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible."
Some online believed that the group had got away easy after the stunt, noting that the response would have been very different in most overseas jurisdictions.
Another said that protests targeting the PM were "getting out of hand".
The vehicle was forced onto the footpath to avoid the protestors' car.
The Prime Minister has been repeatedly targeted by protesters opposed to the Government's Covid response, including in Northland.
In November last year she visited Kawakawa where a media conference was interrupted by a protester with a baby, singing and shouting.
The woman canvassed a range of issues including that Ngāpuhi had not ceded sovereignty.
A press conference was then interrupted by American pharmacist Shane Chafin, who harangued Ardern over the use of the Covid-19 vaccine in New Zealand.
She was targeted days later in Whanganui, where a large group congregated outside a vaccine centre.
Speaking to media in Whanganui later that day, Ardern said she wasn't surprised at the level of hostility towards her and she wasn't taking it personally, vowing to "continue on".
