"Good luck with those people on your front lawn."
That was the message delivered to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern by a local iwi representative about the protest occupation at Parliament.
Ardern visited Rotorua today where she launched a conservation and restoration project near Rotorua.
She, and Labour List MP Tāmati Coffey, went to the Project Whakahaumanu site on Okere Rd - a joint venture between local iwi and company Kaitiaki Adventures.
During the official welcome, iwi representative Piki Thomas thanked Ardern for "looking after our people" and keeping New Zealanders safe.
"Despite the ups and downs, we thank you for making those hard decisions. And good luck with those people on your front lawn. That's all I'm going to say about that," he said.
The project is part of the Government's Jobs For Nature funding scheme - which helps fund projects to help keep the workforce employed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jason Wright, of Kaitiaki Adventures, said they intended to open a marketplace on the site to operate every second week, allowing locals to sell their wares.
The project also involved the planting of a community garden and thousands of native plants.
The project, which was given $220,265 over one year, had allowed Kaitiaki Adventures to hold on to its tourism staff and increase its workforce. Wright said he now employed 16 people.
Wright described the domestic tourism market as "lumpy and chunky" which meant his white water rafting guides were busy at the weekend but staff had little to do during the week.
The project kept staff employed while working on something they could leave behind for future generations.
Ardern told the crowd Jobs For Nature was not only about providing jobs during the pandemic, it was also about leaving a legacy.
She said she was in Rotorua hours before New Zealand went into the first lockdown because she knew the massive impact it was going to have on Rotorua's visitor industry.
That's why schemes such as Jobs for Nature were started.
She said it was important that during the pandemic they didn't just save lives - and scientists had told her New Zealand's approach to Covid-19 had saved an estimated "up to 5000 lives".
"I hope that you soon will get back to doing what you love ... I look forward to that so, so much."
With help from children at Whangamarino School, Ardern popped on some gumboots and planted a native fern at the site. The hole was dug for her and she commented that whoever did that must have thought she was "weak".
She went on to dig another two or three holes herself and planted more plants.
The wishing tree appeal is in its 31st year and the need for it 'has never been greater'.