A man who allegedly used a crowbar to smash in a window at the home of New Zealand’s foreign minister “during a protest” has been charged, police confirmed on Tuesday.
Winston Peters posted to social media on Monday evening saying “a disgusting coward” had smashed a window in his Auckland home and left a sign on the door.
“Glass was shattered all over our dog. He also left a sign on the front door. I wasn’t home. But my partner and guest were. This is truly gutless,” Peters said. Peters told media on Tuesday the note said “welcome to the real world”.
Supt Sunny Patel said a man believed to be responsible for the damage on Monday evening had handed himself into police, and will appear in Auckland district court on Friday, charged with burglary.
“Police have charged a person following an incident where a window was smashed during a protest last night,” Patel said.
Police recognise the right to lawful protest, but did not condone protest action where property is damaged, he said. The police did not specify the nature of the protest.
New Zealand enjoys relatively open access to its politicians and violence directed towards lawmakers is fairly rare, however some politicians – particularly women – have faced increasing threats and harassment in recent years. During the 2023 election campaign multiple candidates reported experiencing attacks, break-ins and abuse.
Peters said “New Zealanders need to be deeply concerned about where our country is going and see who are the perpetrators of this divisive and violent behaviour.”
Opposition politicians, Labour’s Chris Hipkins, and Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick condemned the vandalism.
“Winston Peters’ home should not have been the target for the protest and political violence is never okay,” Hipkins told broadcaster RNZ.
Speaking to the NZ Herald, Swarbrick said the party had always explicitly condemned attacks on people’s homes.
“This crosses a threshold and goes well beyond people’s right to protest,” she said.
Peters has faced pressure from protest groups in recent weeks, after he announced New Zealand would not recognise Palestinian statehood – a stance that opposition parties, academics and members of the public have criticised as being out of step with the countries’ traditional allies, Australia, the UK and Canada.
Last week, dozens of Pro-Palestine protesters set up outside Peters’ home.
On Monday, the Green party and the families of three New Zealand activists detained in Israel after they were removed from vessels carrying aid to Gaza, called on Peters and the government to secure their safe return and to take a stronger stance against Israel.
