A climate change advocate was arrested for painting an example of projected rising sea levels on an MP's office window.

Police confirmed Rowan Manley Campbell was arrested for disorder and received a pre-charge warning, after spraying a pink line across Coromandel MP Scott Simpson's office window in Thames on Tuesday morning.

The line represented the potential risk of a one-metre sea level rise hitting the town.

Campbell and his mother Margette Campbell, alongside fellow members of Extinction Rebellion, convened outside the Pollen St office, disappointed with the lack of action against climate change. 

Extinction Rebellion convened outside the Pollen St office, disappointed with the lack of declaration for a climate emergency in the district.

Thames-Coromandel District Council opted to vote against signing the Local Government Leader's Climate Change Declaration in April this year.

Thames and the wider district is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. It has 400 kilometres of coastline, and much of its infrastructure is on the coast.

Rowan Campbell said the line was taken from the Waikato Regional Council inundation mapping tool, set at 4.22 metres which reflects a serious storm plus the one metre projected sea level rise identified by the IPCC and accepted by local government.

Margette Campbell met with Simpson, National's environment and climate change spokesperson, on Tuesday, and asked why he had made no comment on what she said was a spate of climate change denial commentary from his party colleagues.

Meanwhile, her son Rowan Manley Campbell spray-painted the line and Extinction Rebellion logo on the window, whilst being supported by members of Extinction Rebellion from Waihi Beach, Waihi and Thames.

Police confirmed Campbell was arrested for disorder and taken into the Thames Police Station.



"We need to draw the line on climate change," Campbell said in a statement released to Stuff.

"Scott (Simpson) has said climate change is too big to play politics with, and yet claims from National MP Matt King that climate change is "natural" go unchallenged from within his own party."

King had shared a post on social media that had been adapted from a US source and described climate change as"natural".

"You can't be serious about climate change action and give space to unscientific denialism," Campbell said.

But Simpson said the protesters' frustration was misdirected, and that he and the National Party were the "wrong targets".

He said he felt his meeting with Margette Campbell at the time of the protest was "hijacked" and a "set up".

Extinction Rebellion member Rowan Manley Campbell was arrested for disorder and received a pre-charge warning, after spraying a pink line across Coromandel MP Scott Simpson's office window in Thames on Tuesday morning.

"My concern is that action of this sort, physical vandalism, to anything let alone an MP's office, doesn't help the debate, doesn't add to bringing about a satisfactory outcome, and isn't helpful in the general discussion of serious issues like climate change.

"I'd like to think I'm easily available and accessible to constituents.

"I've had a number of meetings with groups and individuals on climate change issues; it is a matter I take seriously and so does the National Party.

"We want to engage with the Government in what we hope will be a cross-party bipartisan fashion on their Zero Carbon Bill, but the ball is in the court of the government in terms of progressing those discussions," he said.

Article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115496729/extinction-rebellion-protester-arrested-for-spraypainting-mps-thames-office
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