PM Adern claims death threats from anti-1080 activists

This, and other allegations go unproven. The letter below sent by a lawyer to minister of Conservation (below) illustrates this.

PM Ardern receives death threats from anti-1080 extremists

MSN,

6 November, 2018

Newshub can reveal that the Prime Minister has received multiple threats from anti-1080 extremists - including at least one threatening her life.

Violence and threats of violence by the fringe protesters have spiked, and Jacinda Ardern says she has serious concerns for the safety of Department of Conservation (DoC) workers.

A peaceful anti-1080 protest was held down the road from the Labour Party conference over the weekend, well away from Ms Ardern and her family.

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She told Newshub she's received at least one death threat from anti-1080 extremists.

"I've had some incidents that I've been made aware of, but to be honest some of my greater concern is with those on the front line who receive these threats a bit more directly and a bit more personally."

One person posted on DoC's Facebook page warned that if their own daughter was poisoned by 1080, "I myself will find each of you DoC muppets and slaughter the skin off your faces and have you living inches before death."

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says anti-1080 extremists have engaged in not just threats, but potentially deadly action.

"Tampering with vehicles, shooting down helicopters, putting wires across valleys to bring helicopters down - they're completely unacceptable."

Threats and harassment against DoC staff have shot up this year. In January, five incidents were recorded. That number peaked at 93 incidents last month, but DoC is being more robust in its reporting.

Ms Ardern says the Government welcomes protest, but it's gone too far.

"When we see that tip into violence or threats of violence against people working on the front line and doing their job, then that concerns me."

False information is increasingly used to further the anti-1080 cause, such as pictures of dead kiwi that were actually killed by dogs and cars and the notorious dead birds dumped at Parliament with no traces of 1080 in their systems.

"They are spreading fake news about the impact of 1080," says Ms Sage.

It might be fake news, but the threats are very real.

OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST SENT TO EUGENIE SAGE BY LAWYER SUE GREY TODAY

Dear Minister

Like you I am appalled at the level of violence associated with the use of deadly 1080 in New Zealand.

I note you are reported on Newhub today as saying:

https://www.msn.com/.../pm-ardern-receives.../ar-BBPo4oV...

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says anti-1080 extremists have engaged in not just threats, but potentially deadly action.

"Tampering with vehicles, shooting down helicopters, putting wires across valleys to bring helicopters down - they're completely unacceptable."

Please can you provide copies of all information relevant to these allegation that you hold including:

• The date, location and a summary of each of the incidents you refer to in the Newhub story
• The evidence that it was done by an anti 1080 protestor
• The date the incident was reported to the NZ Police
• The outcome of any police investigation
• The date the incident was reported to you

A copy of all reports of any violent incident involving pro-poisoners within the last 5 years including for example any information provided to you about:

(i) the threats by poison industry insider Jeremy Kerr to contaminate baby milk with 1080 poison;

(ii) the assault of the West coast man by the farmer in his 4WD vehicle videoed by Dan Lane and shown on national TV;

(iii) the assault of the Nelson woman by a pro-poison supporter the evening before the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary poison drop which was shown on TV3 news where she was physically knocked to the ground by the man

(iv) the threats made to the representative to Ngati Paoa by a pro-poison iwi representative during the hearing of the Friends of Sherwood v Auckland Council interim enforcement order hearing this year

(v) the accidental/careless deposit of poison baits and dust during a Doc organised aerial 1080 poison drop on a couple walking the Nydia Bay track in 2013

(vi) the accidental/careless deposit of poison baits and dust during a Doc organised aerial 1080 poison drop on the Reefton Sisters (Gwen Gardner and Kathleen Bartlett were on Maori Gully Road, near Kokiri, in 2014

(vii) the dropping of 1080 poison on tourists walking the Te Arahoa trail during the Northland 1080 drop this year

(viii) the dropping of 1080 poison on Australian tourists (a mother and her young children) during the Remutaka poison drop this year

(ix) the intentional deposit of deadly non-compostable 1080 poison baits in drinking water of New Zealand’s largest city and in many private water supplies without notification, consultation with affected persons or compliance with the MoH approval conditions during the Hunua Auckland drop this September;

(x) the intentional/reckless contamination of wild food sources with 1080 resulting in the accidental poisoning of three members of the Kochumman family of Putaruru in November 2018

(xi) the death of the Stones’ 8 in calf heifers and tow aborted calves as a result of DoC’s inexplicable decision to aerially drop 1080 poison on their pastures in a 4 hectare paddock despite the presence of the stock in September 2018

(xii) any other incident involving violence by a pro-poisoner that you are aware of in the last 5 years.

Bearing in mind the clearly unacceptable level of violence associated with the use of 1080 and other poison in New Zealand please advise what advice you have sought to modify the way the Department of Conservation uses poison to take into account the widespread community concerns about the way these deadly poison baits are distributed over our forests, land, water courses and directly into freshwater.

Please provide copies of all such advice and the options considered to address this including for example:

a) reviewing the ethics, feasibility and costs (in financial and other terms) of John Keys’ 2050 Predator Free Strategy;

b) reviewing the costs and benefits of the objective of exterminating possums bearing in mind the false and unscientific assumption used to justify this violence, the absence of evidence of any TB being spread by possums to cows and the lost opportunity for income from trapping and sale of possum fur and fibre;

c) the lack of information about what cumulative exposure to 1080 is safe for pregnant women and for babies and toddlers – including from drinking water, wild foods, dust and other exposure;

d) the apparent lack of peer reviewed evidence to show any significant benefits from aerial use of 1080 poison bearing in mind the information used by DoC for the imminent proposed Kahurangi 1080 drop that 1080 is typically effective to reduce rat numbers for only 3 months- which is typically followed by an explosion in rat numbers – yet best practice is to use 1080 only once every four years due to DoC’s research which shows that target species become bait shy and their is no significant reduction in target species numbers if 1080 is used in successive years.

Thank you for you interest in promoting a more compassionate Clean Green New Zealand.

Sue Grey LLB(Hons), BSc, RSHDipPHI