A protester at Waitangi reportedly threw a sex toy tat Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce while he was in a news conference at Waitangi.
According to reports, the woman threw the sex toy–a large pink dildo–to Joyce, while he was speaking to reporters after leaving the iwi leaders’ forum.
“That’s for taking away our sovereignty,” she said as she threw the toy.
There were reportedly around 200 protesters against the Trans-Pacific Partnership who gathered at Waitangi’s Te Tii Marae on Friday, February 5.
“I don’t think those things happen every day. I’m fine. I was a little bit surprised but we thought it was humorous at the end of it all,” Joyce told reporters. “[You have] new experiences in politics every day. It’s the privilege of serving.”
“It would be unfortunate for being known for this incident,” he added.
It had been expected that there would be thousands of protesters today. The low turnout could have been made possible by the heavy rain and the announcement of Prime Minister John Key that he will not be attending this year.
The woman and the object she threw was then taken away by police.
According to Labour leader Andrew Little, it is not uncommon for politicians to face these kinds of situations where objects are thrown at them.
“Things get thrown at politicians, not just insults. “It’s a creative item, I guess, to throw at a politician. Perhaps the person throwing thought there was a message in it. I can’t imagine what that would be,” he said.
“The connection between sexual devices and sovereignty is not immediately apparent to me,” he added.
