“The dangerous side of Jacinda’s kindness is on full display as her ham-fisted Ihumātao intervention comes home to roost at Shelly Bay and in Northland,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Jacinda is turning New Zealand into a squattocracy, where if you occupy someone else’s property, the taxpayer will buy it for you. Secure property rights and the rule of law are essential for any country that wants high standards of living and safety for its people.
"When squatters occupied Ihumātao that Fletcher Building had carefully negotiated ownership and development of, the Prime Minister failed abysmally by backing the squatters instead of private property rights. She sent a signal that occupations are a good way to get what you want, even other people’s land.
“Now the Government is amplifying the signal and accelerating the process of land grabs by squatting. The latest deal in Northland, where the Government moved to buy land in only five weeks, has the occupiers now saying: ‘Once we go home and get energised, we might just sit ourselves somewhere else.’
“The next Government, and the current Government for that matter, now face an extremely difficult task weening New Zealand off the idea that if you squat on someone else’s land the taxpayer might buy it for you.
“Every time Jacinda’s Government rewards bad behaviour, we get more of it. Every moment that people spend occupying each others property hoping the taxpayer will buy it for them, we are not building homes families and businesses to secure New Zealanders’ future."