5 Trespass Notices to Former New Zealand MPs Who Attended Anti-Mandate Protests Withdrawn

Speaker Trevor Mallard is seen during Question time and sitting of the House in the House of Representatives debating chamber in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 31, 2021. Robert Kitchin - Pool/Getty Images

New Zealand House Speaker Trevor Mallard has withdrawn trespass notices for five former MPs, prompting the former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters to call for an “immediate” vote of no confidence.

On May 2, trespass notices were sent to Peters, former Nationals MP Matt King, and others who attended the anti-mandate protests in Wellington, banning them from parliament grounds for two years.

King attended the protest twice in February, making two speeches and interviewing many of the protesters.

“There’s no justification for this trespass notice,” King said after receiving the notice.

Mallard had met with the Parliamentary Service Commission to consider whether the politicians should be exempted from the notices of trespassing, but the only ones in favour were the ACT Party.

Then on May 4, the trespass notices were withdrawn for five former MPs who attended or visited the protest.

A total of 151 trespass notices had been sent out, of which seven had been issued to persons of interest.

“I have been working with Police and Parliamentary Security to constantly assess threats to Parliament, and the advice I have received is that it is no longer necessary to retain trespass notices for these five people,” Mallard said in a statement.

“The behaviour of some individuals was clearly more egregious than others, and on that basis, it has been relatively easy to identify those persons issued with trespass notices who no longer are regarded as being a risk to the safety and security of others at Parliament.”

Mallard said further trespass notices may be issued as part of the ongoing police investigation and noted that while the parliament grounds were now open to the public, there were still some restrictions in place.

Police stand guard as protesters against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions gather near parliament grounds in Wellington, New Zealand, on March 2, 2022. Dave Lintott/AFP via Getty Images

Peters said it was an “outrageous insult” that the speaker of the house would hold “this view” of himself and former colleagues.

“This is not, and should not, be a matter of special treatment for former Members of Parliament,” he wrote in a post on Twitter. “This is a matter of fairness and standing up for freedoms and democracy.”

“Surely a current Member of Parliament can stand up and do their duty and move a motion of no confidence,” he added.

Peters had announced a few hours prior to the withdrawal notice that he would be seeking a judicial review of the decision. He later said it should not have taken the threat of going to court for the speaker to “come to his sense.”

“This whole issue from the start to finish has been an absolute shambles and has caused a number of people unnecessary anguish and expense,” he said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the office of Speaker Trevor Mallard for comment but did not receive a response.