Ingrid Leary (the “local” MP) hasn’t been seen here basically since the last election. No doubt she’s spent most of that time on Waiheke Island (1442km north). I can only figure that Ardern is about to call a snap election before she becomes extremely unpopular, because the tiara is definitely wearing thin here now.
Anyway Leary is complaining about women’s rights again (TWAM Ingrid, TWAM)
There was also graffiti at the Octagon in the middle of town, something along the lines of Woman = Female XX as in the above photo. It was very prominent. If genuine (there’s always the chance that it’s part of Leary’s re-election campaign) then it was right on the money. The graffiti at her office was somewhat more bizarre, referring to Leary (woman) as a man and Rino Tirikatene (man) as a woman. Who knows what’s going on here, but maybe one graffiti is not like the other.