Unexpected visit disturbs activist
A campaigner against 1080 poisoning who has been questioned by detectives, says she is troubled by the investigation into peaceful activists.
Police are working on Operation Concord to investigate who made threats in letters to Fonterra and Federated Farmers to poison infant formula unless the Government stops using 1080 by the end of this month.
In Golden Bay, two Nelson detectives this week visited Rebecca Reider who is a spokesperson for the group Beyond 1080.
She said she found the investigation odd and troubling.
Beyond 1080 was a group of concerned citizens who came from various walks of life and were involved in farming, hunting or living in the region who had various concerns.
Those concerns were about their water supplies and keeping people safe from 1080 as well as animals, she said.
‘‘To poison anybody is completely against what we stand for,’’ she said.
She said the first she knew about the investigation was when the detectives turned up on her porch while she was still in her pyjamas.
‘‘I thought it quite odd because I haven’t done anything even vaguely illegal and never expressed any intention to, in public or private,’’ she said.
She said she found the timing, four months after the threats were made, troubling.
‘‘With all the revelations about government surveillance, I can’t help but wonder if it is a convenient time for the Government to create a distraction and draw attention about ‘bad people’ out there we need to be protected from,’’ she said.
She said she was told by the police officers that she had been selected for questioning because she had been quoted in the Nelson Mail.
‘‘What kind of country do we live in if some wacko makes a dangerous threat, suddenly the police turn up to everyone who has made a peaceful dissenting view. I thought we had the right to freedom of speech in this country,’’ she said.
She said she was not critical of the detectives, who had asked questions from a printed list headed Operation Concord that she believed had been sent out from national police.
‘‘They were very polite but the whole thing seems utterly ridiculous. To top it off, they made me sign a statement to say it could be used as testimony in court. Is this to be used to profile all activists?’’
Reider said it was ‘‘creepy’’ to think they were being researched.
She said while it might be seen as a case of ‘‘if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear’’. ‘‘But frankly nobody wants to be woken up by the police.
‘‘I have no idea who made those threats. It seems an odd strategy to go for people who are peaceful.
‘‘I use legal channels, I write letters, I go to public officials. I guess somebody who makes such threats feels angry and powerless.
‘‘I doubt the police have leads. They asked me for them.’’
She said she supported the police protecting the public. ‘‘But doing this after all these months, that’s not protection of
A spokeswoman for the group Beyond 1080 on being question by detectives
public health, it’s making a fuss because they need to be seen to be making a fuss. ‘‘I don’t feel more safe, I feel less safe.’’ She believed a public health risk was 1080 poisoning by TB Free NZ and the Department of Conservation. ‘‘That’s where the risk is, poisoning to our water supply and food supply along these farm boundaries. Let’s hope the police are looking into that.’’
She said Beyond 1080 had about a dozen people involved at various times and had protests of up to 60 people in public actions and writing letters.
‘‘We are motivated by a love of the community and other creatures. We would never harm anyone.’’
Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement said by yesterday police had received 42 contacts from the public in relation to Operation Concord.
The investigation team was talking to a range of people who may have information which is relevant to the inquiry.
‘‘There is a large number of people who we wish to talk to and it will take time to work through all of them.
‘‘We are doing this in a meticulous and thorough way to ensure nothing is missed which may help us.
‘‘Those we have spoken to so far have been helpful, and they understand why we have approached them.
‘‘We would like to stress that just because we are speaking to an individual does not mean they are suspected of anything. We just want to know if they have any information which could assist us.’’