Poison protester guilty of offensive behaviour

Protester Rose Renton says she does not regret rubbing rat poison on Nelson MP Nick Smith, despite the action earning her a criminal conviction.

Renton was found guilty of offensive behaviour following the incident involving the former environment minister at the Nelson Market on September 2. She was fined $400.

Justices of the peace David Whyte and Betsy Wynne announced the result in the Nelson District Court yesterday as part of a defended hearing.

Renton was jointly charged with her former husband, Guy Northover, who previously admitted the charge and has been sentenced.

In the decision, Whyte said Renton’s choice to use real poison and record the protest showed her actions were premeditated and deliberate.

The incident occurred on the day of an aerial poison control operation in the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary.

Outside the court, Renton said she stood by her actions.

She said the decision raised questions about the use of poison, if her actions in a Nelson carpark were deemed to threaten the public’s safety but Brook Valley residents’ concerns about the safety of the aerial operation had been ignored.

Smith said he welcomed the guilty verdict and was ‘‘delighted’’ that the matter had been resolved.