Perspective with Ryan Bridge: There's a time and a place to protest

Now, have a listen to this. This happened in Thames this morning as the Prime Minister arrived to go and check on the damage to the properties and check out the roads and to meet with the victims' families. 

It's a disgrace what you're doing with your climate positive, Prime Minister. It's an absolute disgrace and we're suffering now.

You're listening to a bunch of protesters heckling the Prime Minister. They're yelling shame as he gets into his car. And yesterday, Chris Hipkins mentioned climate change in his message to victims' families.

Now, everybody in this country knows how political climate change has become. Well, not, no, that's wrong. Not so much climate change, but how we respond to it.

So to wave banners and bring into the debate about climate change, absolutely they're right. The protesters, they have the right to do that.

It's also the right of the Leader of the Opposition to mention it in his address as well. But the question is whether it's in good taste. And I reckon it's a bit off for a couple of reasons.

One, we still have teenagers trapped under a landslide at the Mount. Their families, desperate, emotional as you can well imagine, banners shouting anger through the news at a time like this, I would have thought was a bit much.

Number 2, the idea that by closing a few farms and getting rid of some cows in New Zealand, you will somehow stop the rain from falling and the landslides from slipping is just wrong. All the scientists agree it would take unified global action, most importantly, from the big four players to move the dial even an inch.

And right now, as everybody well knows, those players, especially the US, doing the opposite.

Our dear friends across the Tasman have just struck a deal to extend the life of their biggest power plant. That plant, by the way, runs on coal.

As I say, I back everyone's right to protest and say what they like. There is nothing illegal or even really nasty about it. I just think it's probably a bit in poor taste so soon after such a personal tragedy, and one that people are feeling so deeply.

You've also got to wonder who's benefiting from all this. Are the protesters going to be flooded with supporters after an outburst like that while the families are still waiting to hear news of their loved ones stuck under a landslide?

Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.