National MP Simeon Brown has lashed out at climate activists after they stopped traffic in Wellington for hours to protest for a better rail network.
Police were forced to close the southbound lane of State Highway 1 on Monday after protesters climbed a gantry near the Bolton Street overbridge.
The protesters were accompanied by a large banner reading: Restore Passenger Rail. The Restore Passenger Rail is a climate action group demanding the Government restore passenger rail to the extent it was in 2000 by reopening now freight-only lines and introducing new lines.
Speaking with AM on Tuesday National MP Simeon Brown lashed out at the group, calling them "reckless idiots".
"They're disrupting thousands of commuters trying to get to work, trying to go about their daily lives, trying to make a living and pay the bills and they're getting stuck in traffic," Brown told AM.
"The reality is emissions would have gone up in Wellington yesterday because all those cars would have been stuck in traffic emitting more and more gas so this is just absolutely reckless idiots and it puts their cause back a long way."
But veteran activist John Minto disagreed, telling AM co-host Ryan Bridge they were raising awareness about a serious and often ignored issue.
"When you look at the scale of the problem that we face with climate change. I take my hat off to these young people, I mean what they're doing is drawing attention to a huge problem, and in reality New Zealand, and the world as a whole, is not taking this seriously enough and we need these wake-up calls every now and again and good on them for doing it," Minto said.
Minto also hit back at questions over whether the anger caused by the protest could have set the cause back.
"No, I don't think that's the case at all," he told Bridge. "I think these people would certainly be tolerant of what these people are doing… Look, the reckless idiots are the people who are ignoring what's happening with the climate," he said.
Things then turned personal when Minto took a jab at Brown accusing him of caring more about the election than the planet.
"Simeon Brown is thinking about the election next year, but they [protesters] and I and many other New Zealanders are thinking about what the world is going to be like in 30, 50, 100 years' time. We are facing an existential crisis, it's either capitalism or the planet. We can't have both."
But Brown hit right back, accusing Minot of being an expert in "disrupting and protesting".
"I've lost count of how many times he has been arrested but he specialises in this type of behaviour.
"But the reality is most New Zealanders are law-abiding. They want to get around, do their daily lives and get to work. Yes, we care about the climate, and we care about solving these issues but actually, you can do it in a proper way… and it doesn't mean you have to illegally stop a motorway. "
Minto said the protests were justified because politicians aren't fixing the issue and keep making empty promises.
"We cannot leave this issue to politicians who think in three-year cycles. We have to start thinking in 30, 50, 100-year cycles."
Minto also batted away questions from Bridge about whether the protest could have put people in danger by blocking the motorway to emergency vehicles.
But Brown jumped in saying the reality is someone could have died because of the protest.
"Actually the disruption could have caused someone to potentially lose their lives and this is the reality."
Police told Newshub three people were arrested after the protest but won't face any charges. Instead, police said they have been referred to "an alternative resolution process".
