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On a Tuesday morning in late August, Rosemary Penwarden protested climate inaction in New Zealand. She sat down during rush hour traffic on the main road linking Wellington Airport to the capital’s city center.
The next day, Penwarden was in Arohata’s women’s prison just north of Wellington. She had been charged with endangering transport—a serious criminal offense that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment.
According to Kris Gledhill, a professor of law at Auckland University of Technology, the current charge is disproportionate to the offense. “It’s designed for people who do awful things like cutting the brakes on a car,” he said.
But a lack of options may have driven police to the charge, he added. The comparatively minor charges used previously were not deterring other climate activists taking similar actions. And under New Zealand law, there is no middle-ground offense.
That’s because New Zealand has not followed in the steps of several countries trying to quell disruptive protests. In an increasingly global trend, state and federal governments across the U.S., U.K., Australia and Europe have passed legislation to tackle obstructive protest techniques. However, whether they work is yet to be seen—so far activists appear to have been emboldened by the changes.
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📸: Restore Passenger Rail, Don Arnold/Getty Images, Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
