Melanie Petrowski during her video posted to Facebook.
Melanie Petrowski during her video posted to Facebook.
A Hastings anti-vaxxer's one-woman megaphone protest outside a Hastings supermarket was ended by police and her dad who suggested it was time to "go home".
Melanie Petrowski, who has previously run for Hastings District Council and was also a Tukituki electorate candidate, shared the outcome of Tuesday's one-person Covid vaccinationprotest on social media.
"I've just been on my megaphone," she said in a video recording, taken from inside her car and posted to Facebook.
"Two police rocked up and unfortunately my dad actually lives opposite Countdown and came over and tapped me on the shoulder and he goes 'go home, you shouldn't be doing this'."
"They said 'go home or we will arrest you'. I was planning on going to Pak'nSave. So pretty much I just about got arrested.''
She told the Hawke's Bay Today she did not consider it a protest but rather an "opportunity to exercise my rights" and she claimed she kept her distance from others.
She said she was not embarrassed when her dad told her to stop after she had been on the footpath "for about 10 or 15 minutes". She was warned but not arrested.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said police were taking an "education-first approach" with most people but would crack down on people continuing to flout the rules.
"Police are reminding the public of the need to follow the rules for their own safety and for the safety of their whanau, friends and community," he said.
"Police are continuing to take an education-first approach but as our responses are showing, we will move to enforcement action quickly where it is required."
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst praised those who were keeping the rules during the level 4 lockdown and encouraged people to get their vaccine.
"Please, for the sake of your whanau, your friends and your fellow residents, keep it up.
Sandra Hazlehurst, Mayor of Hastings. Photo: Paul Taylor
"Stay home unless you need to get groceries or medical care.
"I am a firm believer in the vaccine and encourage everyone to get vaccinated to help us get on top of this virus."
Tuesday marked a record for the number of people being vaccinated across New Zealand, with 80,000 vaccinations recorded in a single day.
Petrowski has made headlines in the past for her anti-vaccination views - she claimed this year that her job might be at risk because personal beliefs clashed with the vaccination policy of the security company she worked for.
