Government minister Anne Tolley's office firebombed
The smashed door glass shows where the firebomb entered Tolley's Whakatane office.
Molotov cocktails were thrown into Government minister Anne Tolley's Whakatane office overnight and anti-TPPA graffiti was scrawled on a wall outside.
Police said Tolley's office was under police guard following the attack, which comes at a time of high tensions over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
The attempted firebombing comes after vandals broke into Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee's Christchurch office on Monday morning and poured fuel in a room before leaving.
MP Anne Tolley speaking outside her firebombed office.
It is unclear whether the firebombing of Tolley's office is related to mass protests against the signing of the controversial TPPA trade deal on Thursday.
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Tolley said she and her staff were "a bit shaken up" by the attack.
"When the police tell you that it's a pretty determined effort, it does shake you up a bit - they went to a lot of trouble to try and burn my office down, so it's a bit scary, and pretty tough on the staff."
Some smoke damage and "badly spelt graffiti" were the main problems, with staff feeling lucky the damage wasn't worse.
"I think the police patrol caught it quite early on...if it had been on carpet or something that could have caught alight quickly."
Tolley said she hadn't expected any attacks on her office, with anti-TPPA marches in her electorate run in a "well-organised and well-contained" manner.
"Some people get quite aggressive when they're talking to you, but generally people are quite reasonable - they're passionate, but violence is an extreme reaction."
Brownlee had contacted Tolley's office to offer his support following the attack, she said.
'NOT LOCKING MYSELF AWAY'
Tolley would speak to the Parliamentary Service and police about how to "take a bit more care" with her security, but said she did not want to take any drastic measures.
"I'm an elected MP, I've always made myself available to people so I don't want to be locking myself away in a fortress.
"There's a balance in there, people have got to be able to get access to their local MP."
The office would be closed over the weekend while police finished their work and damage was dealt with, Tolley said.
In a statement, Prime Minister John Key said he was disappointed by the attack.
"People always have the right to peaceful protest and are free to do so, as long as they don't break the law or put anyone in harm's way.
"Incidents like these are hugely disappointing because our MPs work incredibly hard for their communities as do the staff who work in their offices. They have a right to feel safe in their workplaces and I would urge people to respect that."
POLICE INVESTIGATING
The fire appeared to have happened overnight but had been reported to police soon after 7am, said Senior Sergeant Denton Grimes of the Bay of Plenty District Command Centre.
"From a police point of view it's now determining what caused it and who is responsible, if it's suspicious."
They would work with the fire service to do this, Grimes said.
Specialist fire investigator Jon Rewi said he had done his investigation at the site.
There was minimal damage to the office.
Any further comment on the fire had to come from police, he said.
- Stuff
