Wellington: New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister James Shaw was punched in the face on Thursday on the street while he was on his way to Parliament House. A 47-year-old man was arrested for assaulting Green Party co-leader Shaw in Wellington, though the Minister was not seriously injured, the BBC reported. The attacker will appear in court on Friday, the police said.
A Green Party spokesperson described the attack as unprovoked and said Shaw, who suffered a black eye, went to the hospital for a precautionary check-up. It was unclear if the attack on Shaw was politically motivated, but Trade Minister David Parker told the media that the attacker “was shouting things out about the UN”.
