So. We now know the person who tipped a litre of tomato juice over Posie Parker is a refugee from Colombia.

Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Eliana Rubashkyn, who describes herself as intersex and trans, came to New Zealand from a country notorious for its violence and corruption. She has been granted residency in one of the freest, most tolerant countries on earth. She is on record herself as calling New Zealand paradise.

She benefits from our rights and freedoms – rights and freedoms not exactly abundant in her country of origin – and this is how she repays her host country? By denying her fellow citizens the right to hear a speech by someone she doesn’t approve of? By aligning herself with thugs and bullies who would probably feel quite at home in Latin America?

Lest there should be any doubt, I applaud the fact that New Zealand welcomes people from countries with troubled histories. We should share our good fortune. It’s one of the qualities that make this one of the most civilised countries in the world.

Metaphorically speaking, that bottle of tomato juice was tipped over the country that gave Rubashkyn refuge. I hope she reflects on that, but it’s unlikely. She will be too busy bathing in the unabashed admiration of the media and her friends on the woke Left, who present arguably the gravest danger to democracy in our history.

Now, a question. Will the New Zealand Police be charging Rubashkyn with common assault? They know her identity; the whole country does. What’s more, the crime was witnessed by everyone who watched the TV news. Self-defence is unlikely to fly as a justification. So what’s stopping them?

Oh, and one other thing. Is anyone else struck by the contrast between journalists' obvious approval of yesterday’s violent mob and the media's contemptuous attitude toward the deplorables (for so they were depicted, even though their protest was mostly peaceful) who occupied the grounds of Parliament last year?

Karl du Fresne, a freelance journalist, is the former editor of The Dominion newspaper. He blogs at karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz.