Police will not give details about finances and their investigation into the New Zealand protest against covid-19 public health measures which occupied Parliament’s grounds and surrounding streets.

Large sums of money traded hands during and leading up to the 23-day occupation, but it is unclear how it has been spent and who has benefitted.

FACT Aotearoa spokesperson Lee Gingold said groups like Voices For Freedom had been flexing their financial muscle.

“I think it’s a mistake to think they’re unsuccessful in their search for funding or that it’s too ramshackle because Voices For Freedom have splashed a lot of money around,” he said.

“They funded the court case which led to the exemption for the police, which I believe was $90,000 and in Wellington … there are a number of billboards from Voices For Freedom up around town.”

Voices For Freedom is the trading name of TJB 2021 Limited, which Voices For Freedom founders Claire Deeks, Libby Jonson, and Alia Bland served as its sole directors and shareholders.

The anti-vax group admitted they had been behind the distribution of two million flyers, thousands of large rally signs seen at the Parliament protest and other protests around the country, as well as billboards in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.

The billboard sites were managed by Jolly Billboards.

Its director, Jonathon Drumm, told RNZ he did not want to comment other than to say the company complied with all the rules of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Drumm said Voices For Freedom were “probably not” one of the company’s larger clients, but he would not comment on whether the group received any kind of discount compared to other customers.

Financial transparency of Voices For Freedom
On their website, Voices For Freedom claim they intend to be transparent about their finances.

“VFF is funded through individual donations from thousands of concerned Kiwis. Funding is put towards the various projects we facilitate and the general running costs and overheads of the organisation,” the website said.

“Like any well run organisation receiving funding we intend to provide basic information on finances such as to provide accountability and transparency at appropriate junctures and at least annually.”

However, no financial statements for the group were available online.

RNZ tried contacting Deeks — who was third on the list for Billy Te Kahika and Jami-Lee Ross’ failed Advance New Zealand Party — but was unsuccessful.

Voices For Freedom did not respond to a set of questions sent to them regarding their finances and promises of transparency.

During a 2020 podcast which guested Deeks, host Pete Evans pushed people to sign up as distributors of dōTERRA, a multi-level marketing company selling essential oils, of which Deeks was apparently a platinum “Wellness Advocate” for.

Early in the pandemic, dōTERRA International was warned by the US Federal Trade Commission for social media posts made by reps claiming essential oils could prevent or treat covid-19.

Gingold said the various groups involved in the protest and the movements surrounding it had a variety of motivations.

“I think an awful lot of it is a grift. I think of Billy TK quite early on in the pandemic asking for money in every single post. You have to question whether or not some of these people actually believe what they’re pushing or whether it’s just another thing for them to push,” he told RNZ.

“It’s pretty hard to know their motivation, but you do start to get a bit of a vibe for it. If someone is just asking for a lot of money and they’re prepared to flip-flop their views pretty easily then it feels like a grift to me.”

A protester from Whangārei told RNZ he had heard there were “big donations” for the occupation.

“But I don’t really know what’s going on … I honestly don’t know where the money is going.”

On the other hand, the protester said he instead had concerns about government spending and transparency of that.

Detailed documents of the budget are published every year.

‘No financial links” to Freedoms and Rights Coalition, says Destiny Church

The Freedoms and Rights Coalition, which was also involved in protests during the pandemic, did not respond to RNZ inquiries about their finances and donations.

Ashleigh Marshall, who is listed as the sole director and shareholder of The Freedoms and Rights Coalition Limited, worked as an administrator for Destiny Church.

Church spokesperson Anne Williamson said there was no relationship between the two.

“Freedoms and Rights had a presence down at Parliament virtually from day one, but there was no financial involvement that I know of. I can check this all up for you.

“And there certainly is no financial or other tie up with Freedoms and Rights and the church.”

She said any further questions should be emailed to the church. But there was no response to further inquiries.

Self-proclaimed Apostle Brian Tamaki had spoken at several events organised by the group and shared many of their posts on his personal social media in the past.

‘They robbed those Māori whānau’ – National Māori Authority chair
National Māori Authority chairperson Matthew Tukaki said such groups were taking advantage of disaffected and vulnerable New Zealanders, particularly Māori.

Protesters link arms in front of police outside Parliament, February 2022. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

“They were targeting vulnerable Māori. Māori that are more predisposed because of our history, because of colonisation — some of our people are already down that bloody hole,” he said.

“What that group did, those leaders in that coalition, they robbed those Māori whānau not only of what little money they probably had, but also their mana.”

Tukaki said considering the precursor activities to the Parliament protest, there was probably “about tens of thousands of dollars that had already been raised for that first stage”.

He said he suspected there was probably even more involved once the occupation began, with all sorts of supplies being provided on a daily basis.

“Even individual donations by February 22 had hit about $30,000 and so it might’ve been $10 from mum here, $20 from old mate down the road, whatever the case, but to sustain the enterprise for those couple of weeks down in Wellington it would have required hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“For example, we know Wellington City Council was handing out parking fines for vehicles that were illegally parked. We know at its height the police estimated there were roughly 800 vehicles down there. If you do the maths … you’re getting up to a huge amount of money per day.

“What was happening is people were going into one of the tents, they were presenting people in that tent with those parking fines and those parking fines were being paid. So that tells me for just the tens of thousands of dollars per week for just parking fines, there was money ready to go.”

‘Where did the money come from?’
Some businesses had fronted up on their financial involvement, but Tukaki said he believed there was more to it than individual donations.

“We also know those attending were less likely to have oodles of savings and money in their pocket to sustain themselves for a long protest,” Tukaki said.

“That $30,000 raised by February 22 from individual donations, that was probably the sum total of how much you could expect from individuals.

“So that comes down to where did the money come from? Well because we’ve got pretty lax laws in understanding money flow of overseas donations or overseas funds for these sorts of protests we are never going to actually know the true extent of what came in from overseas, but I would argue that a significant amount of money was being raised offshore.”

Social media posts among protesters speculated that some donations, potentially tens of thousands of dollars, had gone missing.

RNZ asked one of its organisers, who fronted up on social media to the issues surrounding the movement, if she would comment on the situation.

She declined, but in a post to Facebook said: “The original [bank] account was someone’s who turned out couldn’t be trusted and him and another organiser for the north took that money”.

She understood it was being investigated.

RNZ asked police whether any theft, fraud or financial crimes formed part of their investigation into the protest.

In a statement, a spokesperson said police were not in a position to comment on specific aspects of their investigation.

“The investigation phase into the criminal activity during the operation is underway,” the spokesperson said.

“Police are appealing for the public’s help to identify anyone involved in criminal activity during the operation and anyone with information is urged to report it to police.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Twenty-eight of the anti-public health protesters who occupied New Zealand’s Parliament grounds over the past month have now tested positive for covid-19.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said 11 district health boards had reported covid-19 cases from the protest, including Wairarapa, Waitematā, Waikato, Taranaki, Southern, MidCentral, Tairawhiti, Hutt Valley, Counties Manukau, Capital and Coast, and Canterbury.

“These people are thought to be protesters, although they have not been interviewed as they would have been prior to the recent changes in case investigation,” the statement said.

“In phase 3 [of the Omicron response], cases are not routinely interviewed by health officials and are instead asked to fill out a contact tracing form.

“Only cases that are identified through their interaction with the health system can therefore be identified as having attended the protest.”

The ministry is urging all those who were at the 23-day occupation to get tested and vaccinated.

The ministry also reported 17,522 new cases of covid-19 in the community across New Zealand today with 696 people in hospital — 13 of them in ICU.

The average age of those in hospital was 57.

Meanwhile, Wellington City Council said most of the remaining protesters seemed to have left the capital over the weekend, except for a group at Mahanga Bay who were not on council land.

Work was well underway to remove rubbish, deep-clean, and repair damaged roads, street lights and sewer pipes, it said.

The Department of Conservation said there were no protesters left at its Catchpool Valley campsite in Remutaka Forest Park, which was now closed for cleaning.

Christchurch library shuts for two hours over protesters
In the South Island, Christchurch central city library shut for almost two hours this morning when 40 protesters who were stopped from entering refused to leave.

A council spokesperson said Tūranga was closed after a warning that a group linked to the Freedom and Rights Coalition might protest there.

The council was not considering increasing security staff in response to the incident.

A police spokesperson said the 40-strong group was refused entry to the library because they did not have vaccine passes.

Police arrived at the library, where the group stood outside for a while before leaving, but no one was arrested or trespassed from the building.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

All political parties have supported a motion in Parliament to recognise the “safe restoration of Parliament’s grounds” and the selfless service of emergency services.

Yesterday, riot police moved in and dispersed the protest against covid-19 restrictions, which had occupied the Parliament grounds for 23 days.

In response, protesters set fire to tents, scrub and other structures including a children’s playground. Police in turn used pepper spray and sponge bullets as protesters lobbed cobblestones, metal poles and other debris.

The police operation resulted in 89 arrests yesterday — 40 of the 600 officers involved were injured, with eight admitted to hospital.

Parliament’s regular question time was cancelled today with party leaders instead delivering speeches on yesterday’s chaos, before adjourning early. This is standard procedure after major events, such as the Christchurch terror attacks in 2019.

‘Acts of violence cannot stand’ – Ardern
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began proceedings with the motion that the House recognise the safe restoration of Parliament’s grounds and the selfless service of our Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Wellington Free Ambulance, Parliament Security, and many others, in returning Parliament to the people.

The support of Māori wardens was also recognised in an amendment, at the suggestion of Te Pāti Māori.

“You were there throughout these events at a great risk to yourselves. Many of you were abused, some were injured, but you put your personal safety aside in order to look after others and for that we are very grateful,” Ardern said.

She expressed sorrow at what Wellingtonians endured, and the trampling of the mana of Taranaki Whānui. She said it was clear to her this protest was different from others as soon as it arrived.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns’s speech.

“There was an immediate focus on occupying the space. The rhetoric that came from the speakers they installed swung between benign to sometimes threatening. Many media who walked the grounds were either abused or in some cases chased away. It was a form of protest I did not recognise and I found it hard to reconcile it with the reality of what all New Zealanders had faced in this pandemic, and yet quietly got on with it.”

She said the demands of the protesters were hard to square with what others had suffered during the pandemic, including Labour MP Barbara Edmonds’ six-week-old niece who was recovering after a trip to hospital, having struggled to breathe after being infected with covid-19.

“And so my message today is simple, Mr Speaker, it is to condemn what happened here. Acts of violence cannot stand. It is to reinforce that this will always be a place where difference can be expressed and where that will be welcomed, but that should always be done with dignity and respect for the place upon which we stand.”

She said the pandemic felt hard right now, but it would pass; and vaccine passes, mandates and restrictions would also change.

“There is reason to feel hopeful, but for now, the smell of smoke has faded, the playground will be restored, and the people, our people, will return to their place.”

Protesters’ behaviour ‘was thuggery’ – Luxon
Opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon also thanked emergency services and others who responded, particularly the “immense bravery and selflessness of our frontline police officers”.

He said National condemned the protesters’ behaviour, saying it was “not peaceful protest or activism, it was thuggery“.

“Those scenes were the culmination of weeks of intimidation and aggression toward Wellingtonians. We will always respect people’s right to protest, it is quite rightly a basic tenet of our democracy … but something was off in this protest from the get-go. There was real animus in the atmosphere.”

Opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon’s speech.

He said he visited officers last night to thank them, and heard how they had all manner of things thrown at them, resulting in broken bones for some. About 80 had only recently graduated, he said, and for one he spoke to it was only her second day on the job.

“Their tenacity in withstanding the protesters provocations and remaining calm, patient and restrained is a testament to their incredible skill and professionalism and we all owe them our sincere and heartfelt thanks.”

He called for a review of the relationships between police and Parliamentary authorities, including the Speaker, as well looking for practical measures to ensure the security of Parliament while not cloistering politicians away from electors.

And while it was not appropriate for lawmakers to have a conversation with lawbreakers on the forecourt of Parliament, they could not risk writing off the concerns of other New Zealanders, he said.

“It is reasonable to expect that Aucklanders who spent 15 weeks in lockdown last year, or business owners who have lost the ability to pay their staff or put food on their family’s table will want to hold the government accountable for its decisions and promises.”

Greens: ‘There is another virus’
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw each spoke. Davidson drew particular attention to health workers who had supported the pandemic response, including social workers and community leaders who would play a role in supporting social cohesion into the future.

She said it took courage for police to maintain as much of a de-escalation approach as possible while also being urged to do something to restore a peaceful environment for Wellington.

“That approach over the history of police here in Aotearoa, has unfortunately not been applied consistently and unfortunately there has been discrimination in the way that it hasn’t and has been applied. So I acknowledge yesterday as being a really positive step in the way we police in Aotearoa.”

Seeing people come to harm yesterday had rocked her, she said, and the violence was completely unacceptable, but it had begun long before.

She urged police to investigate those who were responsible for spinning out disinformation and hold them accountable, and urged protesters to think on yesterday’s events and hold themselves accountable.

“The biggest prevention of harm would have been for the protesters to go home, that much is very clear.”

Shaw commented on disinformation and conspiracy theories by reflecting on how he was attacked in the street in 2019, “by a man who yelled at me that I had to stop what I was doing at the UN before fracturing my eye socket with his fist”.

The reasoning for that could be one of two conspiracy theories, he suggested, both with “the same root cause”.

“Twenty-nine hours later 51 people were killed and another 40 injured at the hands of a white supremacist terrorist in Christchurch. It’s apparent that the terrorist spent a great deal of his time … in the dark recesses of the internet.”

He also spoke of the attack on the US Capitol last year, which he said was aimed at destabilising society and creating conditions for authoritarians like Donald Trump and Vladmir Putin. He said doubts about vaccines and mandates were “seeded by the same actors” and led to hundreds of thousands more deaths when instituted as public policy overseas.

He said New Zealand, with its “breezy, she’ll be right attitude” had almost no immunity to this other virus, misinformation, and questions like “should Parliament have a wall around it, is it ever okay to play Barry Manilow” were just addressing the symptoms.

“Yesterday the grifters and the charlatans, the political opportunists and the white supremacists who were behind the protest melted away like cowards and abandoned the field to the desperate people who they had led astray.

“I can only hope that they will be held accountable for their part in all this and that we can find a way as a country to immunise ourselves against their malign impact.”

‘Can’t talk about civil liberties when you’re threatening others’ – David Seymour
ACT leader David Seymour agreed with the motion, and used the time to criticise the protest, support the police, and to criticise the response and attitude of the government.

“There is a right to protest, but that right of protest does not extend to taking over the rights of other people around you. You can’t talk about civil liberties when you’re threatening others. You can’t talk about restrictions when you’re preventing small businesses in the area … from getting on and doing their business.”

ACT leader David Seymour’s speech.

Most protests understood that a society that observes democracy and the rule of law is worth preserving, he said, and the protest seen yesterday was different from those that had come before.

However, Ardern’s speech in response yesterday was disappointing, he said.

“So far as she’s concerned, everything is fine, the covid response is fine, it’s all because of foreign conspiracy theories driven by foreign websites. Well you know what? That sounds like a conspiracy theory in itself.

“Just to be clear, the world does have a big problem with misinformation … that doesn’t mean that everybody who has a concern is misinformed, and the problem with being unable to ‘internalise complex problems in our head’ to quote an old ad, is that we are failing to do that as politicians too.”

He also criticised the Speaker for calling the protesters ‘ferals’ and turning loud music on them.

“Where were you as the leader and custodian of this fine institution seeking a mature de-escalation. That’s what we should have seen.”

He said there were unacceptable behaviours in the protest, but also behaviours from people who felt they had been ostracised by society. A more “human response” to the pandemic from the government may not have created the seeds of “this unexpectable and despicable meltdown”, he said.

‘Colonisation … continues to divide us’ – Rawiri Waititi
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi expressed deep sadness and loss, saying the violence seen on the grounds yesterday was a manifestation of the colonial vision of those who had continuously oppressed the people through reckless laws.

“One of the key objectives of the formation of this Parliament was to kill the “beastly communism” of Māori — a quote made by a past Minister of this House: Christopher William Richmond,” he said.

Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi’s kōrero.

The whakapapa of this generational trauma could only be traced back to colonisation, he said.

“Colonisation has turned our worlds upside down and has rendered parts of the culture unrecognisable. It continues to divide us today because it feasts on our trauma, thus forcing us to disregard the very essence of who we are and who we once were.”

He said when mandates did lift, we “will still be left here fighting against the racist system that is still designed to kill our ‘beastly communism’. We will still be faced with Māori health inequities, Māori education disparities, Māori being the highest incarcerated peoples in the world. Māori will still make up 50 percent of the social housing waiting list and 67 percent of the tamariki in State care.

“We will still be over half of the people in emergency and transitional housing. And the Māori unemployment rate will still double that of non-Māori. That is the true plight that we as tangata whenua have been fighting for near on 200 years, and we will continue to fight once the mandates have been lifted”.

Threats, abuse and hate towards politicians was unacceptable, he said, and it was time to heal.

“It is time for us to dig deep into our ngākau to show the world who we truly are. We are an honourable people. We are tangata whenua. We are the people of this land and it is our responsibility to ensure everyone is safe.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police have begun a “significant investigation” into yesterday’s events at the Parliament protest and say they will hold people accountable for any criminal behaviour.

Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers has held a media conference to provide the latest information on the aftermath of the anti-covid public health measures protest.

Chambers said police made 89 arrests yesterday and there had been 11 further arrests today.

He said police had now entered a “significant investigation phase”.

“We are working hard to bring together a lot of footage, support from the public and other sources of information to help us hold people accountable for their criminal behaviour yesterday.”

Chambers said the investigation would continue “as long as it needs to”. He could not say how many people police were looking for.

“If any evidence demonstrates that someone’s behaviour was criminal then we will take the appropriate action,” he said.

“One of the things that we look at is funding streams. Work on that is underway.”

A ‘proportionate’ response
More than 40 police staff were injured yesterday. Injuries range from abrasions to bone fractures and head injuries. Eight staff who were admitted to hospital had since been discharged.

Chambers said police were thankful for support from Wellington Free Ambulance yesterday.

“Having them available alongside us … was something we are very grateful for.”

Watch the police media conference:

Video: RNZ News

Chambers said he did not have a total number of injuries for protesters, but medical support was available for them.

“I can’t comment on any admissions to hospital.”

He said the force that police used was “necessary and proportionate to the situation that was in front of them”.

He said police would look at anything that suggested police force was not appropriate.

The use of fire extinguishers and bricks being thrown at police by protesters changed the police response, Chambers said.

“We did use pepper spray yesterday and that was entirely appropriate.”

‘Close eye’ on remaining protesters
Police have had officers stationed around the perimeters of the CBD area today, but have not reported any issues.

Protesters have been gathering in other areas around Wellington, including on the Miramar Peninsula.

Police were keeping a “very close eye” on them, Chambers said.

“We are monitoring all behaviour and their activity to prevent and further situations.”

Assistant Commissioner Chambers said any protesters remaining in the Wellington region should go home. He said genuine protesters were long gone by yesterday.

Police would also monitor any activity in other parts of the country, Assistant Commissioner Chambers said. He added that police would be patrolling anywhere in the country where there are protests for as long as it takes.

Controller of the investigation
As national controller of the investigation into the protest, Chambers would be kept informed of any related activity elsewhere in the country.

“What we have seen today is a number of those protests, protesters, depart and go home as well.”

Before police involved in yesterday’s operation return to their part of the country they were required to have a RAT test, Assistant Commissioner Chambers said.

Assistant Commissioner Chambers said today’s efforts in Wellington had focused on reassurance patrols and visibility.

“I’d like to say a very big thank you to the people of Wellington. The support they have shown today to police staff that were involved yesterday and today has been phenomenal.”

He said police had received “thousands” of messages of thanks for their efforts.

Auckland Domain protest camp removed
Meanwhile, in Auckland the anti-mandate camp at Auckland Domain was being disassembled today.

Police and staff from Auckland Council were onsite.

The operation was peaceful and protesters were asking police if they could move somewhere else.

An eyewitness says initially four police and a mediator approached the occupation site, and later more than 10 officers and about 40 council workers were there.

Roads in the Domain were still closed.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police are out in force in New Zealand’s capital Wellington after yesterday’s massive operation to clear the illegal anti-covid public health measures occupation of Parliament grounds.

There were chaotic scenes as protesters scrambled to save what gear they could and some were pepper-sprayed.

People set fire to trees and tents and loud bangs could be heard — possibly gas canisters exploding — as the flames spread, damaging the children’s playground and surrounding trees.

The fires were put out, allowing police to push protesters onto the streets but tensions simmered for hours.

At the height of the confrontation officers fired sponge bullets and protesters hurled bricks, pieces of of wood, rubbish and traffic cones in running battles on central city streets.

As of late last night, 87 people had been arrested for offences including trespass, wilful damage and possession of restricted weapons.

Question time cancelled
Parliament’s regular question time has been cancelled today and MPs are instead delivering speeches on yesterday’s chaos.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern makes an initial statement, followed by other party leaders.

The House will then adjourn early and return on Tuesday.

As damage to Parliament’s grounds and surrounding streets is assessed, the future of protest in New Zealand — both online and in person — will have to be reconsidered, said Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.

This morning parliamentary services workers were out in gloves beginning the work of dismantling and disposing of piles of debris left strewn across the site when protesters were forced out by police yesterday.

The violent scenes ended a three-week occupation, and left behind couches, clothing, tents and gazebos, barbecues, gas bottles and camping gear, as well as the gaps left when paving stones were torn out and hurled at police and charred damage from fires lit in a final desperate stand.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health reported 23,183 new community cases of covid-19 today, with 503 people in hospital, including seven in intensive care.

In a statement, the ministry said a new death of a New Zealander with covid-19 had been recorded with a person dying in a Bay of Plenty rest home. The person died of an unrelated medical condition while receiving palliative care and had tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 146,527 known active community cases in New Zealand.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The area around New Zealand’s Parliament has today been the scene of a full-day ordeal of violence as police removed protesters whose behaviour prompted the Prime Minister to say there were “words I cannot use in this environment for what I saw”.

Early this morning, police launched an operation at Parliament and the surrounding areas in the capital Wellington “to restore order and access to the area”.

Before the sun rose, police could be seen getting information, holding shields.

As the sun set at the end of the day, about 150 protesters were peacefully facing police with riot shields on Featherston Street near the Railway Station — although other officers were clearing away signs of the earlier violence – bricks and bottles that had been thrown at them.

The afternoon saw fires lit, explosions, weapons used against police, injuries to officers and arrests at the 23-day anti-covid public health measures protest.

About 5pm, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed media and laid out just how she felt about the actions of the protesters.

Ardern said she was angry and deeply saddened to see Parliament desecrated in the way seen today, including the children’s playground being set alight.

An ‘illegal, hostile’ occupation
It demonstrated why the government refused to engage with the group, she said.

“It was an illegal occupation, they engaged in hostile, violent and aggressive behaviour throughout the occupation, and today that has culminated in the desecration of this Parliament’s grounds.

“I am absolutely committed we will restore those grounds and we will not be defined by one act by a small group of people.”

Ardern said there was a place for peaceful protest in this country, but “this is not the way that we engage and protest”. She said peaceful protest was the way to send a message, this by comparison was “a way to end up before the courts”.

Police remove protesters from Parliament.      Video: RNZ News

How it played out
As the day began, some protesters had spent the night preparing for action, with cars and campervans moved to block streets.

As police moved into the area, a loud speaker blared instructions for protesters to leave or be arrested, while officers searched tents and checked no-one was in them before ripping them down.

As daylight set in, a clash between protesters and police followed.

But police gained significant ground, removing a number of vehicles and structures belonging to the protesters.

Leading up to midday, police in riot gear could be seen in among the operation. Pepper spray was used in response to protesters using fire extinguishers at officers.

About noon, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said a point had been reached “where protest leaders were either unable or unwilling to effect substantial change”.

“We have been concerned that those with good intentions have been outnumbered by those willing to use violence,” he said.

“The harm being done far outweighs any legitimate protest.”

Parliament grounds ‘reclaimed’: Police operation ends 23-day protest https://t.co/38TuLHV9i8

— RNZ News (@rnz_news) March 2, 2022

Balance had tipped
Until today, police had been trying to de-escalate the situation, he said. But the balance had tipped.

“We will continue this operation until this is completed.”

Commissioner Coster would not give a timeline, saying it would be when the job was done.

As the afternoon progressed, the situation heated up.

Police continued to gain ground, ripping out tents, barriers and signs, protesters physically pushed back, threw bricks, wood and other items, and used tent poles like javelins.

Gas bottles exploded and fires were lit – including Parliament’s slide and tents set ablaze.

Just before 4pm, police said they had arrested 38 people and towed 30 vehicles.

Shortly after, police gained more ground including the Beehive forecourt and then began using fire hoses to spray protesters.

Not long after, Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told Checkpoint that Parliament Grounds had been reclaimed after 23 days of occupation.

“We’ve made magnificent progress today our staff have done an incredible job, in very challenging circumstances.

“You will have seen that has been met with significant resistance and violence from some, and we are very pleased with the way that our staff dealt with it today.”

Seven police staff required hospital treatment.

“They have a range of minor and serious but non-life threatening injuries. They are all receiving support and their families have been advised,” police said in a statement.

“Some injuries were lacerations caused by objects thrown at them. These included bricks and paving stones taken from the nearby streets, rocks, traffic cones, poles and wood from pallets. Staff were also showered with paint, petrol and water from a high-powered fire hose.”

Review of protest occupation
Ardern signalled there would be a review of the protest occupation at Parliament to determine if more could have been done to prevent it from happening.

Coming into the evening, police said they would continue efforts to clear Parliament grounds overnight.

There will be a substantial police presence in Wellington and at Parliament, and residents should be assured that police will continue to make their presence felt and keep them safe.

A small number of protesters remained near the Victoria University Pipitea campus.

Late on Wednesday evening, Speaker of Parliament Trevor Mallard said in a statement that Parliament’s grounds would be closed until further notice.

‘Recovery plan’
“A recovery plan for the grounds has been developed which includes working with mana whenua and coordinating offers of assistance from volunteer groups,” he said.

“Due to assessments of the grounds’ condition that must take place before that work can begin, and for health, safety, and sanitary reasons, I ask that all members of the public please stay away till advised otherwise.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the police, Parliamentary Security, Buildings and Facilities, Health and Safety teams and all other staff for their continued efforts to keep everyone at Parliament and the surrounding areas safe.

“Their resilience and understanding, along with all of you who have been affected by this protest must be acknowledged and thanks given for everyone’s hard work and messages of support.”

More information about the recovery plan for Parliament’s grounds would be released when it was available, Mallard said.

“We will restore our beautiful grounds and I will keep you informed of developments.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is saddened and angered by protesters’ actions today, and that the New Zealand Parliament’s grounds have been “desecrated”.

Ardern addressed media after an afternoon that saw fires lit, explosions and objects thrown at police as an anti-covid public health protest sparked violent scenes.

There have been multiple arrests, vehicles have been towed away and some police and protesters have suffered injuries.

Some set fire to protesters’ tents arousing concern that gas canisters would explode, and some large blasts were heard.

Police were able to take back most of the ground the protesters had been occupying for the past three weeks.

Ardern said she was angry and deeply saddened to see Parliament desecrated in the way seen today, including the children’s playground being set alight.

She said it demonstrated why the government refused to engage with the group.

‘An illegal occupation’
“It was an illegal occupation, they engaged in hostile, violent and aggressive behaviour throughout the occupation, and today that has culminated in the desecration of this Parliament’s grounds,” she said.

“I am absolutely committed we will restore those grounds and we will not be defined by one act by a small group of people.”

Asked about those who had been throwing projectiles at police, including LPG bottles thrown on flames and cobblestones hurled at officers, she said there were “words I cannot use in this environment for what I saw today”.

She said while the events today did not surprise her — considering the anger protesters had already expressed in the past few days — Ardern said it did sadden her.

PM Jacinda Ardern’s media briefing outside Parliament

Video: RNZ News

She said anyone still throwing projectiles should “put down their weapons long enough for police to arrest them”.

Ardern said there was a place for peaceful protest in this country, but “this is not the way that we engage and protest”.

She said peaceful protest was the way to send a message, this by comparison is “a way to end up before the courts”.

Asked if protesters would be able to return overnight or tomorrow, Ardern said police would be present at Parliament.

She said the police commissioner wished to make the point that there would be a substantial police presence in Wellington, and locals should be assured that while this had been a distressing period, police would continue to make their presence felt and keep them safe.

Ardern said she knew that in planning for today’s operation, police had expected there would be “hostility, resistance and violence”.

“They planned for that because that is what they and Wellingtonians have experienced for several weeks now.”

She said while they planned for it, it was another thing entirely to witness it.

Thanks to frontline police, emergency services
“To our frontline police and emergency and fire services, you have our deep admiration and our thanks. You have been calm but resolute in trying to bring this occupation to a conclusion,” she said.

“It has come at great risk to your personal safety. Thank you for putting others before yourselves.”

She said she had spoken to the police commissioner and there have been various injuries sustained by officers, but she would leave it to him to go into more detail.

Ardern said the fires created in the front of Parliament, including at the war memorial were causing more distress than what the police would have done today.

She said she believed the force that was used was used to keep others safe.

She said police have been mindful of the presence of children throughout the occupation, and there were other agencies present should there be a situation where children were left unsupervised or uncared for, such as if parents were arrested.

Infected 20,000 in one day
Ardern said it was almost impossible to comprehend that people would stand opposed to efforts to slow down the spread of a disease, when it has infected 20,000 and put more than 400 in hospital in just one day.

She said while many had seen disinformation and dismissed it as conspiracy theory, a small portion had believed it and acted on it in a violent way.

“This cannot stand.”

Ardern said this afternoon’s events were an attack on frontline police, an attack on Parliament, and an attack on New Zealanders’ values, and it was wrong.

“Our country will not be defined by the dismantling of an occupation. In fact when we look back on this period in our history, I hope we remember one thing,” she said.

“Thousands more lives were saved in the past two years by your actions as New Zealanders than were on that front lawn of Parliament today.

“The sacrifices we were all willing to make to look after one another, that is what will define us, no protest, no fire, no placards will ever change that. Today the police will restore order and tomorrow your government will work hard to get us safely back to the normality everyone deserves.”

About 270 protesters
Ardern said there was nothing to suggest that security settings as a country needed to change in response to the protest. She said it was estimated there were about 270 protesters who were causing the acts of violence and destruction seen today.

“That demonstrates it only takes a relatively small group of people who are committed to destruction to cause it, should they so choose. But it also demonstrates it was not a large group who were engaging in those acts either.

“We are not going to dismiss some of the underlying causes of what we have seen, but nor will we excuse it.”

She said work would be done to address how misinformation and disinformation led to what was seen today, but the government “will be at pains to ensure that it never becomes an excuse for the violent acts that it resulted in”.

“It’s a dangerous place when citizens are led into spaces where they believe so deeply in conspiracy theory that they react with such violence.”

Ardern acknowledged there have been for a long time a group of New Zealanders who have been living on the margins and have subscribed to other conspiracy theories, and “this happens to be the current rallying cry”.

Ardern said finding a solution to disinformation and misinformation was not about taking away people’s ability to have differing opinions or debate, to take different positions.

“People should of course always have that freedom of thought and view and perspective and in New Zealand we’ve celebrated that, but when the debate you’re having is no longer based on fact, where does that take you? That is the challenge we have.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police have made 60 arrests today as part of a pre-planned operation to remove anti-covid public health protesters from New Zealand’s Parliament grounds.

Police have been descending on Parliament from early this morning on day 23 of the occupation and have also begun towing larger vehicles, including campervans and trucks.

They say they have gained significant ground this morning across the occupation.

Police have asked the public and commuters to avoid the area near Parliament and say they will continue to help those who want to leave the grounds to do so safely.

Hill Street is closed, and many surrounding streets to the protest have been blocked.

Protesters have reacted by throwing cones at police.

Police staff in and around the protest area have sighted protesters in possession of various weapons. These include homemade plywood shields and pitchforks.

One man told RNZ he wanted to move his car because it was all he owned.

There were reports of forklifts on the move, and police were also taking down more tents.

Around 60 people have now been arrested in relation to this morning’s operation at Parliament grounds.

Police continue to tow vehicles that are parked illegally. We have commenced towing larger vehicles, which includes trucks, vans and campervans.

— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 1, 2022

One of the RNZ reporters on the scene said they were being abused by protesters and told to leave.

The Kīngitanga is calling for a peaceful resolution to the occupation at Parliament and other sites across the country.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the Kīngitanga had not given its support to any occupation and claims to the contrary were untrue.

They said Kiingi Tuheitia had been a strong advocate for the covid public health response, while acknowledging the impact on people and their families.

The Kīngitanga said its priority was to get through omicron and start preparing for a life after covid.

The Kīngitanga said it was calling for a peaceful resolution to the occupation at Parliament and other protest sites across the country.

#WATCH Hundreds of police, many in riot gear, are moving in on protesters occupying Parliament and the surrounding streets.

Here is what our reporters saw throughout the morning.https://t.co/GcuivdbAuR

— Morning Report (@NZMorningReport) March 1, 2022

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A public health expert says New Zealand’s covid-19 response is still one of the best in the world, two years after the first case was discovered here.

Two years ago today, the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in New Zealand, in a recent returnee.

The entire country would go into lockdown for the first time less than a month later.

As New Zealand marks two years of living with covid-19, 14,633 new community cases of the virus were announced yesterday alone and a total of 56 people have died from it.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were also 344 community cases of the cases in hospital and five in ICU.

This was less than a record 14,941 community cases reported yesterday.

Lowest death rate in OECD
Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker of Otago University said this country still had the lowest death rate from covid-19 in the OECD by a large margin.

“The pandemic is now thought to have killed about 20 million people across the globe,” he said.

“And they’re mainly in countries where, obviously, they’ve had limited resources, or they’ve had very poor leadership from the governments.

“It’s interesting to see, in somewhere like Russia, the pandemic has now killed almost 0.8 percent of the entire population.”

The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centre reported 86,140 cases of covid-19 and 56 deaths today.

The centre reported more than 435 million cases of the virus and 5.9 million deaths globally.

Professor Baker said he was still optimistic about the future, highlighting that life expectancy in New Zealand had risen by about eight months over the course of the pandemic — one of the only countries in which this has happened.

Russian life expectancy dropped
By comparison, the life expectancy of Russian residents had dropped by about two years, he said.

“We haven’t seen those kinds of impacts since the Second World War.”

Professor Baker said the outbreak would peak over the next month before declining. He warned that New Zealand would see tens of thousands of new infections every day, and the total number of people with covid-19 was likely to be much higher than the number of people that get tested.

However, he said New Zealand had fared well compared to other countries.

“By delaying the arrival of the omicron variant, it’s given us a good opportunity to get highly vaccinated and boosted. And also, we have what is called peak immunity, because we’ve had our vaccine doses and boosters very recently and that means we’re ready to meet this virus with a lot of antibodies.”

The Ministry of Health said more than two thirds of eligible New Zealanders had now had their booster dose, with 28,836 people receiving their boosters on Saturday.

Four people were arrested at the Parliament grounds anti-covid public health protest overnight — two for breaking bail conditions, one for possessing an offensive weapon and one for trespass.

Police said the number of protesters had shrunk to about 200 people.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Auckland Domain remained closed today to vehicles until further notice, because a small number of anti-covid protesters have set up tents there and stayed overnight.

They moved there after thousands of people crossed the harbour bridge on foot yesterday, in a march organised protest against New Zealand’s covid-19 public health measures.

The Ministry of Health reported a record 14,941 new community cases of covid-19 in New Zealand today, with 305 people now in hospital — five of them in intensive care.

Camping is not permitted in the Domain, which lies between the suburbs of Parnell and Grafton.

Auckland Council director of customer and community services Claudia Wyss said it was working with event organisers on a safety-first approach.

She said there was no timeline for reopening at this stage and the council apologised for any inconvenience.

The campers include people who took part in the march over the Harbour Bridge, shutting down southbound traffic for an hour and a half.

The march was organised by Destiny Church’s Freedoms and Rights Coalition. Leaders had been in talks with the Auckland Council and police about their presence late on Saturday, and promised to leave the site by 9pm that night.

A protester in a video has claimed to have mana whenua status, and said they were occupying a pa site at the domain.

Auckland Council said it was continuing to work with police and to engage constructively with the group.

However, it has raised concerns the marchers and protesters risked spreading covid-19 by gathering.

In New Plymouth, about seven tents and about 30 people were at an anti-covid protest beside the Coastal Walkway on Sunday morning.

Fewer people at Wellington anti-covid protest
About 300 vehicles remain in the protest area inside cordons at Parliament grounds, however an RNZ reporter said some protesters appeared to be packing up this morning ready to leave.

Police are maintaining a perimeter at access routes to the area amid the sounds of reggae music and the occasional car horn. The protesters are waving flags and shouting the word “freedom”, to passing cars.

Protesters have been camping in tents and in vehicles parked in and around the protest area, which covers grounds belonging to Victoria University as well as parts of Molesworth and Hill streets.

Businesses, schools, the university and residents in the area have reported major disruption since it began on February 7.

About 200 new protesters turned up at the campsite on Saturday, but police said that was far fewer than on previous weekends.

RNZ estimates that by Sunday the number of protesters had halved from last weekend, when more than 1000 people took part.

A group called Farmers for Freedom told followers this morning via social media that a convoy it had organised would reach the protest today with a trailer of food.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Hospitals across New Zealand are receiving anti-covid-19 mandate protesters returning from Parliament, and are pleading with those experiencing cold and flu symptoms to get tested and isolate.

There were mounting tensions at the Parliament protest today, where police have formed a line to keep protesters back.

More people have turned up in Wellington to join the event.

Officers are trying to block access for cars into the bus interchange area and are using a forklift to reposition concrete bollards.

Some protesters are driving past the area, shouting at police to leave.

Meanwhile, hospitals are now reporting visits from protesters returning from the anti-covid-19 mandate protest at Parliament, and are pleading with those experiencing cold and flu symptoms to get tested and isolate.

The Ministry of Health said hospitals throughout the country had reported visits from people who have been at the anti-mandate protest at Parliament before returning home.

Widespread disruptions
Thousands of protesters have occupied the grounds of Parliament and nearby Wellington central streets since their convoy arrived on February 7 creating widespread disruptions, with many ignoring social distancing rules and not wearing masks.

The occupation is now a location of interest after people infectious with covid-19 were confirmed to be among the crowd, and anyone who is there on the listed times and dates is asked to carefully monitor for symptoms, and follow instructions about what to do next if they have any.

In a statement today, the ministry said the protest was a potential super spreader event as the spread of omicron hit a new record of 13,606 community cases today.

Five of the 263 people in hospital with the coronavirus were in intensive care.

Early in the protest leading epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker of Otago University warned this could happen, saying people mixing with groups from outside their household, singing, eating together and sharing transport and accommodation was a recipe for the spread of omicron from those at the protest out to other communities.

Yesterday police called on protesters to take children home, saying the event was not safe for families.

More than 130 people have been arrested at the event, and media have reported Corrections has confirmed they have been monitoring a “small number” of criminals subject to GPS monitoring conditions who were at the event.

‘Reassurance patrols’
Sewage leaks and assaults have also been connected to the event.

Police are carrying out “reassurance patrols” for residents that live near the protest at parliament today, and said officers would continue to be visible at the protest site.

“The focus for police is to contain the current perimeters of the protest and continue to maintain a safe community for our Wellington residents,” they said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the threats and violence against news media by protesters during the 16-day anti-covid-19 vaccine mandates occupation of Parliament grounds, and called for prosecutions of those responsible.

The media are among favourite targets of some of the 500 or so protesters still camped in front of the Parliament building, known as the Beehive, after arriving from various parts of the country in “freedom convoys” akin to those causing chaos in parts of Canada for the past month, reports the Paris-based media freedom watchdog in a statement today.

The violence against journalists trying to cover the protest had included being regularly pelted with tennis balls with such not-very-subtle insults as “terrorists” and “paedophiles” written on them, said RSF.

“Media = Fake News” and “Media is the virus” are typical of the slogans on the countless signs outside protesters’ tents.

Journalists who approach have also been greeted with drawings of gallows and nooses, as well as insults and threats of violence ­– to the point that most of them now have bodyguards, says Mark Stevens, head of news at Stuff, New Zealand’s leading news website.

‘Your days are numbered‘
Stevens sounded the alarm about the attacks on journalists in an editorial published on February 11.

“They’ve had gear smashed, been punched and belted with umbrellas,” he wrote. “Many reporters have been harassed […], including one threatened with their home being burned down.”

The violence has not been limited to Wellington.

In New Plymouth, an angry crowd tried to storm the offices of the local newspaper, Stuff’s Taranaki Daily News, two weeks ago, as reported by Mediawatch. Some of the protesters even managed to breach the newspaper’s secured doors and attack members of the staff.

“After the police intervened, [conspiracy theorist] Brett Power urged the protesters to return in order to hold the editor ‘accountable for crimes’ — meaning the newspaper’s failure to report their protests in the way they wanted,” the RSF statement said.

“The verbal and physical violence against journalists is accompanied by extremely shocking online hate messages.”

Stuff’s chief political reporter Henry Cooke tweeted an example of the threats he had received on social media:

i prefer the old “sleep with one eye open” thing personally, one has to get SOME sleep pic.twitter.com/wxh5x83Dsx

— henry cooke (@henrycooke) November 17, 2021

Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk, said: “The virulence of the threats against journalists by demonstrators, and the constant violence to which they have been subjected since the start of these protests are not acceptable in a democracy.”

He called on authorities to “not allow these disgraceful acts to go unpunished. There is a danger that journalists will no longer be able to calmly cover these protests, opening the way to a flood of misinformation.”

In a recent article, Kristin Hall, a reporter for 1News, described her dismay at discovering the level of “distaste for the press” among protesters who regarded the mainstream media as nothing more than “a bunch of liars”.

“People have asked me why I’m not covering the protests while I’m in the middle of interviewing them,” she wrote.

‘Headlocks, punches’
Protester mistrust is no longer limited to mainstream media regarded as accomplices of a system imposing pandemic-related restrictions, as Graham Bloxham — a Wellington resident who runs the Wellington Live Community local news page on Facebook – found to his cost when he went to interview one of the protest organisers on February 18.

“We just wanted to show people that it is peaceful … then bang. They just yelled and whacked. They were just all on me and they basically beat me and my cameraman to a pulp,” he told 1News.

“Headlocks, punches… they were really violent.”

Protesters have been asking me all week for “evidence” of volatility towards the Wellington public so here it is. https://t.co/mhJNcXlMrF

— Kristin Hall (@kristinhallNZ) February 19, 2022

A photo of a dozen Nazi war criminals being hanged at the end of the Second World War has been circulating on social media popular with the protesters for the past few days, accompanied by the comment: “Photograph of hangings at Nuremberg, Germany. Members of the media, who lied and misled the German people, were executed.” Definitely not subtle.

Attacks against journalists have rarely or never been as virulent as this in New Zealand, which is ranked 8th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

• Henry Cooke reported an apology from some of the protesters over the “treatment” of some journalists, but incidents have continued to be reported.

Group of protest groups apologise for denying media access to Parliament grounds – but now ask we go through a liaison officer before turning up. pic.twitter.com/MIgksDJ50O

— henry cooke (@henrycooke) February 18, 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police leaders condemned the behaviour by protesters outside New Zealand’s Parliament in the capital Wellington today as “absolutely disgraceful”.

The confrontation between police and protesters began early on Tuesday morning and escalated when a car hurtled towards officers.

Three police officers were hospitalised after being hit with what they described as a “stinging substance”.

But protesters in the camp insist their stand remains peaceful, reiterating they will be going nowhere until covid-19 vaccine mandates are dropped.

Despite the claim the protest is “peaceful”, Wellington Free Ambulance announced it has made the “difficult decision” to no longer enter the protest area at Parliament.

It said the decision was made to prioritise the safety of paramedics, after the white Honda drove at police.

“The behaviour of a certain group within the protests community is absolutely disgraceful,” said Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers.

Faeces thrown at police
In a repeat of Monday’s conflict, officers had faeces thrown at them. The stinging substance that was thrown at police has not been identified.

“We are working very, very hard to reduce the impact of the protest on the community here in Wellington, and to be met with the resistance we saw this morning is very disappointing for everybody,” Chambers said.

However, many still camped at Parliament on the 15th day of the protest are insisting they come in peace.

“This is a lovely community,” one woman told Checkpoint. “I’ve heard children say ‘I want to live here’.”

Flax hats at a gazebo
Leslie was weaving flax hats at a gazebo on the outskirts of the occupation. She said she felt the pull to go to Wellington after watching the protest on TV and after losing her job of seven years as a cook.

“I didn’t only lose my job, I lost my house… the house was part of my job.”

Another protester, Jacob, said the mandates meant he could not keep his job, and he was facing losing his house.

“I’ve been a caregiver working with men living with disabilities. And now since mandates, I haven’t been able to work with these clients, even though it’s one on one and they would actually want to have that continuity.”

Aucklander Bryan told Checkpoint he had been at the protest since day one and had been at the front of the line with his son in clashes with police, which he described as “amazing”.

Year 10 student Libby was also at the protest, off school and with her family.

“My brother can’t play sports. I can’t play sports. All my friends — one of my friends, she’s a really good football player and she’s been denied, she can’t play in her club teams and she’s like, really good, like she could go nationals, worldwide if she wanted to.”

The fact is that the government has not mandated that children must be vaccinated to participate in school or extracurricular activities. They are decisions made independently by schools and clubs.

Underbelly of undesirable, illegal, activity
While the atmosphere appears friendly on the ground at the protest, police say they are seeing something quite different.

Assistant Commissioner Chambers said there was an underbelly of undesirable, illegal, activity.

“There has been a suggestion that within the protest area down there, there may be sexual assaults.

“We are the only agency who can investigate sexual assaults and if anyone would like to come forward to us to talk about what might have occurred to them then please do come forward and we will work with you as best we can.”

Some protesters agree there are small, negative elements that need cleaning up, while others say the protest message must be refined.

“We need to be able to put our egos aside and be able to put our agendas aside and come together,” one protester told Checkpoint.

Mayor in high level talks
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster told Checkpoint he was in high level talks regarding the Parliament protest but would not detail who he was talking to.

Foster said he was also talking with government and police regularly.

“We are looking to achieve the same thing which is trying to get as quick as possible, as safe as possible, resolution of this protest so that we can get our streets back and people can go about doing their normal daily business.”

He said police had made “good progress” today with containing the spread of the protest, but things at the protest were not in an “acceptable position” yet.

On people losing their jobs because of the mandate, Foster said “there had to be a way through this”.

“I think the government has been fairly clear that it won’t remove mandates at this stage, but I think at least if there can be a clear pathway that might be enough for some people.

“And maybe the kind of thing you might want to think about is if … people are on sick leave, that kind of thing, just allow that to be extended so that the job is not actually lost.”

Foster said Wellington City Council was putting together a pandemic response package for local businesses, including rates deferral, reduced parking costs, and reducing council fees and charges for businesses particularly in hospitality.

Mixed messages aside, one thing that appeared consistent among the masses — with a pre-school, a vegetable garden and even a tattoo parlour — they are in it for the long haul.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the omicron outbreak is likely to peak in Aotearoa New Zealand in three to six weeks.

At that point, she says, the country will move down the traffic light settings, easing off gathering limits.

“We are predicting cases will continue to double every three to four days … it’s likely then that very soon we will all know people who have covid, or we will potentially get it ourselves,” Ardern says.

She says there are three reasons that is no longer as scary a prospect as it used to be.

“Firstly, we are highly vaccinated, and that happened before omicron set in.”

Secondly she said that meant omicron would be a mild to moderate illness, and boosters made hospitalisation 10 times less likely.

Third, public health measures like masks, gathering limits and vaccine passes were helping slow down the spread to ensure everyone who needed a hospital bed can get it.

The plan is working
“So far, that plan is working. We have 46 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 367 in New South Wales and 664 in Victoria at the same point in the outbreak. Our hospitalisations too are well below Australian states at a similar time.”

Ardern said cases were likely to peak in mid- to late March, some three to six weeks away.

At that point a rapid decline, followed by cases stabilising at a lower level was likely.

Ardern said at that point the traffic light system could change, because it meant public health measures used to protect the health system could be eased off.

She said vaccine passes had been necessary as the “least bad option” but they had always been temporary.

After we come through a wave and a peak of omicron, many unvaccinated people would have been exposed to covid-19.

She says coming through the peak would allow the government to ease mandates in places where they were less likely to impact on vulnerable people.

“They will remain important in some areas though, for some time.”

Beyond omicron … the easing of covid restrictions. Video: RNZ News

Mandates to remain in some areas
Mandates were likely to remain for some areas — particularly sections of the healthcare workforce — but there would be a narrowing of where they were required, she said.

She said it was hard to set a date, but the government needed to ensure the country was  “well beyond the peak” and that the pressure on the health system was manageable.

She said the reasons not to do away with the traffic light system entirely was so the country was prepared for new variants and potential future waves, and the coming of winter at the same time as flu returns.

“To summarise then, the coming weeks. Covid will increase, and rapidly. There will be disruption and pressure from omicron. We must brace through the next six weeks, but we can do so knowing the future with fewer restrictions is near because that has always been the course we have chartered,” Ardern said.

She said that as the country reached the peak and started to come down New Zealanders could all move towards a “new normal” they can all live with.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has outlined new financial supports to help businesses impacted by the red settings.

High daily cases continue
Daily covid-19 cases continued to increase dramatically over the weekend, reaching a new high of 2522 on Sunday — with two new deaths — and remaining above 2300 today.

The high case load has also led to an increase in related hospitalisations, putting strain on the health system which is already seeing some patients spending up to 36 hours in emergency departments, often waiting for hours in corridors.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there had also been two covid-19 related deaths as well as 2365 new community cases.

“Sadly, we are today reporting the death of a patient at Middlemore Hospital.”

A patient in their 70s at Auckland City Hospital also died following a diagnosis of Covid-19, the ministry said.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with both patients’ family and friends.”

There are 116 people in hospital today – one in Northland, 20 in North Shore, 34 in Middlemore, 47 in Auckland, one in Tauranga, 12 in Waikato and one in Tairāwhiti.

There is one case in ICU or HDU.

The average age of the current hospitalisations is 58.

Ardern’s message to protesters
Ardern said she had a final message for those occupying the lawns of Parliament: “Everyone is over covid. No one wants to live with rules or restrictions, but had we not been willing to work together to protect one another then we would have all been worse off as individuals, including losing people we love.

“That hasn’t happened here for the most part and that is a fact worth celebrating, rather than protesting.

“We all want to go back to the way life was, and we will, I suspect sooner than you think. But when that happens it will be because easing restrictions won’t compromise the life of thousands of people — not because you demand it.

“Now is not the time to dismantle our hard work and preparation, to remove our armour just as the battle begins.”

Ardern said she still had confidence in the police commissioner and “the enormous job” he and all police did every day, including on the forecourt of Parliament right now.

Asked when protesters would be gone, she said enforcement of the law was a decision that lay with police, she said.

She said her speech today was “absolutely not” in response to the demands of the protesters.

‘Bullying’ and ‘harassment’
She said the protesters had been engaging in illegal activity that bordered on and demonstrated “bullying” and “harassment” of Wellingtonians, and she found the opposition calls for more details on lowering restrictions “quite upsetting to see they now seem to be responding and sympathising with the protesters”.

She said no one should have to put up with having human waste thrown at them, as police say happened this morning.

This morning she again urged protesters at Parliament to go home.

Police early today moved to contain the convoy protest — which has now been at Parliament for two weeks — by installing concrete barriers to prevent more vehicles from entering the area.

A researcher today warned that the continued presence of far-right elements among the protesters risked greater radicalisation, and possible violence.

Ardern has maintained there will be no engagement with the protesters, and although ACT leader David Seymour spoke to some of their representatives last week, all parties have since signed a letter from the Speaker saying there would be no dialogue from politicians until disruptive and threatening behaviour was brought to an end.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Two weeks in and New Zealand’s anti-mandates occupation of Parliament grounds remains a total stalemate with no sign protesters are going anywhere. So where to from here?

About 800 vehicles continue to clog streets around the precinct and protester numbers swelled to more than 1000 this weekend.

Music blasted from the performance stage — just some of the new infrastructure brought in during the second weekend of the occupation of Parliament.

Early this morning, police installed concrete blocks in a bid to contain the protest and free up Wellington streets. They made a handful of arrests.

But there is still no sign of a police crackdown, or of protesters leaving, and Otago University Law professor Andrew Geddis said it looked like they were trying to wait each other out.

He said it was now a battle for public approval — but there was nothing legally preventing police from breaking the occupation up.

“If that was spraying them with pepper and hitting with batons, the law would allow for that,” he said.

“The problem is, of course, that it would look terrible, and it also, it just would be terrible.

“The idea of the police batoning people even if the law allows it … it is just something that in New Zealand we haven’t really seen for years and hopefully you never have to see again.”

Police likely attempting to divide and conquer
Security analyst Dr Paul Buchanan said the police should employ a divide and conquer strategy to separate and eject protesters at Parliament with violent ideologies.

He said the intelligence services should be using camera and drone imagery and facial recognition technology to identify the far-right elements and racist extremists.

“Those people have to be dealt [with] separately and I would say a little more harshly than the majority of the crowd, which are a bunch of hippies and circle dancers, wellness folk who are well intentioned — albeit in my mind misguided.”

Dr Buchanan said there were more options than total appeasement or violent crackdown.

Advocate Simon Oosterman advises non-violent social justice activists here and abroad on how to manage interactions with police.

He said the police strategy seemed to be attempting to deescalate, avoid radicalising people by being heavy-handed, and keeping a lid on bad optics.

For now, he expected towing and ticketing vehicles at the fringes while police worked to create a split between the minority of protesters who are harassing the public and police — and the rest.

Public anger, and towing resources crucial
The Parliament protest is a copycat of one in Canada which brought the downtown of the capital Ottawa to a standstill for three weeks, but which has largely been cleared out with little bloodshed.

Freelance journalist Justin Ling, who has been on the ground in the city, said an increasingly furious public, massive resources from emergency powers and the bitter cold finally brought about the breakthrough.

“Maybe the most crucial part was just the fact that the federal government was able to conscript a whole bunch of tow trucks into helping out police clear the street – just a game changer,” he said.

“You’ve seen this the city clear in just 24 hours – incredibly quickly – there were fears that could have taken weeks.”

Whānau need to ask protesters to come home – health research
Tairāwhiti activist and health researcher Tina Ngata said whānau need to reach out to those who have gone to Parliament and ask them to come home.

“Even if one or two does listen, and then that’s important.

“But also I think Wellingtonians need to hear that we stand in solidarity with them. And the mana whenua of Ngāti Toa Rangatira – Taranaki Whānui in particular … they need to know we stand in solidarity with them.”

Wellington iwi leaders have called for an end to the protest at Parliament.

Ngata said those who did return home need to be tested so they do not bring covid back into vulnerable communities.

Meanwhile, both Buchanan and Ngata said even if the Parliament occupation is broken up, they expect the protest to keep spreading around the country.

• The Ministry of Health reported 2365 new community cases of covid-19 in New Zealand today. In a statement, the ministry said there has also been two covid-19 related deaths.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz