Sir Tim, who was awarded the Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List, served eight terms as Invercargill Mayor between 1993 and 1995, and again between 1998-2022, and two terms as Waitematā (Auckland) Mayor, between 1983 and 1989, making him one of the longest-serving mayors in New Zealand.

“Today we lost the cornerstone of our family and the man who has devoted himself to promoting the City of Invercargill for almost 30 years,” the mayor’s partner of many decades, Asha Dutt, said in a statement on behalf of the family.

“Tim was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about the people around him. He was a champion for the underdog and an active political campaigner from his student days of anti-war protest, his activism for Māori rights, and his fight to keep the Southern Institute of Technology and Zero Fees autonomous.

“Tim will be remembered with gratitude, respect, and affection for his commitment to the south and his passion for life. The citizens of Invercargill can be proud of the enormous legacy he leaves.”

Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell told RNZ he was saddened by the news of Sir Tim’s passing.

“He was an extraordinary, charismatic man. On the surface he was a bit of a joker and a bit of a showman. But also a profoundly capable person.

‘Beloved by Invercargill’
“He is beloved by the people of Invercargill and they’re going to be deeply affected by his death.”

The longstanding local leader was responsible for amplifying the city’s profile, not just around New Zealand, but offshore, Campbell said.

“You went anywhere in this country, you go into a taxi, the taxi driver says: ‘where do you come from?’ you say: ‘Invercargill’. They say ‘Sir Tim Shadbolt’.

“You could go to London and the same thing happened. You could go to Melbourne and the same thing happened.

“He was extraordinarily well known.”

Campbell, who won the city’s mayoralty last year, said aside from Sir Tim’s longevity, his advocacy for both the Southern Institute of Technology and Invercargill Airport were some of his greatest achievements in office.

“I think the city is much stronger as a consequence of having Sir Tim as mayor for as long as it did,” he said.

‘Everybody smiled’
“There’s a lot of good that comes from continuity. Just having the same person, pushing the same programmes, being well-known, being popular, everybody smiled when they saw him.

“I think he raised the spirits of Invercargill, he certainly raised the profile of Invercargill, and that’s what he’s going to be remembered for.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid tribute to Shadbolt, writing on social media that “few New Zealanders have given such devoted public service as Sir Tim.”

I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt.

Few New Zealanders have given such devoted public service as Sir Tim. He served Southlanders and Aucklanders for decades – with a smile on his face and a distinctive charm.

He devoted his career to making his community…

— Christopher Luxon (@chrisluxonmp) January 8, 2026

Labour party leader Chris Hipkins also expressed his condolences.

“From all of the Labour Party, we are very sad to hear of the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt,” he said.

“Sir Tim gave decades of service to the people of Invercargill. He was a passionate advocate for his community, a tireless public servant, and a voice for those often unheard.

“He believed deeply in the power of people and his leadership helped transform Invercargill.”

Sir Tim’s family has requested privacy during this time and said funeral service details will be announced once confirmed.

The Invercargill City Council said flowers could be left at the Blade of Grass sculpture outside the council’s Esk Street offices.

Politician needs communicating “in all ways”
When he was tapped for New Year Honours in 2018, he told RNZ that being a good politician required people to “communicate in all ways”.

“You’ve got to be an excellent and confident public speaker, you’ve got to be a good writer — you’re always writing reports or newspaper columns. You’ve got to be able to communicate via the radio, the internet, and all the changes in technology that we live in.”

“I like to think I am a good politician,” he said then.

“I guess it’s the old cliché that the proof is in the pudding and we’ve had a golden run, really, in Invercargill.

“When I arrived there we were the fastest declining city in New Zealand or Australia, and we’ve turned that around, mainly with the zero fees schemes (at the Southern Institute of Technology) where we went from a thousand students to 5000 students, so it’s good to actually be able to see changes that are significant.”

He said the zero fees scheme changed Invercargill.

“Instead of being sort of a rural backwater, we were suddenly on the cutting edge of innovation and change and that to me is the project I feel most strongly about.

‘Gritty, honest people’
“The people of Invercargill are gritty, honest, hard working and prepared to take risks, and I was a risk.”

Born in Auckland in 1947, he attended Rutherford High and Auckland University.

He first came to national prominence in the 1960s as a student activist on issues like the Vietnam war and apartheid.

A talented public speaker and debater, he worked as a concrete contractor and was a member of the Auckland Regional Council.

In 1983, Shadbolt was elected mayor of Waitematā — and spent a colourful, and at times controversial, six years in the job.

In 1997, he sued Independent News for articles on the disappearance of the mayoral chain and robes eight years earlier, and was awarded $50,000 in damages.

In 1992, he stood for mayor in Auckland, Waitakere and Dunedin, finishing third in each poll.

Elected mayor again
But the following year, Shadbolt was a mayor again, easily beating 13 rivals for the job in a byelection in Invercargill.

Voted out after only two years, he was re-elected in a landslide in 1998.

He lost his last bid for re-election in 2022.

He also showed an interest in national politics — he was the New Zealand First candidate for the Selwyn byelection in 1994, less than 24 hours after joining the party.

And in 1996, he was on the party list for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.

Always prepared to make fun of himself, he appeared in a famous cheese ad featuring the line: “I don’t care where, as long as I’m Mayor”.

The Invercargill City Council paid tribute to him, saying “he was a huge advocate for Invercargill and tirelessly championed for its people. His impact and legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”

“The former mayor was known for ‘putting Invercargill on the map’ and to honour this legacy, the Invercargill Airport terminal building was officially named to the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal last year.

“While Southland was not originally the place he called home, Invercargill will always be proud to claim him as one of its own.”

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Auckland councillors crossed swords, singling out one another and raising impassioned concerns on debt borrowing, rates and selling council’s shares in Auckland Airport before deciding on their annual budget.

Elected members ended yesterday’s meeting undecided but council reconvened this morning to hash out amendments to Mayor Wayne Brown’s budget proposal, before finally voting to approve it.

The governing body of the city with the Pacific’s largest Polynesian population spent the majority of the day going back and forth on many of the points previously raised at the initial meeting yesterday.

The morning finished with council voting to reject the first tabled amendment, going back to square one.

Councillor Chris Darby said if the discussion was like “eating rats”, then council had rat flesh in its teeth.

It was a tense atmosphere in the council chamber, with much back and forth and very little compromise from councillors.

As the meeting dragged on, two members of the public gallery began to speak up, urging councillors to think of the impact the budget would have on the community.

They yelled at council to listen to them, and to spend time in their communities to see the impacts of their budget first hand.

The mayor adjourned the meeting briefly and ordered the two women be removed from the council chamber.

The meeting came to a head, as the council voted to pass the mayor’s proposal, which meant selling about 7 percent of the council’s 18.09 percent shareholding

It also means an average residential rates increase of 7.7 percent.

During the meeting, Christine Fletcher said the discussions held around the budget would serve as good lessons for the governing body.

“There are some magnificent opportunities for all of us to provide leadership,” she said.

As the vote was cast, another member of the public called out, “shame on all of you”.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown is under fire for calling New Zealand journalists “drongos”, blaming them for having to cancel a round of tennis with friends on Sunday as the city dealt with the aftermath of record rainfall and flooding that left four dead.

It comes after widespread criticism of his handling of the disaster, including being slow to declare a state of emergency on Friday night and a combative, testy media conference on Saturday.

A producer for MediaWorks news station Today FM on Saturday said Brown turned down an interview on Friday morning because he wanted to play tennis instead.

WhatsApp messages leaked to The New Zealand Herald showed rain got in the way, with Brown telling friends on Saturday morning it was “pissing down so no tennis”. Despite being freed up, the interview did not go ahead.

And on Saturday night, Brown told the WhatsApp group — known as ‘The Grumpy Old Men’ — he couldn’t play on Sunday either because “I’ve got to deal with media drongos over the flooding”.

Brown asked the Herald not to write a story about the messages, calling them a “private conversation aimed at giving a reason to miss tennis”.

“There is no need to exacerbate a situation which is not about me but about getting things right for the public and especially those in need and in danger.”

He also turned down Morning Report‘s request to appear on the show on Tuesday morning. His deputy, Desley Simpson, did call in — saying she was “happy to talk to you at any time”.

“My understanding is the mayor is on the ground, and has been over the weekend,” she said, not directly addressing criticism he wasn’t communicating effectively.

“I think as his deputy I am more than happy to do that role. I’m talking to you now, I’ll talk to you at any time. That’s my commitment to you and to Auckland.”

Asked if it was acceptable to call journalists “drongos”, Simpson again avoided the question.

“Media play an important part, in my opinion, in helping get our message out. I really appreciate talking to you this morning so that we can inform Aucklanders what they need to do to be prepared for the storm . . .

“My focus, and I think all local boards and other councillors — and the mayor — our focus is making sure that Auckland is prepared for this afternoon and this evening. It’s going to be a rough 24 hours, and I really appreciate you helping us get this message out.”

She then said she had not seen Brown’s texts, she had been busy “getting myself ready this morning with emergency services and stuff for this afternoon”.

The region north of Auckland’s Orewa is under an unprecedented “red” rain warning, while the rest of the city to the south is at orange.

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

Appreciated the chance to speak with @abcnews about the resilience and generosity of so many in the community supporting whanau during these distressing times. The local leadership on show has been magnificent. pic.twitter.com/PJ4hItwjxx

— Efeso Collins (@efesocollins) January 30, 2023

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Wellington’s Tory Whanau has convincingly won the mayoralty race for Te Whanganui-a-Tara in a triumph for diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand’s local government elections.

She said getting the call to say she had won was “pretty wild”.

Whanau ran as an independent, but was a Green Party chief of staff and digital director for six years before joining local politics.

She beat Andy Foster who was running for a second term as mayor after holding a seat on the city council since 1992. Foster finished second, Ray Chung came in third and Paul Eagle fourth.

In the other major cities, Phil Mauger was winning in Christchurch, Jules Radich prevailing in Dunedin and Wayne Brown claiming victory in Auckland, defeating the Pacific hopeful Fa’anānā Efeso Collins.

Paula Southgate is set to be re-elected as Hamilton’s mayor.

One-term councillor Jules Radich has won the Dunedin mayoralty off incumbent Aaron Hawkins. Radich garnered almost twice the number of first preference votes than any of his rivals.

Narrow lead
The Christchurch council said Mauger had a narrow 4000-vote majority over David Meates with 50,086 votes.

Brown is leading the Auckland mayoralty race with 144,619 votes, ahead of Efeso Collins by 54,808 votes. This progress result reflects about 85 to 90 per cent of votes counted after voting closed at midday today.

Progress results show Tim Shadbolt — who held the record for most elected terms as mayor, eight — losing heavily in Invercargill, with former deputy mayor Nobby Clark winning the top job in Invercargill, and broadcaster Marcus Lush conceding in a tweet.

Results also show Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson has won his fourth term in office, while Neil Brown has been re-elected Mayor of Ashburton by a large majority. Nigel Bowen looks to be re-elected as Timaru mayor and Kirsten Wise will return as Napier mayor for a second term.

Tania Tapsell has been elected as Rotorua’s new mayor. She takes over from Steve Chadwick, who was mayor for three terms. Vince Cocurullo is on track to win the Whangāreri mayoralty and Grant Smith has been releected as Palmerston North mayor.

Andrew Tripe will be the new mayor of Whanganui, beating incumbent Hamish McDouall by about 2000 votes, and Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy has been re-elected for another term.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A day before the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr in Quezon City, a shooting incident inside the Ateneo de Manila University claimed the lives of at least three individuals, including the former mayor of Lamitan, Basilan, Rose Furigay.

Furigay was supposed to attend the graduation of her daughter, Hannah, when she was shot about 3.30 pm yesterday. Furigay suffered gunshot wounds in her head and chest.

Graduation rites of the Ateneo Law School were cancelled by the university.

Aside from Furigay, her long-time aide, Victor George Capistrano was also shot and died on the scene.

Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala also died, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Brigadier-General Remus Medina said during his briefing on Sunday.

Hannah was also wounded in the incident and was immediately taken to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center. Medina said she was currently in stable condition.

Suspect Dr Chao Tiao Yumol was also wounded and suffered a gunshot wound. The police said they were still determining who shot the suspect.

The police recovered bullets and two guns — one with a silencer. Medina said Yumol used the gun with a silencer in killing the victims.

Yumol and his motive
Yumol, 38, is a general practitioner doctor and a native of Lamitan City. The police said the doctor had personal motives for killing Furigay.

“Initially, sa pagtatanong namin sa kanya, meron na silang long history ng away sa Lamitan, Basilan. So according to them, eh nagpapalitan na sila ng kaso. Itong si doktor naman ay laging nape-pressure sa pamilya ng Furigay. So lumalabas, personal ang away nila,” Medina said during his briefing.

(Initially, based on our interrogation of the suspect, they have a long history of conflict in Lamitan, Basilan. According to them, they filed cases against each other. The doctor was always pressured by the Furigay family. So it turned out that they had a personal conflict.)

Medina said Furigay filed 76 counts of cyber libel against Yumol, which temporarily prevented the suspect from practising medicine, according to the police. The suspect was detained for his libel cases, but was able to post bail, Medina added.

According to the QCPD director, Yumol also alleged that Furigay had a history of corruption:

“May ina-allege din si Doctor Yumol na katiwalian ng mayor. According to him, iyon po ang mga ina–allege niya, that is now subject for verification (Doctor Yumol is also alleging that the slain mayor was involved in corruption. According to him, that is what he is alleging, that is now subject for verification).”

The suspect was currently in the custody of the QCPD and undergoing custodial investigation.

No mention of human rights
Meanwhile, Rappler reports that was zero mention of human rights when Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr delivered his inaugural speech as president of the Philippines on June 30, and he went on to serve his first month in Malacañang without appointing anyone to the board vacancy of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

For his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, there is a mix of optimism and pessimism from the human rights community.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of international group Human Rights Watch, urged Marcos to seize the “chance to distance himself from the rampant rights violations and deep-seated impunity of the Rodrigo Duterte administration”.

“President Marcos has a golden opportunity to get the Philippines on the right track by setting out clear priorities and policies to improve human rights in the country,” Robertson said in a statement.

The progressive Filipino lawyer Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), in a forum that the human rights prospects under Marcos “quite candidly [do] not look good.”

Jairo Bolledo is a Rappler reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A district mayor says the Aotearoa New Zealand local government sector is ready to launch into a future that embraces more youthful members, Māori and climate change action.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) annual conference underway in Palmerston North had “launched our heads into the future”.

McDouall, the vice-president of LGNZ, said yesterday the hot topics were the changing face of elected membership, partnership with Māori and climate change.

“The clear message is about the future. The future is going to change. It is about youth involvement and embracing hapū and iwi.

“With the next generations’ birth rates significantly higher for Māori than Pākehā, co-governance arrangements and those kind of things just have to be in place.

“The exciting thing about today is you can tell that local government is wanting change, ready for change.”

The sector could not ignore the climate change crisis, McDouall said.

Climate deniers ‘on wrong planet’
“If there’s any climate change denier out there, you’re on the wrong planet. Local government needs to get more active and make bold decisions.

“Any decision we make proactively now is going to make it less difficult to adapt in 10 years. We’ve just got to do things now.

“I have climate change sceptics on my council but anyone entering local government should understand this is the crisis for the rest of our lives.”

The third burning issue at the conference was rating, McDouall said.

“Rates don’t work as a funding tool alone – that’s why Three Waters is happening, because we simply can’t afford it.”

Thirty-five councils across the country will have Māori wards at this year’s local body elections, 32 of them for the first time.

Te Maruata collective ‘thrilled’
Bonita Bigham, chair of the sector’s Māori collective Te Maruata, said the network was thrilled to be welcoming more than 50 new Māori ward members into the sector in October.

Te Maruata spent a day together before the main conference began on Wednesday.

“We were thrilled — really thrilled — for the first time ever to have at least six Māori mayoral candidates in the room,” Bigham said.

But she said it was clear that the council environment does not support Māori elected members. The results of a survey of elected members released by LGNZ this week revealed that half the respondents have experienced racism, gender discrimination and other harmful behaviour.

“So [on Tuesday] we launched Te Āhuru Mōwai, a tuakana-teina initiative which will enable Māori members on any council to reach out into our collective strength and experience for guidance and support,” Bigham said.

In his president’s address, Stuart Crosby said local councils must build relationships and partnerships with all sectors of the community, including tangata whenua.

“It’s not about power and control anymore. It’s all about partnership. We cannot serve our communities and do our jobs justice if we don’t partner with mana whenua.”

Most diverse sector
Far North District councillor Moko Tepania, co-chair of LGNZ’s Young Elected Member (YEM) network, told the conference that “YEMs” represent the most diverse sector of local government.

“That gives an indication of how different local government will look in the future compared to today and the past,” he said.

Tepania, 31, is running for the Far North mayoralty in October’s elections. If successful he’ll be the youngest ever Far North mayor. He was elected as a Kaikohe-Hokianga Ward councillor at the last local government election in 2019.

Ruapehu District’s youngest councillor Elijah Pue is also running for mayor. At 28, he, too, would be the youngest mayor ever elected in his district if successful. He was elected as a Waimarino-Waiouru Ward representative in 2019.

Pue said yesterday co-governance and partnership were being openly and frankly discussed.

“How do we embody the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a way that allows councils to focus on community wellbeing, and partnerships and relationships for the betterment of our mokopuna?

“We want meaningful change in our communities. Our outlook no longer needs to be for a 10-year long-term plan, it actually needs to be for a thousand-year generational outlook.

Future-focused leadership
“We need future-focused leadership that doesn’t dwell on the past. We need younger, browner, more future-focused leadership that puts our grandchildren, born or unborn, at the forefront of our decisions.”

Fellow Ruapehu mayoralty contender, councillor Adie Doyle, said the clear thrust of the conference was that youth and Māori would have greater input into local government.

“It’s just the way the population statistics are going. The importance of partnerships and working together – some people call it co-governance – is a key takeaway.

“These conferences are designed to challenge your thinking. You come away with maybe a different perspective.

“I support the principle of partnerships, but they have to be fit for purpose, and not all partnerships need to be equal – it’s about working together for the benefit of both parties. It’s for problem solving.”

YEM co-chair Lan Pham – the highest polling candidate elected to Environment Canterbury Regional Council in 2016 – said the key imperative of the network of elected members aged 40 or younger was a transformational approach to environmental protection.

“Every major transformation didn’t just happen, they were designed. We think it’s time for this level of change to happen again.”

Decide on next steps
Horizons Regional Council chair Rachel Keedwell told the conference it was crucial for local government to focus on the YEM vision and decide on the next steps urgently.

“We need to start putting those in place now and focus on the legacy that we’re leaving rather than whether we are going to get re-elected,” Keedwell said.

“We’re moving too slow for the size of the crises that are in front of us. I could get overwhelmed by the scale of the task in front of us: biodiversity, pollution, water quality – numerous crises at the same time.

“We’ve focused on economy rather than environment. That’s how we’ve ended up where we are. We’re living beyond the capacity of the earth. We’re living on credit and that credit is borrowed from the next generation.”

The four-day conference is being attended by a record more than 600 mayors, chairs, councillors, community board members and stakeholders who are hearing from the Prime Minister and other Ministers, the Opposition and sector leaders about policy areas and issues that impact councils and local communities.

The conference ends today.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air. Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Gisborne councillor has called into question the mayor’s ability to lead the region forward, saying her background makes it hard to understand issues affecting Māori.

Third-term councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown made the comments about Mayor Rehette Stoltz following questions about her intention to stand for the top position at the next election.

Akuhata-Brown, who unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty in 2019, said she was not sure if she would run against Stoltz in October.

Part of the reason was she felt her chances were impacted on by not fitting the stereotype of what power looked like.

“When Rehette first ran for council, she was elected duly based on ‘that’s what councils look like across the nation’,” Akuhata-Brown said.

“She’s the deputy mayor within a couple of terms … she’s formidable … she’s young. There’s no fight for the position, it’s handed to her.”

First elected to council in 2010, Stoltz was appointed deputy mayor by Meng Foon in 2013.

Made interim mayor
When Foon left his position to become the Race Relations Commissioner in 2019, she was made mayor in the interim.

Stoltz then cruised to mayoral victory later that year with 10,589 votes, ahead of second-placed Akuhata-Brown who secured 3845 votes.

Akuhata-Brown believes the mayor had an easy run because she fit the bill of what people were used to in the make-up of councils around the country.

“We go through an election campaign when the position has already been filled.”

On her website, South African-born Stoltz shares her journey to the top elected position at Gisborne District Council.

Arriving in New Zealand in 2001 for her OE, she took a “holiday job” as the laboratory manager for a wine business before deciding to commit to Tairāwhiti long term with partner Deon.

It wasn’t until a conversation with former councillor Kathy Sheldrake in 2009 that she decided to run for council the following year.

Little debate over mayoralty
Her background is in cardiovascular physiology and she also ran a recruitment business.

Akuhata-Brown argues Stoltz was handed the mayoral chains without much debate among councillors when Foon left prematurely.

“It’s really easy for people from overseas. They come to our place highly qualified, and they are looked upon favourably, and they get the position without fighting for it.

“If you are a certain look, that is particularly not Māori, you are highly probable to get that position.”

Akuhata-Brown said she was being a “vocal local” because she was invested in the region and wanted to highlight the issues that came with integrating governance styles from overseas.

Tairāwhiti was still fraught with racial inequalities and relationships were key for connecting with those who were still trying to eek out a living in the middle and lower classes, she said.

“Those who have money and wealth and governance roles, they can just get on with their lives and not be bothered by any of that because they can just put up higher fences.

No voice for Māori and Pasifika
“For Māori and Pasifika, the voice hasn’t been there for centuries.”

Akuhata-Brown’s final criticism of Stoltz’s leadership was she had been left alone with no extra jobs and it felt like there were low expectations.

Hoping to be made a committee chair in her third term, Akuhata-Brown said positions had instead gone to people who supported the mayor 100 percent.

“There’s a real sense that to get position and acknowledgement you have to be very much on side.

“We don’t even talk, it’s just a non-relationship.”

Mayor Rehette Stoltz responded to the criticisms, saying Gisborne had been her home for 21 years and she had made a concerted effort to get a deeper understanding of the multicultural community.

Tikanga Māori course
That included completing a year-long Tikanga Māori course and becoming a member of the council’s waiata group.

She said that under her leadership, Māori wards had been unanimously voted in and memorandums of understanding signed with hapū.

“I have good working relationships with our iwi leaders and regularly meet to discuss and make decisions in regard to issues that are important to us as a region.”

Appointment to committees and chair positions were made on interest expressed by councillors, experience and merit, she said.

“I won the mayoralty with more than a 7000-vote majority. Mayoralties are not handed down, they are voted on by the community.”

The upcoming local body election is set for October 8.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Almost 30 community leaders of New Zealand’s capital Wellington have banded together to urge an immediate end of the illegal protest activities at Parliament.

Among those who have signed the joint statement are the region’s mayors, MPs, principals and business leaders.

The letter says Wellingtonians and city workers have been “intimidated” by protesters, and some residents have reported being “too distressed and frightened to leave their homes”.

A number of businesses have had to close to protect staff.

The community leaders say the people of Wellington have had enough of this illegal anti-mandates activity and it is time for the harassment and disruption to end.

Record 1929 new community cases
The Ministry of Health today reported a record 1929 new community cases of covid-19 in New Zealand.

In a statement, the ministry said 1384 of the new cases were in the Auckland district health boards (DHBs), with the remaining cases in Northland (13), Waikato (155), Bay of Plenty (58), Lakes (9), Hawke’s Bay (17), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (11), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (8), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (28), Hutt Valley (50), Nelson Marlborough (60), Canterbury (35), South Canterbury (7) and Southern (77).

There are 73 people in hospital with the coronavirus, with one in ICU. Seven of the cases are in Waikato Hospital, with others in Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga, Wellington, Tairawhiti and MidCentral hospitals.

The previous record of 1573 new community cases was reported yesterday, 1140 of them in Auckland.

There were also 18 cases reported at the border today.

There have now been 26,544 cases of covid-19 in New Zealand since the pandemic began.

‘Resolution opportunity’ passed over
Meanwhile, former New Conservative leader Leighton Baker said politicians had had an opportunity to resolve the Parliament protest eight days ago.

“They never did anything and the longer they leave it, the bigger it gets. The responsibility is on their shoulders to talk to the people.

“You’ve got to talk to the people. The ball’s in their court.”

Baker describes himself as an “intermediary” — not a protest leader.

As the protest continues, Wellington transport operator Metlink is receiving more reports of people not wearing masks on its trains and busses.

It said its frontline workers were not expected to risk their own health and safety by enforcing mask wearing.

Wellington City Council has increased security around the city after a spike in verbal abuse and aggression against members of the public.

Increasing incidents of aggression
The council said retail workers had reported increasing incidents of maskless customers and of people becoming aggressive when asked to put a mask on.

Close to the protest site, the owner of a cafe and catering business on Molesworth Street says patronage is well below normal because customers can not park nearby and cafe regulars are all working from home.

The Word of Mouth Cafe and Catering owner said while it had remained open since the protest began, staff were working reduced hours and some had taken leave because there was no work for them to do.

No-one had been rude and tried to enter without a mask or vaccine passport, but the presence of protesters was greatly affecting her customer base, the owner said.

Suppliers were also reluctant to come in, with some who used to come every day now reducing that to every second or third day.

The full letter:
“We the undersigned ask that the current illegal protest activities in and around the Parliament precinct end immediately. There is a right to peaceful protest in New Zealand that it is important to uphold. However, this protest has gone well beyond that point.

“Those who live, work and go to school and university have been subjected to significant levels of abuse and harassment when attempting to move about in the area. There has been intimidation to Wellingtonians and city workers, and some residents have reported being too frightened or distressed to leave their homes.

“The vehicles associated with the protest are illegally blocking roads that are preventing Wellingtonians moving freely, including using public transport, posing a risk to the movement of emergency services, and are severely disrupting businesses. A number of businesses have had to close to protect their staff, while for others customers cannot access these businesses. The [Victoria] University has needed to close its Pipitea campus, disrupting teaching and learning.

“Police have issued trespass notices for those on Parliamentary and university grounds. We remind the protesters this city and these streets are those of Wellingtonians who have the right to access them freely and without fear.

“The people of Wellington have had enough of this illegal activity, harassment and disruption, we ask that it end immediately.”

Alex Beijen — South Wairarapa Mayor

Andy Foster — Wellington City Mayor

Anita Baker — Porirua City Mayor

Barbara McKerrow — Wellington City Council CEO

Bernadette Murfitt — Principal Sacred Heart School Thorndon

Campbell Barry — Hutt City Mayor

Daran Ponter — on behalf of Metlink

Fleur Fitzsimons — Wellington City Councillor

Grant Guildford — Vice-Chancellor, Victoria University of Wellington

Grant Robertson — MP for Wellington Central [and deputy Prime Minister]

Greg Lang — Carterton District Mayor

James Shaw — Green List MP based in Wellington

Jenny Condie — Wellington City Councillor

John Allen — CEO Wellington NZ

Julia Davidson — Principal, Wellington Girls College

K. Gurunathan — Kapiti District Mayor

Kerry Davies — Secretary of the Public Service Association

Laurie Foon — Wellington City Councillor

Lyn Patterson — Masterton District Mayor

Murray Edridge — Wellington City Missioner

Nicola Young — Wellington City Councillor

Paul Retimanu — director of Manaaki Management and president of Hospitality Wellington, New Zealand

Rebecca Matthews — Wellington City Councillor

Sarah Free — Wellington City Deputy Mayor

Simon Arcus — Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO

Tamatha Paul — Wellington City Councillor

Teri O’Neill — Wellington City Councillor

Wayne Guppy — Upper Hutt City Mayor

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz