Parliament protest: Four Defence Force vehicles arrive in Wellington, remain on standby
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
What you need to know:
Hundreds of protesters remain on Parliament’s lawn and blocking nearby streets.
Wednesday is the ninth day of the protest. Police will soon begin towing vehicles shortly if they are not moved.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has activated the Major Operations Centre (MOC) at Police National Headquarters.
Few protesters have responded to the police’s offer of free parking at Sky Stadium.
Discussions between police and NZDF remain ongoing.
On Tuesday 335 parking tickets were issued in the area around Parliament.
Four Defence Force vehicles have arrived in Wellington and are on standby should they be required.
An NZDF spokeswoman said discussions on the possible deployment of Defence Force assets remain ongoing, and no decisions have been made.
However, four army vehicles travelled to Wellington from Linton and Waiouru on Wednesday.
“They are being pre-positioned should they be required, but as stated no decisions have been made about their use to assist the towing operation,” she said.
It comes as no illegally parked vehicles at the Parliament protest were towed on Wednesday, despite suggestions from police this would happen.
**READ MORE:
* Protest vehicle towing to begin 'shortly' but could have started days ago - police
* Police say 'high probability' protest could continue for days, weeks after roads cleared
**
Instead, the group has continued to grow, including an influx of more children, Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told media.
Less than 24 hours after Commissioner Andrew Coster made threats to begin towing, protest leaders and influencers have had “positive engagement” with police, Chambers said.
This resulted in 12 out of 450 illegally parked vehicles being moved voluntarily today.
“While this is a small step forward, we are encouraged by influencers within the group calling for roads to be cleared. This is a positive sign and, recognising that this is a disparate group, it will take some time for this conversation to work its way through to a solution,” he said.
On Wednesday night, the ‘Combined Protests Group' made up of several organisations part of the protest, including organisers Convoy 2022 NZ, said they sought an urgent meeting with the Government on Monday.
“Multiple MPs, including government ministers, confirmed they had received the letter requesting such a meeting. We have spoken with a highly experienced mediator who has offered to facilitate a mediation between us and the government on a pro bono basis,” the group said in a statement.
“It is clear that the police now accept that the protest on Parliament grounds is lawful. On the traffic front, we have made significant progress moving vehicles in key locations in the CBD and any aggressive action by the police in this respect would be completely inappropriate. This is a sensitive situation, but we are confident of a successful resolution.”
Videos on social media on Wednesday, the ninth day of the occupation, showed groups of people following police officers monitoring the crowd and harassing them. Protesters chanted “whose streets? Our streets”.
Chambers said police have now acquired tow capability from around New Zealand, including from Auckland.
Tow companies have been reluctant, many due to the abuse they have allegedly received over the phone from protesters.
Nick Rowell from tow company Legacy Contracting said his company would not tow the vehicles because of the tense situation.
“Who knows what could happen? It could get quite nasty,” he said.
It comes as Wellington mayor Andy Foster said he wrote to Deputy Prime Minister, and Wellington Central MP, Grant Robertson, proposing targeted support for businesses suffering from a lack of custom.
Local businesses say they are suffering serious revenue loss with a disruptive protest coming on top of hard times brought about by Covid-19 and workers staying home.
Earlier on Wednesday, petitioners from Save The Children, presented a petition asking the Government to drop plans to stop the Children's Commissioner from overseeing Oranga Tamariki.
The presentation was, unusually, out the back of Parliament in order to avoid protesters.
However, this didn't quite work - a young woman filming on her cellphone showed up and started loudly interrupting the conversation, demanding that the MPs 'take action' against the vaccine.
Meanwhile, nearby at the Court of Appeal on Molesworth St, the fountain was drained, after a man was recently seen bathing in it.
Tents have been erected by the front door of the court, and hearings are now being held remotely due to the disruption.
For now, it seems, the streets in the area belong to the protesters. Their numbers have been put at several hundred at any given time and peaked at 3000.
There remains about 450 vehicles parked illegally, and the number continues to grow. Victoria University’s Pipitea campus, the Lambton Quay bus interchange, the University book shop, Backbenchers bar, the National Library and two other cafes have all been significantly disrupted.
On Tuesday the Wellington City Council issued 335 parking tickets around the Parliament precinct, council spokesperson Victoria Barton-Chapple said. Last week 184 parking tickets were issued in the area.
A large self-sustaining operation has been set up with medical facilities, large quantities of food, portable toilets that regularly cleaned, showers and a volunteer laundry service.
Roddy Burgoyne and Josh Smith were part of the protest but acting as security.
Burgoyne was a marine engineer and thought he was in the process of losing his job, due to the vaccine mandates.
“It’s disappointing, because I really love my job and would love to stay there,” he said.