Two of the six activists arrested by police this morning were Andrew Sutherland and James Cockle, both of Dunedin.
Photos of police removing protesters earlier this morning showed officers trying to remove Mr Cockle’s hand from the surface of the motorway, where it had been glued.
Mr Cockle said he had lost a layer of skin when the policeman pulled him from the ground, but he did not hold any animosity towards the officer though he thought that they might have been better to wait for the correct solvent.
"He was just doing his job in a tough situation," Mr Cockle said.
The arrest was "a little bit more rough than I was expecting", and Mr Cockle thought there might have been more time to talk things through and allow protesters to make a decision to leave of their own volition.
Motorists should probably expect more such protests in the future because people all over the world were understanding how precarious the ecological situation was, he said.
The rage of motorists at the blockade was really understandable, Mr Cockle said and he did not judge them for their reactions.
"They’re just caught up in something like we all are, is how I see it," he said.
He had not entered a plea at the initial appearance in court and had been bailed.
Supporter Rosemary Penwarden said the Government was not taking the climate crisis seriously and had watered down its environmental policies, which would not preserve a livable future.
Ultimately the protesters wanted to wake New Zealand up to the need to make transformational changes to protect future generations, she said.
A statement released by police said officers were called to reports of people blocking the road in peak traffic in Wellington’s Terrace Tunnel about 7.35am.
Wellington Area Commander Inspector Dean Silvester said "while protest activity in itself is lawful, the actions of those on the motorway this morning were not".
Police would not hesitate to take action in cases where safety was threatened, Insp Silvester said.
Six people were charged with wilful trespass and criminal nuisance and had been held in custody to appear in the Wellington District Court, the statement said.
