The occupation began last night and was attended by about ten protesters, with a smaller number staying overnight.
Daniel Diack said he was at the protest because he wanted vaccine mandates ended.
He believed that freedom of choice was at stake.
He was not staying overnight but he was visiting the Octagon when he could in order to support the occupation.
He acknowledged there were diverse views in the in the protest movement, including the ‘‘the crazy right’’ and those who were down the rabbit-hole.
He distanced himself from some of the perspectives shared by other protests which he described as ‘‘too much’’.
However, despite their differences they were united by their opposition to vaccine mandates, he said.
Other protesters did not want to give their names and expressed a range of perspectives including concerns about children’s wellbeing and the number of boosters that would be required.
Many also expressed about discrimination, ranging from a belief that talking to people while wearing a mask could be discriminatory, to concerns about paying rates while not being able to access council facilities.
A DCC spokeswoman said the council was aware protest action was signalled. If any issues arose it would be a matter for police, she said.
WANAKA PROTESTERS WEARING OUT THEIR WELCOME
A police spokeswoman said they had received reports of disorderly conduct by anti-mandate protesters at 12.30pm in the vicinity of Ardmore St in Wanaka.
Thirty to forty protesters were going into the road and preventing people from going about their business.
Staff had been deployed to the area, she said.
A spokeswoman for Trout Bar and Grill said said the protests which were on their forth day, were starting to wear their welcome ‘‘really, really thin’’.
She supported peoples’ right to protest but believed everyone already knew enough about the cause.
She was concerned about the potential damage to the business’s bottom-line if the protests carried on.
Lisa from the Thieving Kea said it was hard to say if the protests were having an impact on their financial situation but the protesters were ‘‘noisy’’ and intimidating to a lot of people.
Water Bar’s Rosa Hatfield said the protesters had been encouraging people to ‘honk for freedom’ which was annoying.
The group was creating a hostile environment, but they were ‘‘not that menacing’’, she said.
