Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the destruction of Parliament grounds was a sight she never expected to see in New Zealand and today it was something akin to a "rubbish dump".
Eighty-nine people have been arrested and seven officers were injured yesterday as hundreds of officers moved in to clear anti-mandate protest camp, ending a 23-day illegal occupation in central Wellington.
Some protesters appeared in court today, demanding that their property be returned. The judge said that was a matter for police.
The police operation began early in the morning and culminated in a mid-afternoon swarming of the grounds, which have been badly damaged. Police used tear gas and water to disperse the crowd, some of whom were seen throwing objects at police in riot gear including broken pavers.
The grounds are closed while a big clean-up of the now unsanitary area begins and the Speaker of the House is considering putting a wall up.
Ardern said yesterday that Parliament had been desecrated. She told MPs this afternoon that the grounds would be restored as quickly as possible, and being able to return and enjoy them would be quite symbolic for the public.
The responsibility for yesterday was on those individuals who threw LPG gas bottles on fires and threw bricks, she said.
The Prime Minister was confident in the decisions police made and that they would be reviewing their actions.
She said she stood by the decision at the beginning to not engage with protesters. From the start, media were abused and chased away, there were aggressive statements including a noose hanging on the front lawn.
"What we saw was very confronting for us as a country - protest and violence we are not used to here."
On disinformation, Ardern said it was often those already less trusting of government and media and institutions. That's why there needed to be a collective response, she said.
What happened was not good enough, she said.
Ardern said she had watched some of the action yesterday from a Beehive window including protesters setting fire to the playground near Parliament.
She said this protest had been different from the moment it arrived. "It was a form of protest I did not recognise".
Ardern said that 40 police officers were injured, and eight were admitted to hospital yesterday. In total, 600 police staff were involved and 50 firefighters.
She condemned the occupation protest, and National Party leader Christopher Luxon joined her in giving thanks to emergency service personnel who worked amid chaotic scenes yesterday.
"This will always be a place where difference can be expressed," Ardern said, but they should be expressed in ways that dignify Parliament.
Ardern said to police, fire and security staff: "To each of you, we say thank you. You were there throughout these events at 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."
"To Wellingtonians, I am sorry for what you have had to endure, but I thank you for your resilience. I hope your sense of safety and confidence has been restored."
After police cleared the grounds in an often violent confrontation with protesters, Ardern said she was "both angry and deeply saddened" to see Parliament's grounds treated in that way. She said police had expected hostility, resistance and violence "it is another thing entirely to witness it".
Ardern said it was a protest she had struggled with from the start.
"I have watched protests come to Parliament over the years. I have received petitions, and I have spoken at many. And yet the day this one arrived it was clear it was different," she said.
"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."
Police boss: 'We did what we had to do'
The Police Commissioner today revealed that police hadn't planned on going right through the protest camp but the decision to press on was made during the middle of Wednesday after the success of the morning operation.
"It was clear that the crowd had a very high level of resolve to stay there and we needed to take the opportunity - while we had the numbers - to carry on and finish that job," Andrew Coster said.
"We were left with no option but to do what we did yesterday to restore the site."
He said they had tried to work with the protest leaders to de-escalate the situation.
A heavy contingent of police were on central Wellington streets this morning, following an infamous day in the country's recent history in which the occupation ended in violent and fiery scenes.
Police said in a statement today they expect concrete bollards placed on several streets to block protesters would be removed tomorrow.
"Wellington residents can expect to see police reassurance patrols as they come into the central business district this morning, allowing them to return with confidence.
Police would once again like to thank the Wellington community for the support shown to our staff and for their patience with the disruption to our city."
The violence had intensified mid-afternoon yesterday as police built on an early-morning breakthrough in nearby streets before dismantling an encampment. The occupation ended after what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the "desecration of New Zealand’s Parliament".
Crews from Fire and Emergency NZ also assisted police to put out fire and spray water at the protesters to deter them.
Coster this morning said police would be investigating footage of the unrest and further arrests would be made. He confirmed seven officers remained in hospital overnight. The 87 arrests were for a range of offences including trespass, possession of restricted weapons and wilful damage.
None of the officers' injuries were life-threatening and they were in high spirits, he said.
"Considering the violence we saw yesterday, we're very fortunate there's nothing more serious."
Although the protest and the response to it would be reviewed, Coster said the stood by his decision-making and how police handled the volatile situation.
"Our tactics have been in-line with best practice internationally, I can tell you that."
He said he was proud of the teamwork, restraint and commitment demonstrated by officers, many wearing riot gear.
"I'm pleased that we've got to here. I never wanted it to end like that, but we did what we had to do."
Put to him the news that some protesters are returning, he acknowledged there is and will remain a heavy police presence in and around Parliament grounds, but was adamant no recurrence of a protest would be allowed.
"We won't be tolerating a renewal of protest at Parliament."
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said emergency services did a "fantastic job" to bring the situation under control.
He thanked police staff including recent graduates, paramedics from the Wellington Free Ambulance who had been down at Parliament grounds, as well as members of the public affected by the occupation.
"The biggest thing that people can do is to come back into town, to go to a cafe, to go to a shop, to support those businesses - to support those dreams those businesses are about."
Police said the streets around the Parliament precinct were now "generally quiet" although a small number of protesters were stationed near the Victoria University Pipitea campus.
The central train station has reopened and services resumed after violent scenes forced its closure on yesterday. Metlink confirmed the station has reopened as "the danger seems to have dissipated overnight".
How the day unfolded
The protesters arrived for different reasons, and reacted in different ways when police seized a strategic intersection and then advanced on the camp yesterday.
Through much of the occupation, many protesters called for an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates, although other grievances were aired. By 3.30pm yesterday, a stream of people were leaving the encampment.
A woman standing beside a makeshift gate protesters had fashioned on steep steps in front of the Beehive said she no longer knew what she was doing. Nearby, another woman stood beside a wooden table, turned on its side, with a wreath on top. The table had been used to store chalk which people used to draw on a long high wall. But the art some protesters and visitors created, much of it celebrating peace and love, was soon overshadowed by smoke from burning tents and trees.
North of the steps, advancing riot police met resistance as some protesters threw chairs and chunks of wood. Explosions were heard sporadically as flammable material in tents ignited.
As a playground in the gardens burned, a man in the crowd blamed authorities for the chaos. Further down the gardens, some protesters were angry, tearing structures down and throwing materials at police. Projectiles included planks of wood, fire extinguishers and metal poles.
At 3.30pm, some in the crowd threw rocks and bottles at police. More riot police were deployed near the Beehive. Across the garden, police sometimes moved back as projectiles rained down, but their next advance always seemed to capture more ground.
People stood on the forecourt wall, virtually all with their phones out as a plume of smoke billowed in the middle of the campsite. Some protesters called for milk and poured it over each other’s faces after being pepper-sprayed.
By 4.20pm, a small group of young adults near the main Beehive entrance were agitated, fashioning weapons and throwing bottles at police.
Outrage and confusion erupted among protesters and it seemed a single policeman broke the line, running at the crowd, appearing to inspire his colleagues to do the same. This prompted a group of protesters to flee to the steps.
‘‘Who’s got petrol?’’ one teenager asked at the top of the Beehive steps. Further away, a protester yelled: ‘‘Burn the Law School — it’s timber!’’
Police cleared the gardens, which were left strewn with garbage, flattened tents and debris, but outbursts of violence kept erupting on the fringes.
A police officer was taken in a stretcher towards waiting paramedics in front of the Beehive. A few minutes later, another policeman with a head injury emerged, bloodied.
On the far side of the CBD, armed police with gas canisters exited a truck on Courtenay Pl. Closer to Parliament and shortly before 6pm, police appeared to fire rubber bullets and rioters retreated.
At least 65 people were arrested by the early evening for offences including trespass, wilful damage, and possession of restricted weapons. Up to 50 vehicles were towed and about 30 more left, police said in a statement.
Police blocked the road and footpath between the Cenotaph and Lambton Quay. Rioters tore up bricks from paving to throw at police and a car reportedly tried driving into police in Bunny St.
Police turned a fire hose on some protesters near Parliament, and rioters later turned a high pressure water hose on police.
By 6.15pm, protesters were spread across Featherston Rd, as rush hour traffic continued, but the crowd appeared to have been greatly dispersed. Police then moved into Victoria University’s Law School, ripping up tents.
As night fell, police urged people to keep away from CBD areas near the railway station, Pipitea campus, and northern end of Lambton Quay.
National Party MP Mark Mitchell, a former policeman, said police showed restraint and intent yesterday. ‘‘In actual fact, in terms of what they’re facing, and what the whole country has seen what they’re facing, the outcome is as good as we could have hoped for.’’
- NZ Herald and ODT Online
