Police plan to continue tightening the cordon around anti-mandate demonstrators in Wellington in a bid to shrink the size of the occupation, as protesters warn of more support coming at the weekend.
There was a stand-off late last night between police and at least 100 protesters on Hill Street, alongside Parliament.
About 20 officers, some holding riot shields, lined up across the road with about a 20-metre gap between them and tightly-packed group of demonstrators.
It was largely peaceful, and protesters restrained one woman who broke through the crowd and was yelling and moving towards police.
Police also towed a vehicle that attempted to enter the protest area at Bowen St near the Cenotaph.
The protest against Covid-19 measures is its 17th day but the police strategy to contain it appears to be working, as numbers of people and illegally parked vehicles dramatically shrink daily.
However, protesters warned of another surge in support this weekend, and those remaining maintained morale was high and they were in for the long haul.
An expert also warned that while police were regaining control, the situation remained “dynamic” with the difficulty of negotiating with the disparate groups and their demands meaning a forceful confrontation was still a possibility. But, they said, it would be the last resort.
It also came as the Ministry of Health has confirmed two Covid-19 cases among protesters, along with at least five cases among police officers working on the operation.
Police blockades on streets surrounding Parliament earlier in the week had been stopping new vehicles from entering and hindering supplies from getting to the occupation.
Protesters spoken to said it was making life more difficult in their “village”.
A woman who helped set up the food station in the centre of Molesworth St said food donations were now dropped at blockades several hundred metres away.
Protesters were using vehicles internally to transport the goods.
“They are trying to make things uncomfortable for us, subtly antagonising us to break down our morale, but we are like water — solutions will flow.”
The once full streets surrounding Parliament were emptying down to about a third of Saturday’s peak levels, with mainly just a steadfast crew remaining.
Rubbish bags were piling up and there was a generally subdued atmosphere in the internal camp. The atmosphere in the outer areas was more tense, with some people drinking alcohol at their camp sites and vans, visibly intoxicated, and some continuing to intimidate media and passers-by.
Many protesters had left since the weekend, some because the atmosphere became increasingly tense and violent because of a “few hotheads”.
There had been infighting among groups present, suggestions of sexual assaults and some protest leaders had called for children to be taken from the site.
Police have seemingly capitalised on this infighting, launching operations on Monday evening and the early hours of Tuesday to install concrete blockades, operating a one-way policy.
These actions also saw some of the most violent scenes since the first few days of the protest, including officers hospitalised after being sprayed with an “unknown substance”, a car nearly being driven into police and arrested protesters reporting injuries.
Protesters had been allowed to park for free at Sky Stadium but from today would be charged $15 a day. Police were also preparing to help move people on.
Crime and justice expert Dr Jarrod Gilbert said police were clearly regaining control, which would be “welcomed by most New Zealanders”.
When it had become clear actions of protesters were moving “above and beyond what any see as reasonable and acceptable”, police had suitably stepped up their actions, he said.
“It is a dynamic situation and police need to be nimble enough to change strategy.”
The risk of going hard too early risked criticism of shutting down a protest, while also going harder with more violence could create a “bigger problem than the one we are facing”. Dr Gilbert said given all the dynamics at play it was “impossible” to say exactly how the occupation could or should play out.
“There is a seemingly endless number of complaints, you are not dealing with one group but dozens and within those, they represent reasonable concerns right through to desperate extremists who see some sort of revolution as necessary.”
In the past few days protesters had blamed an escalation in violence on police agitators planted in the crowd and suggested the substance thrown at officers was police pepper - claims dismissed by police.
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster had met twice with protesters seeking a peaceful resolution.
“We can all stand on the sidelines and say, ‘Please go’ but that’s not actually going to achieve that, it’s only when you’re getting in there and listening to people and talking to people when you actually have a chance of getting a result.”
Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt also called on the Government to listen to the protesters, leading a “conciliatory process” in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
