Eight arrested at Parliament protest; human waste thrown at cops

By 1news.co.nz and is republished with permission.

What you need to know:

– The protest at Parliament is into its 14th day

– Concrete barriers have been installed by police at key roads in an effort to contain protest activity

– Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said it is time for the protesters to go home

– Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has said police are sticking to its existing de-escalation approach

– Protesters who intimidate or abuse members of the public could be arrested, removed and face charges

3.25pm: Ardern says the Government’s primary goal is to manage Covid “with as few restrictions on our daily lives as possible, to keep people feeling confident and safe, and to accelerate our economic recovery”.

“As always, what that means in terms of changing restrictions isn’t an easy question to answer in an often unpredictable pandemic. But by looking at what is happening overseas, we can begin to look to the future.

“Firstly, we know our wave of cases is likely to hit a peak in roughly mid to late March, only three to six weeks away. At that point, if we follow the pattern of other countries, we’ll likely see a rapid decline, followed by cases stabilising at a lower level.

“That is the point when we can start to do things differently.

“First the Traffic Lights will change,” Ardern said.

“The Covid Protection Framework is built to keep our hospitals and wider health system running.

“Once we come out the other side of the peak it will be clearer that we have reached our high point, that we have managed it, that our hospitals have managed, and we can begin to ease the public health measures that did their job in slowing the wave down.

“And so we’ll be able to look at moving back through the Traffic Lights, easing off the gathering limits for instance.

No end date for mandates

Ardern said there will be fewer restrictions once Omicron has peaked but could not give a date on when vaccine mandates will end.

“We also employed extra tools like vaccine passes in the face of Delta, and Omicron,” Ardern said.

“As we have always said – these were necessary. If we hadn’t had vaccine passes as we managed Delta, we would have had to instead use more general restrictions across the whole population. They have always been the least bad option.

“But while they have been necessary, they have always been temporary.

“Vaccine passes were a way of ensuring, that within the relatively free system of the Traffic Lights, that people who were in high risk places, had some layer of protection. But, once we come through a wave and peak of Omicron, that equation changes because many unvaccinated people will at that point have been exposed to the virus.

“Put simply, the reason we will be able to move away from vaccine passes and many mandates, is because more people will have had Covid.

“So in the same way that coming out the other side of the peak will give us the chance to step down through the Traffic Light system, and ease things like gathering limits, it will also enable us to move on vaccine passes and ease mandates in places where they are less likely to impact vulnerable people. They will remain important in some areas for some time.

“There can be no specific date given at this point, but what I can tell you is that we will be looking to make sure that we are well beyond the peak, and that the pressure on our health system is manageable.

“Some might ask, why not do away with the Traffic Light system entirely? The first answer is new variants and potential future waves, for which we must remain prepared.

“And the second, is that we will go through our first winter with Covid at the same time that flu returns, following two winters of very low rates. So as our border opens, we approach winter, with the potential of more illness, we need to ensure our health system can manage a heavier burden.

“To summarise then the coming weeks. Covid will increase, and rapidly. There will be disruption and pressure from Omicron. We must brace through the next six weeks, but we can do so knowing a future with fewer restrictions is near.

“Because that has always been the course we have charted.

“We’ve stopped using lockdowns. Our borders reopen to Kiwis in Australia in a week, and we progressively keep opening. Our use of MIQ which has helped us so much will change dramatically. And as we reach that peak and start to come down, we can start to move towards a life that feels a little more like a new normal that we can all live with.

“2022 is about moving forward. New Zealand is in demand internationally and again, our primary goal is to manage Covid with few restrictions and accelerate our economic recovery while continuing to ensure that lives and livelihoods are protected.

Ardern addresses protesters

“And while everything I have said today has been directed to every New Zealander who is anxious about the future – either because they’re afraid or because they just want Covid to be over – I’ll leave this final message for those occupying the lawns of parliament.

“Everyone is over Covid. No one wants to live with rules or restrictions. But had we not all been willing to work together to protect one another, then we all would have been worse off as individuals, including losing people we love.

“That hasn’t happened here for the most part – and that is a fact worth celebrating, rather than protesting.

“We all want to go back to the way life was. And we will, I suspect sooner than you think. But when that happens, it will be because easing restrictions won’t compromise the lives of thousands of people – not because you demanded it.

“Now is not the time to dismantle our hard work and preparation, to remove our armour just as the battle begins.” Ardern said.

She also addressed protesters who threw human waste at police, who on Monday morning were involved in an operation to put in place concrete barriers at eight locations on the outer perimeter of Wellington’s protest activity.

“No one should have to face having human waste thrown at them while trying to keep people safe,” Ardern said.

3.15pm: Jacinda Ardern is addressing media at a post-Cabinet press conference and is joined by Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.

“I wish to speak as frankly as I can about where we are at currently in our fight against Covid-19, and where we are going,” Ardern said.

“After two long years we are now in the position where Covid has reached our shores in a widespread way. Our seven-day average for cases is 1667 and we are predicting cases will continue to double every three to four days. It’s likely then that very soon we will all know people who have Covid, or we will potentially get it ourselves.

“There was a time when that was a scary prospect. But it doesn’t have to be now. And that’s for three reasons.

“Firstly, we are highly vaccinated. And that happened before Omicron set in.

“Secondly, our high vaccination coverage means Covid will be a mild to moderate illness for most. And if you’re boosted, you are 10 times less likely to end up in hospital.

“Thirdly, even though for some people Covid will still be more severe, we’re using public health measures like masks, gathering limits and vaccines passes to slow down the spread. To ensure there is a hospital bed for everyone who needs it.

“So far, that plan is working,” Ardern said.

“We have 46 cases per hundred thousand people compared to 367 in New South Wales and 664 in Victoria at the same point in the outbreak.

“Our hospitalisations are well below Australian states at a similar time.

“That all means that our healthcare systems can continue to keep people safe. So if someone has a heart attack tonight, the ambulance will arrive and take to them to a hospital with a free bed. And that is thanks to everyone who has stayed the course, despite it being so incredibly hard at times,” Ardern said.

2.35pm: National’s Christopher Luxon has just spoken via a livestream on the National Party’s Facebook page, criticising the Government’s response to Covid – saying there is an “increasingly divided society”.

“What we are seeing outside Parliament, and the reaction to it, is the culmination of underlying issues that have been rumbling along in our communities for some time.”It’s driven by Covid and vaccine mandates, yes, but the frustrations shared by many Kiwis are also driven by a Government that seems to be stalling.”

Speaking from Auckland on Monday afternoon, he’s calling for Covid vaccine mandates to progressively “unwind” after the Omicron variant has peaked.

“National is strongly pro-vaccination, but the public health rationale for mandates is much less than it was just a few months ago. Omicron is just so infections and busts through vaccination, including boosters,” he said.

“New Zealanders have done the right thing. We got vaccinated in record numbers. We’re getting boosted. We get tested. We’ve tolerated being shut off from the rest of the world for two years.

“The Government must step up and begin to heal the deep divisions it has created in our society before they get worse. Key to that is a plan on what criteria they will use to begin lifting vaccine mandates.

“Mandates are becoming increasingly less relevant in our highly-vaccinated population and as Covid becomes endemic. They should begin to be removed progressively once we are through the peak of Omicron.

“The areas where Government mandates should be removed first are vaccination requirements for border workers, vaccine pass requirements for children’s sport and vaccine pass requirements for hospitality businesses.

“Hospitality businesses around New Zealand are doing the hard yards under current settings – despite officials specifically telling Labour not to apply vaccine pass requirements to bars, restaurants and cafes.

“The Government also needs to open up the border right now for Kiwis coming home from anywhere in the world. We should quickly open to tourists and other visa holders too, and we should get rid self-isolation requirements unless someone tests positive when they land.

“National is the party of law and order, and we condemn the illegal and antisocial behaviour of those involved in the protest. MPs cannot engage with law-breakers while roads are illegally occupied and death threats hang in the air.

“But we should not ignore the wider frustrations of law-abiding New Zealanders and businesses doing it tough,” Luxon said.

2.08pm: In a statement to 1News, Minister of Police, Poto Williams says she continues “to have confidence in the New Zealand Police, as well as the Commissioner.

“They are the ones that are equipped to make operational decisions.”

1:54pm: Police say eight people have been arrested today around Parliament.

Seven people were arrested for disorderly behaviour and one for obstruction. Two of those arrested have refused to provide their details to police and remain in custody, police said in a statement.

300 police staff were involved in the operation to put in place concrete barriers at eight locations on the outer perimeter of protest activity.

“A large number of vocal protesters were present throughout the operation,” police said.

“Seven officers sustained injuries during the operation, ranging from scratches to an ankle injury.

“Some officers also had human waste thrown over them by protesters.

“Deliberately infecting someone with disease is a serious offence punishable by 14 years imprisonment.”

“Likewise attempting to do so attracts a significant penalty,” police said.

“Police will be investigating and will hold to account those identified as responsible for these actions.

“We invite anyone with information about who is responsible to come forward.

“Local residents and pedestrians will be able to move freely through the roadblocks.

“Protest vehicles will not be permitted through the barriers but are able to leave, and police can confirm that several vehicles did leave the protest area following this morning’s operation.

“Police will continue to have a highly visible presence in and around the protest area, particularly at the start and finish of each school/work day.

“Anyone abusing or intimidating members of the public can expect to be arrested, removed and face charges,” the statement said.

1.35pm: Wellington Hospital’s chief medical officer says anyone at the protest outside Parliament who has Covid-19 symptoms should go home or contact their GP or community health service, rather than heading to the hospital.

“As we all know, our ED is under some degree of stress, so certainly we’d prefer [the protesters] to go home, and if not, to contact a general practitioner or community service,” Dr John Tait told RNZ.

1.25pm: Greater Wellington Regional Council has confirmed it has received reports of waste being emptied into drains at the protest sites.

“Any impact on the health of the water will be posted on the LAWA safe to swim website.

“We will continue to monitor this situation but are unlikely to send our environmental monitoring team into the Parliament precinct to investigate to protect the health and safety of our staff.”

LAWA has marked the Taranaki St dive platform in the harbour and the waterfront at Shed 6 as unsuitable for swimming.

It posted the following warning: “Greater Wellington’s environmental protection team are currently investigated raw sewage being emptying into the stormwater system around the Parliament area. This waste is currently discharging into the western side of the harbour. We advise people to avoid swimming, recreating, fishing in the harbour until notified.”

1pm: The Ministry of Health has announced there are 2365 new Covid-19 community cases on Monday.

There have also been two deaths of people with Covid-19 — a patient at Middlemore Hospital and a patient in their 70s at Auckland City Hospital.

12:33pm Further south, anti-mandate protesters remain camped out in Picton, RNZ reports. They’re set up in a public park four days after being trespassed from the site.

12pm: An internal message from Convoy 2022 NZ, Freedom Alliance, New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science, Outdoors & Freedom Movement, the Freedom and Rights Coalition and Voices for Freedom has been shared with media.

In it, there is a “strong recommendation” any media visiting the protest site today take up protesters’ offer of having one of their media liaison people escort them.

The groups said they cannot dictate the behaviour of everyone present at the protest and said 95 per cent of them are “mainstream New Zealanders demonstrating in an entirely peaceful manner”.

“We will therefore take a dim view, today in particular, of any media who nevertheless come to site, unescorted, and then report publicly on any verbal abuse they receive.”

An earlier urgent priority update shared to protesters about the concrete barriers police have installed impressed police were not coming onto the site and their move was not a raid.

“They are creating a one-way traffic flow,” it read.

As police have said, protesters will be allowed to leave the area in their vehicles, but won’t be allowed back in through the barriers.

“We have been advised that they WILL NOT restrict the movement of our food and support vehicles such as toilet cleaning, food trucks and emergency vehicles.”

“Police have for many days been talking about implementing a traffic management plan, but the way this action was carried out in the early hours was disappointing and counterproductive to maintaining positive relationships,” the update ended.

11.30am: What look to be New Zealand flags have been strewn across the ground on Parliament’s forecourt. There are several of them.

A tent near the stage has a sign attached to it which reads: “Decolonise the mind.”

11am: A Change.org petition calling for the protesters to go home has received more than 100,000 signatures. The petition is after 150,000. It was started seven days ago.

10.35am: National leader Christopher Luxon will be making an address this afternoon from Auckland about the protest, Covid-19 and vaccine mandates, along with “increasing divisions in society”.

Luxon has touched on divisions with Breakfast before, saying the protest at Parliament is “symptomatic of immense frustration” in New Zealand.

He explained last week many New Zealanders felt they had done the right thing by getting vaccinated against Covid-19 but were struggling with a lack of clarity of what comes next.

“I think the real thing is we’ve just got to lay out a much better plan of where we’re going and how we’re dealing with this next phase.

“I really think the Government did a good job in 2020, giving really good, clear communication, but it’s been a shambles from 2021 and into this year.

“I think we just need to lay up really clearly how we manage this next phase.”

Luxon’s address will be covering similar ground to an opinion piece he did in the NZ Herald this morning.

In it, he said there are three key issues the Government has to address to “bring our country back together”.

Luxon asks what the plan is for phasing out vaccine mandates, when the Government will make rapid antigen tests available to everyone and when it will move from “emergency restrictions to a risk-management approach”.

He has also previously told Breakfast the Covid-19 situation overseas has shown the case and relevancy for vaccine mandates “ultimately goes away”.

Luxon has said before Omicron in New Zealand reaches its peak, the Government needs to decide what the “triggers and criteria” are to remove them.

10am: ACT leader David Seymour says the prime minister needs to say if she’s received any advice about whether vaccine mandates should continue.

“What New Zealanders want to know is whether the evidence still supports having mandates in place, or whether Omicron has been a game changer and the rules should change with it.

“We deserve to know what advice the Government has received, whether it still applies in an Omicron world and whether our response should change.

“It’s a debate we need to have to glue back together our little country, what we need is hope and healing.”

Ardern earlier told Breakfast on Monday it was not the time for the country to pull down its armour.

Health experts also agree vaccine mandates are still crucial to protect people during the Omicron outbreak.

9.42am: A Wellington regional council spokesperson has told RNZ a bus driver has been spat on by an anti-mandate protester.

8am: Police have installed concrete barriers on roads around the perimeter of Parliament in an effort to contain protest activity in Wellington’s CBD.

Police say they began installing the barriers at 3.30am at eight locations around Parliament.

“The operation, involving approximately 300 staff and large-scale equipment to install the barriers, will enable police to prevent further growth in vehicles within the area of the protest, and to maintain access for residents, businesses and emergency vehicles,” police said in a statement.

“A handful” of protesters were arrested while the operation was underway, police said.

But police say they were able to install the barriers with minimal disruption.

Several road closures and detours are in place for vehicle traffic in the vicinity of Parliament.

Police ask that commuters allow extra travel time to allow for any traffic delays. Pedestrians will still be able to move in and out of the area.

Police officers will be stationed at each road block to facilitate legitimate vehicle access.

Protesters’ vehicles will be allowed to leave the area but will not be able to go back in once they have left, police said.

“We will continue to maintain a highly visible, reassurance presence on site, and staff are engaging with the public and protesters to provide advice and, where necessary, take enforcement action,” they said.

“Anyone abusing or intimidating members of the public can expect to be arrested, removed and face charges.

“Police will continue to work with key protest leaders to resolve any issues.”

7.30am: The Prime Minister says anti-mandate protesters occupying Parliament have made their point and it is “time to go home”.

She told Breakfast it was everyone’s hope the protest ends peacefully. She said its end could be achieved “very quickly and easily” if protesters “simply left”.

Ardern said her focus was on the growing pandemic and it was not time for New Zealand to pull down its armour, just because protesters were camping on Parliament’s front lawn.

7am: Speaking on Breakfast on Monday, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said of the concrete barriers: “The idea is to prevent more vehicles getting into the area.

“Wellingtonians want our streets back.

“This is a physical limitation on the spread of the protest area”

Foster says the only people who can resolve the situation with the protesters is police and the Government.

It comes after Police Commissioner Andrew Coster on Sunday said he’d focus on de-escalation to resolve the protests.

6am: A standoff between police and protesters played out near Parliament early on Monday morning.

Dozens of police officers held a line against protesters on Molesworth St in central Wellington.

Some protesters were chanting “freedom”.