Wellington: Nearly 2,000 protesters gathered on Tuesday, upset over the government’s response to the pandemic New Zealand‘s Parliament – But there has been no repeat of the occupation six months ago in which protesters camped on Parliament grounds for more than three weeks.
Several protesters said they had no intention of trying to stop. And police ensured that a recurrence was unlikely by closing roads, putting up barricades and preventing protesters from bringing structures to Parliament grounds.
The previous protest caused significant disruption in the capital and ended in chaos as retreating protesters set fire to tents and threw stones at police.
This time too there were protests, with several hundred people gathering in front of Parliament as the main march entered the ground. Both sides exchanged abuse but a line of police officers physically separated them.
Earlier protests focused on opposition to a more rapid COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
The New Zealand government initially required that health workers, teachers, police, firefighters and soldiers be vaccinated. But it has since removed most of those mandates except for health workers and a few others. It has also removed requirements that people go to shops and bars to be vaccinated.
Tuesday’s protest was as much about discontent over the government’s handling of the crisis as it was about existing rules, including a requirement that people wear masks in stores.
objector carmen page He said those who were not vaccinated faced ongoing discrimination and people lost their jobs and homes as a result of the mandate, which he said amounted to government redundancies.
“We are not here to be controlled,” Page said. “We just want to live our lives freely. We want to work wherever we want to work without any discrimination.”
on the protest, Lynn Maugham She said she and her husband have extended their stay in the capital to attend.
“I have nothing but respect for the mandate, for vaccination, for the way health providers have handled the whole thing,” she said.
Maugham said the government hasn’t done everything perfectly, but has done a good job overall. “There is no blueprint for dealing with a pandemic,” she said.
Like many protesters opposing the mandate and other government actions, Mania Hungahunga was part of a group called The Freedom and Rights Coalition and was a member of the Church of Destiny.
Hungahunga said that every New Zealander has been negatively affected by the mandate. he said he would travel from auckland To protest but was not planning a business.
“We are here just for the day, a peaceful day, just to get our message across to the public and the people of Wellington,” he said.
Many protesters said they were hoping that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would be voted on in next year’s election. The leader of the protest, Brian Tamaki, told the crowd that he was starting a new political party to contest the election.
Officials said there were no initial reports of violence or other problems at the protests.
Several protesters said they had no intention of trying to stop. And police ensured that a recurrence was unlikely by closing roads, putting up barricades and preventing protesters from bringing structures to Parliament grounds.
The previous protest caused significant disruption in the capital and ended in chaos as retreating protesters set fire to tents and threw stones at police.
This time too there were protests, with several hundred people gathering in front of Parliament as the main march entered the ground. Both sides exchanged abuse but a line of police officers physically separated them.
Earlier protests focused on opposition to a more rapid COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
The New Zealand government initially required that health workers, teachers, police, firefighters and soldiers be vaccinated. But it has since removed most of those mandates except for health workers and a few others. It has also removed requirements that people go to shops and bars to be vaccinated.
Tuesday’s protest was as much about discontent over the government’s handling of the crisis as it was about existing rules, including a requirement that people wear masks in stores.
objector carmen page He said those who were not vaccinated faced ongoing discrimination and people lost their jobs and homes as a result of the mandate, which he said amounted to government redundancies.
“We are not here to be controlled,” Page said. “We just want to live our lives freely. We want to work wherever we want to work without any discrimination.”
on the protest, Lynn Maugham She said she and her husband have extended their stay in the capital to attend.
“I have nothing but respect for the mandate, for vaccination, for the way health providers have handled the whole thing,” she said.
Maugham said the government hasn’t done everything perfectly, but has done a good job overall. “There is no blueprint for dealing with a pandemic,” she said.
Like many protesters opposing the mandate and other government actions, Mania Hungahunga was part of a group called The Freedom and Rights Coalition and was a member of the Church of Destiny.
Hungahunga said that every New Zealander has been negatively affected by the mandate. he said he would travel from auckland To protest but was not planning a business.
“We are here just for the day, a peaceful day, just to get our message across to the public and the people of Wellington,” he said.
Many protesters said they were hoping that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would be voted on in next year’s election. The leader of the protest, Brian Tamaki, told the crowd that he was starting a new political party to contest the election.
Officials said there were no initial reports of violence or other problems at the protests.