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Auckland protest: Police urged to 'shut it down now'

Author
Miriam Burrell, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Mon, 28 Feb 2022, 12:11pm
Anti-mandate protesters have been camping at Auckland Domain since Saturday. Photo / Michael Craig
Anti-mandate protesters have been camping at Auckland Domain since Saturday. Photo / Michael Craig

Auckland protest: Police urged to 'shut it down now'

Author
Miriam Burrell, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Mon, 28 Feb 2022, 12:11pm

An Auckland councillor is urging police to issue trespass orders to anti-mandate protesters causing road blocks at the Domain today and to "shut it down now".

All road access through the Auckland Domain in Grafton is blocked while a small group of protesters remain camped behind the wintergardens.

It's bound to cause headaches for Auckland City Hospital staff and visitors, and visitors to the museum are affected.

​Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward councillor Josephine Bartley told the Herald she wants to see police "come in, in force" by the end of today because the group is breaching council bylaws.

"It's just going to keep growing and growing so why wouldn't you deal with it straight away?

"I don't understand what is taking so long, but I do know it's not from the council side.

"We are not Wellington, so don't deal with this in the Wellington way."

Police said they are working with Auckland Council to "resolve the situation safely" but they are not aware of any issues being reported.

Anti-mandate protesters camping at Auckland Domain for a third day are causing parking and access issues for hospital staff and visitors as well as visitors to the museum.

Mayor Phil Goff said this morning he absolutely opposed their sense of "entitlement" and the council has trespass orders at the ready if police wish to use them.

Police can be seen patrolling the Park Rd entrance, near Auckland Hospital.

A witness said each entrance to the Domain is blocked by security or construction workers and the park is unusually quiet this morning.

People are still using it to exercise, but no cars are allowed in. The protest site appears calm, the witness said.

Auckland District Health Board (DHB) has warned its staff and visitors of the road closure.

Bartley said many visitors park at Auckland Domain because they cannot afford hospital parking costs.

"I don't know whether people down at the Domain considered that they are blocking access [to the hospital].

"I don't know if this is part of their plan to cause disruption but it's really not fair to everyone else who is trying to stay calm and help their families get through Covid."

Thousands marched across the city's Harbour Bridge on Saturday, in a protest organised by the Freedoms and Rights Coalition, forcing lanes to be closed to traffic.

A group then set up camp on a knoll behind the Domain Wintergardens and despite reportedly telling police they would be gone by Saturday evening, they remain for a third day.

"I don't think anybody wants to put up with this any longer....this is the last thing people need," said Bartley.

"Shut it down now, that's what I reckon."

Visitors to the Auckland War Memorial Museum have to access the museum and underground car park via Titoki St, a spokesperson told the Herald.

Mayor Phil Goff told RNZ he had spoken to police commissioner Andrew Coster and had indicated that the council had trespass orders ready to go as soon as police were ready to enforce these orders and remove people.

"Nobody is above the law and nobody is entitled to believe they can break the law and there are no consequences and that's what we are seeing at the moment and I think that has got to stop."

He said the protesters are not entitled to camp on the domain or disrupt the rights of others.

"What I absolutely oppose is the sense of entitlement and self-given right to disrupt the lives of others to make their point. We've seen that at Parliament and we don't want to see it in Auckland."

Yesterday police said they respect the lawful right to protest and will monitor the situation to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the wider public.

A protester in a video has claimed to have mana whenua status, and said they were occupying a pa site at the domain.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, tangata whenua of central Tāmaki Makaurau, said on Friday they do not support protest action against vaccination and mandates.

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