Irritating music fails to deter N.Z. protesters
Demonstrations inspired by Canada’s convoys
The cacophony outside New Zealand’s Parliament building continued on Sunday as officials upped the ante in their attempts to scatter protesters, blasting Baby Shark, Let It Go and other songs after sprinklers failed to deter the crowds.
The efforts did not appear successful, as the people protesting pandemic measures were heard singing along to a cringe-inducing recorder cover of My Heart Will Go On, and standing their ground amid cries of “freedom!”
The anti-protest playlist included James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful, to which protesters swayed their arms in the air, as well as Let It Go from the Disney movie Frozen, and the viral children’s hit Baby Shark. Decades-old Barry Manilow songs and the 1990s hit Macarena also reportedly made appearances.
Individuals gathered outside the parliament in Wellington for a sixth day, inspired by Canada’s trucker protests. As with Canada’s Freedom Convoy, protesters in New Zealand are unhappy about coronavirus-related restrictions, with demonstrations growing to encompass broader grievances against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government. Similar protests have also sprung up around the globe, including in France and Australia.
Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard was taking song requests on Twitter for tunes to be added to the queue, tweeting out Youtube links to various songs. (The latest on Sunday was a suggestion by political commentator Emma Espiner for Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.)
It wasn’t clear whether Mallard himself was Djing — he tweeted out a threat of the recorder cover — but according to the New Zealand government, as speaker he has “control of Parliament Buildings and grounds.”
Some of the demonstrators enduring the noise were cloaked in ponchos, as Cyclone Dovi brought downpours covering much of the weekend. The rain added to the sogginess from the sprinklers Friday.
Meanwhile in Australia, police gave thousands of protesters until the end of Sunday to leave occupied areas of the country’s capital, as days-long rallies continued against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Several thousand protesters remained in place at Canberra’s major showgrounds, while fewer than 100 demonstrators were gathered near the federal parliament building, an Australian Capital Territory police spokesperson told Reuters.
No protesters in Canberra had been arrested so far on Sunday after three were detained on Saturday.
“They must be out by today,” the police spokesperson said, declining to say what action authorities would take if protesters refused to comply with demands to leave.