Protesters keep flooding in
Barry Manilow tunes latest weapon in efforts to end illegal occupation
PI would have had to preach [National’s] position . . . I didn’t want to do that. Former National MP Matt King
arliament’s front lawn turned into a swamp yesterday as anti-mandate, antivaccine and anti-authority protesters flooding from across the country were greeted with rain ahead of Cyclone Dovi.
Former National MP Matt King was one of them, giving a rousing speech while also announcing he had officially resigned from the party.
“I would have had to preach their position . . . I didn’t want to do that,” he told the Herald, saying he had joined the protest to be among “real people” while urging them to remain peaceful and non-violent.
Meanwhile a battle within a battle continued as Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard employed his next attempt to make life uncomfortable for the protesters: setting up speakers to boom Barry Manilow songs and Covid-19 vaccination messages at them throughout the night.
The playlist included Manilow, the Macarena, which had many dancing along, Covid-19 ads and a recorded message of Mallard warning demonstrators they were trespassing and must leave, which were met with loud boos.
It came after Mallard turned on the sprinklers on Friday night, only for protesters to dig trenches to drain the water.
Soaked and sodden, the collective of vastly different causes looked increasingly settled in their illegal occupation by the end of day five, with well-stocked kitchens, a medical centre and even a makeshift daycare set up at the site.
Despite their growing presence, police showed no signs of moving them on, with no arrests yesterday and no attempts made to move hundreds of vehicles illegally blocking surrounding streets.
By evening protester numbers had swelled to several thousand, with hundreds of tents and gazebos remaining across the lawn — in defiance of Parliament rules and trespass notices issued earlier in the week.
They were in for a turbid night though, with MetService forecasting heavy rain.
After a violent Thursday that saw 122 people arrested, there were no arrests yesterday, and just one on Friday evening for breach of bail, as police kept their distance and the crown remained relatively peaceful.
One person was carried out by police on a stretcher, as seen on the front page of today’s Herald on Sunday, and taken to Wellington Hospital in a moderate condition by ambulance.
This came after another protester on Friday evening fell ill, with their ambulance treatment hindered due to vehicles blocking streets around Parliament.
An array of speakers took to the podium yesterday, including from the Freedom and Rights Coalition, which is backed by Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church, Voices for Freedom and Ted Johnston, co-leader of the New Conservative political party.
Speeches included a mixture of anti-mandate, anti-vaccine, conspiracy theory and anti-authority rhetoric.
There have also been increasing reports of intimidating and anti-social behaviour, with stores across the CBD bolstering security and changing opening hours.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson earlier condemned protesters at Parliament, saying they were driven by “wild, false, dangerous conspiracy theories”.