Council won’t charge or fine protest organisers
Wellington City Council will not bill or fine the organisers of two large protests in the city after they were given a $14,000 traffic management bill by another council.
Earlier this week, the Christchurch City Council said it sent the The Freedoms & Rights Coalition group, founded by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, a $14,117.47 invoice for costs incurred during three protests last year.
The events, which include staging, portaloos, and sound systems, are in breach of a council bylaw and possibly its District Plan, the council said.
Wellington City Council said the group won’t incur any costs as a result of two protests it organised in the capital in November and December.
Both protests, against Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates, saw an estimated 1500 to 3000 people march from Te Ngākau Civic Square to Parliament.
Organisers didn’t seek the council’s permission to hold the protests, which blocked streets and caused detours of bus routes, but Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the group didn’t necessarily need it.
MacLean said the council hadn’t incurred any costs relating to the two events.
In theory, people are not supposed to march down streets and block bus routes, without permission from the council, he said. ‘‘But there is a long history of protest marches in Wellington relating to all sorts of grievances, so we work with police and other agencies to make sure disruption is minimised.’’
The November protest, which was the larger of the two, was ‘‘small to medium’’ in size compared with other protests in the capital, MacLean said at the time.
A police spokeswoman said police hadn’t laid any charges in relation to either event in Wellington and didn’t anticipate doing so. At the time police said the groups were generally well-behaved.
Following the November protest, when Wellington was in alert level 2, police said it was disappointing protesters chose to ignore alert level requirements. Under level 2, events were allowed to go ahead only if physical distancing of 1-metre was applied.
Water and tennis balls, some with violent messages about Government ministers, including a specific death threat towards the Prime Minister, were thrown at media and police at Parliament.
At the December protest, some motorcyclists performed burnouts at the intersection of Bowen St and Lambton Quay and a man climbed onto the roof of the first floor beneath the Beehive.
Christchurch City Council said another invoice will be sent to cover costs associated with Saturday’s protest in Hagley Park and on Riccarton Rd.