Anger as city drops protest bill
Residents of Christchurch’s Cranmer Square are furious that protesters who disturbed their neighbourhood for months have escaped having to pay.
The $50,000 bill for costs incurred during anti-Government protests in and around the square was waived yesterday after mayor Lianne Dalziel met Destiny Church pastor Derek Tait.
He said Dalziel agreed to drop the three invoices, which totalled $50,533 to pay for traffic management during protests in November, December, January and February.
‘‘It has been cleared,’’ he said. ‘‘The fine was a non-event, because I wasn’t going to pay it . . . There was no legal grounds for it.’’
The city council sent the invoices to the Freedom and Rights Coalition group, which is led in Christchurch by Tait.
Council infrastructure general manager Jane Davis attended the meeting with the mayor. She said the decision to invoice the coalition for traffic management was not taken lightly, given the importance of the right to peaceful protest. But the group had not engaged with the city on safe management of its marches.
‘‘Now that Mr Tait has agreed to engage with us in the same way that other protest organisers do for traffic management, we have said that we will not pursue payment of the invoices.’’
Tait led regular rallies attracting anti-vaccine and anti-mandate protesters in Cranmer Square over the summer, as well as marches that saw thousands of people take to central-city streets.
Some campers remained on the square for several months in breach of bylaws, and neighbours reported being harassed and intimidated.
Cranmer Square resident Richard Owen called the decision to waive the invoices ‘‘a shocker’’.
‘‘She [Dalziel] did nothing for months while these things were going on, while they put tents and portaloos all over the square, made a massive nuisance of themselves, and blocked roads with their marches.
‘‘It was all the Destiny Church. I think it’s absolutely wrong.’’
Owen said other citizens had to follow the rules, or face fines if they did not. Letting the protesters off sent a dangerous message, and he questioned the mayor’s power to do so.
‘‘We are absolutely scared stiff that now that the fences are down, they will all come roaring back with their church meetings, and park themselves all over the square.’’
Veteran protester John Minto, who lives in another part of Christchurch, welcomed the invoices being waived.
Although he disagreed with most of what was said at Tait’s rallies, the right to protest was critical.
‘‘I’ve never before seen a protest group given an invoice by the council or Government in 40 or 50 years of involvement with all kinds of protests. It should never have been contemplated.’’