2022 Wellington protest

2022 Wellington protests
Part of COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in New Zealand
Protesters and their tents in front of Parliament House in Wellington on 13 February 2022 (top); Vehicles lined up on Molesworth Street on 8 February 2022 (bottom left); A vehicle with a protest slogan on 8 February 2022 (bottom right).
Date6 February 2022 (2022-02-06) – 2 March 2022 (2022-03-02)
(24 days)
Location
New Zealand
Caused byCOVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand,
vaccine mandates in New Zealand
GoalsReversion of COVID-19 vaccine mandates
MethodsDemonstration at Parliament House
StatusEnded
  • Protests forcibly ended by police
  • Strategic failure for protesters
  • No concessions given by the Government
  • Campsite destroyed and blockade cleared
Parties
Lead figures
Number

Convoy:

  • 200 vehicles (Invercargill, estimates)[9]
  • Several hundred (Timaru, estimates)[10]

Protests:

  • 3,000 (police estimates)[11]
  • 800 vehicles (police estimates)[12]
  • 900 police officers[13]
  • 150 reinforcements[13]
Injuries and arrests
Injuries40 Police officers injured[14]
Arrested250[15]
Charged220[15]

The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The occupation spring boarded off the New Zealand Convoy 2022, a mass convoy of vehicles that made its way from the top of the North Island and the bottom of the South Island to Parliament starting on Waitangi Day (6 February 2022) and arriving three days later on 9 February.[16] The occupation lasted just over three weeks. At its peak, the protest spread over a large area of Thorndon and into Pipitea with approximately 1,000 participants.[17][18][19] Protesters blockaded areas around the parliamentary grounds with their vehicles and occupied the lawn and surrounding areas in tents. Some associated with the protests harassed bystanders, and disrupted local businesses.[20] The protest was forcibly ended by police on 2 March 2022, and the protesters had none of their demands met by the Government.[20]

The protesters were a mixed group, but the majority protested the COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates in New Zealand, while some identified with far-right politics such as Trumpism,[21][22] white nationalism,[23][24] and Christian fundamentalism.[25] Māori sovereignty ideology was also present,[26] although local and national Māori leaders denounced the occupation.[27] The protest originally began with a small group from the South Island, and the resulting mixture of motivations led to mixed messaging and eventual internal division.[28] Their protest methods ranged from peaceful to increasingly violent.[29][30] There were videos of protesters skirmishing with and attacking police,[31][32] and a report of protesters harassing and egging a teenage girl for wearing a mask.[33][21] Some protesters hung nooses from trees and made threats to lynch politicians, such as Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson and pregnant MP Steph Lewis.[34][35][36] Antisemitism was reported to be "rife" within the protests.[37]

Despite the disruption to Wellingtonians, the police initially took a 'light-handed' approach to protesters. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis suggested the police did not want to escalate the situation.[38] On the 2 March, police began to take action, forcibly removing the protesters, which left the parliamentary grounds covered in rubbish, including destroyed tents, hay,[39] and human excrement.[40] Towards the end, some protesters turned violent and injured 40 police officers, putting eight of them in hospital.[41][42][43][20] Arson was committed while protesters were being evicted, causing damage estimated in the millions.[44][45][46][47] Some protest groups eventually began infighting, accusing each other of starting the riot that ended the occupation.[48] In December 2023, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a report outling six cases of excessive force used by police during the occupation, following 1900 complaints.[49]

  1. ^ Daalder, Marc (12 February 2022). "'Splintered realities': How NZ convoy lost its way". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Charlie (12 February 2022). "Inside the disorienting, contradictory swirl of the convoy, as seen through its media mouthpiece". Stuff. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Ngāti Toa wants end to threatening behaviour at Parliament anti-mandate protest". Newshub. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b "COVID-19: Anti-mandate protesters plot next move on Wellington's south coast". Newshub – via www.newshub.co.nz.
  5. ^ Manhire, Toby (18 February 2022). "Figureheads and factions: the key people at the parliament occupation". The Spinoff.
  6. ^ "Fires and clashes break out at New Zealand parliament as police move in to clear protest". the Guardian. 2 March 2022.
  7. ^ Cornish, Sophie; Gourley, Erin; Chumko, André (10 February 2022). "Police arrest 122 Parliament trespassers, warn removal 'will take some time'". Stuff. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022.
  8. ^ Vance, Andrea (20 February 2022). "NZ's top cop: Who is Andrew Coster, the man struggling to deal with the Parliament protests?". Stuff.
  9. ^ Searle, Jamie (6 February 2022). "Convoy of cars and trucks leave Bluff destined for Parliament". Stuff. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022.
  10. ^ Searle, Jamie. "Hundreds of vehicles pass through Timaru on convoy". Timaru Herald. Stuff. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022.
  11. ^ Hewett, William; Hollingsworth, Adam (13 February 2022). "Coronavirus: Latest on Parliament protest, COVID-19 Omicron outbreak - Sunday, February 13". Newshub. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  12. ^ "UPDATE - Protest activity, Parliament grounds". New Zealand Police. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "'Unprecedented' for NZ – police respond to Parliament protest". 1 News. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  14. ^ Witton, Bridie (24 March 2022). "National's Luxon unwittingly meets anti-vaccine mandate protester". Stuff.
  15. ^ a b Strang, Ben (20 March 2022). "Faces of a protest: Who were the 250 Kiwis arrested at the Parliament occupation?". Stuff.
  16. ^ "Anti-mandate protesters convoy on both North and South islands". 1 News. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ "The 'Freedom Convoy' is ending, but issues 'not going away'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  18. ^ Cooke, Henry (20 February 2022). "Convoy protest: Protest leaders suggested they couldn't clear streets if they wanted to". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  19. ^ "'We want our streets back' - Wellington mayor angry as protest continues". RNZ. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "Fires and clashes break out at New Zealand parliament as police move in to clear protest". the Guardian. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ a b "'Traumatised': Mask-wearing girl egged, abused by convoy protesters". NZ Herald. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Anti-vaccine mandate protesters at Parliament pitch tents for the night". Stuff. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  23. ^ "'Splintered realities': How NZ convoy lost its way". Newsroom. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Security changed at Parliament building after far-right group posts video". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  25. ^ "In-fighting between Freedom and Rights Coalition, Counterspin continues at convoy protest after event 'hijacked'". Newshub. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  26. ^ McClure, Tess (15 November 2021). "Māori tribe tells anti-Covid vaccine protesters to stop using its haka". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  27. ^ O’Brien, Thomas; Huntington, Nicholas (2022). "'Vaccine passports equal Apartheid': Covid-19 and parliamentary occupation in Aotearoa New Zealand". Social Movement Studies: 1–7. doi:10.1080/14742837.2022.2123316.
  28. ^ Ibid
  29. ^ "Faeces thrown at police at Parliament protest". RNZ. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Violence erupts - protester drives car into police; three cops sprayed with mystery substance, believed to be acid". Newstalk ZB. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  31. ^ Borissenko, Sasha. "'Selfish, stupid' COVID protesters get short shrift in Wellington". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  32. ^ "'Move on': New Zealand police break up Wellington trucker protest". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  33. ^ Herald, N. Z. "'Traumatised': Mask-wearing girl egged, abused by convoy protesters". ZB. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  34. ^ "'I feared for my safety': Pregnant MP's harrowing ordeal with protesters". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  35. ^ "Revealed: Sinister message left at Parliament by 'freedom' protesters". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  36. ^ "Right to protest lost for those who 'threaten, harass and disrupt', Robertson says". RNZ. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  37. ^ Chumko, André (20 February 2022). "Holocaust distortion and anti-Semitism rife within anti-mandate protests". Stuff. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  38. ^ Law experts: Police taking a 'light-handed' approach to protesters, Stuff, 15 February 2022
  39. ^ Seah, Naomii (15 February 2022). "A requiem for the parliament lawn". The Spinoff. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  40. ^ "Parliament protest: 7 arrested, human waste thrown at police". Otago Daily Times Online News. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  41. ^ National's Luxon unwittingly meets anti-vaccine mandate protester, Stuff 24 March 2022
  42. ^ "New Zealand Anti-Jab Protesters Threw Human Waste, Blocked Roads: Police". NDTV.com. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  43. ^ "New Zealand police reject calls to clear anti-vax camp". INQUIRER.net. Reuters. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  44. ^ "COVID anti-mandate protest: Taxpayers and Wellington ratepayers set to cough up for clean up of Parliament grounds". Newshub. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  45. ^ "As it happened: Anti-mandate protest enters 23rd day as police descend on Parliament". RNZ. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  46. ^ "As it happened: Latest on Parliament protest, COVID-19 community outbreak - Thursday, March 3". Newshub. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  47. ^ "Jacinda Ardern surveys damage to Parliament grounds as police confirm pepper spray, foam bullets used during clash". Newshub. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  48. ^ O’Brien, T., & Huntington, N. (2022). ‘Vaccine passports equal Apartheid’: Covid-19 and parliamentary occupation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Movement Studies, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2022.2123316
  49. ^ "Six cases of excessive force by police during occupation". The Post. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2024.