Climate activist taken into custody after blocking Wellington’s Boulcott and Willis Sts with car

Michael O’Hara's car parked on the side of the road after he was taken into custody. Photo / Ethan Manera

A climate activist has been taken into custody after parking his car in the middle of a busy Wellington street.

Michael O’Hara, from climate group Engines Off, was parked at the traffic lights at the intersection of Boulcott St and Willis St.

“I want the wealthy business owners in the CBD and the Government to notice people are late for work today”, O’Hara said in a video filmed inside the car.

Michael O’Hara, from climate group Engines Off, is parked at the traffic lights at the intersection of Boulcott St and Willis St in Wellington. Photo / Supplied

A police spokesperson said the road was “briefly blocked” before the protester was removed.

A 31-year-old man was taken into custody and charged with obstructing a public way.

O’Hara was advocating for a climate wealth tax and claims the wealthiest people in the world are making climate change worse.

“They made their money emitting excessively and recklessly, and the emissions from how they spend their money can only be described as luxurious.”

O’Hara is a member of Climate Liberation Aotearoa, previously known as Restore Passenger Rail, but he said this action was not on their behalf.

Restore Passenger Rail staged multiple protests in the capital last year.

Restore Passenger Rail protests in Wellington have included blocking State Highway 1 and inner city roads. Photo / Jemima Huston

A grandmother was arrested and charged with endangering transport, after attaching her hand to State Highway 1 in Kilbirnie with a cement-like substance.

On another occasion, protesters spray-painted the front of Gazley Motors car dealership on Cambridge Tce with red paint and glued themselves to the footpath.

Protesters also blocked State Highway 1 near the Terrace Tunnel by sitting and lying across the motorway.

In Opposition, National promised to increase penalties for those who obstructed major thoroughfares like the “anti-road activists” who were continually blocking key roads in Wellington.

“It is utterly unacceptable that anti-road activists are once again obstructing Wellington’s State Highways and tunnels, causing major disruption to thousands of commuters and businesses”, the party’s transport spokesman and now minister, Simeon Brown, said at the time.

National proposed a new offence to increase the maximum penalty of up to two years in prison, a fine of $20,000, or both.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.