Police, some of them in riot gear, went to move in some of the concrete barriers surrounding the Wellington protest camp on Tuesday afternoon.
Video / George Heard
More than a dozen police officers with riot gear faced off with protesters near Parliament in Wellington this afternoon in tense scenes that followed violent clashes this morning.
About 14 officers with riot gear, accompanied by paramedics, were out down Bowen St, towards the Lambton Quay intersection, followed by more than 30 police wearing protective glasses.
It comes after three officers were hospitalised after an unknown substance was thrown on them this morning and three people were arrested - including the driver of a car that drove towards police shortly after 6am.
Photo / Mark Mitchell
At just after 4.30pm, riot police were stationed on the footpath and others on the road.
In a statement just before 10pm, a police spokesperson said around 100 staff reinstalled the concrete bollards moved by protestors.
"A number of those staff wore protective wear, following protestors appalling actions in throwing human waste at police officers."
Looking forward to Wednesday, the spokesperson said police visibility will again be increased.
About 14 police with riot gear are walking down Bowen St. They are followed by more than 30 police wearing protective glasses. Photo / John Weekes
Meanwhile, a man urged people to stay calm over a loudspeaker: "Do not antagonise the police".
Some protesters started a chant "love and peace" while others are linking arms along the concrete blocks.
Protesters say police had warned them in advance of the action and it had been announced on the main stage about 10 minutes before they began.
Photo / Mark Mitchell
At 4.50pm officers had moved well down Featherston St, near the Bunny St intersection. Simultaneously, police were trying to ensure vehicle traffic keeps flowing and pedestrians, protesters and onlookers do not wander into traffic.
Riot police appeared to be heading back to base but turned around and have again congregated at the two blocks obstructing the left turn from Bowen St onto Lambton Quay.
It appears some protesters tried removing blocks, possibly towing them away.
The blocks are on pallets so if the forklift removes the pallets, it may be more difficult for protesters to move them.
She said it was police who had closed the road to "rush hour traffic" in the first place.
The northern end of Lambton Quay is still inside the protest zone but is sparsely populated.
A mixture of protesters and other members of the public are walking down Lambton Quay and a line of protesters is at the concrete bollard barricade.
They are yelling "love and peace".
Corrections monitoring attendance of offenders
The Department of Corrections has confirmed offenders being electronically monitored with an ankle bracelet are among those who have attended the protest.
In a statement, a spokesperson said Corrections was aware of a "small number of people" subject to GPS monitoring have attended the protest at some point in the past fortnight.
"We have reviewed the conditions of each person's sentence or order, and to date none appear to have been in breach of their location or monitoring conditions by attending."
Corrections was continuing to monitor the situation and remained in contact with police, the spokesperson said.
Attacks on police during Parliament occupation 'absolutely disgraceful' - Ardern
The Prime Minister has joined police in condemning the "disgraceful" behaviour from protesters in Wellington that saw three officers hospitalised this morning.
It follows an early morning police operation to move in on the occupation, now in its third week, after which a protester was arrested for driving a car into a crowd.
Speaking to media in Auckland, Jacinda Ardern said the attacks on police had been disgraceful.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the media from Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
"There are a group that are increasingly acting out in a violent way towards police officers who are only doing their job," she said.
To anyone who has said this is a peaceful protest, they could surely see now that in some quarters, it was not, Ardern said.
Winston Peters addresses protesters
Shortly after Ardern's press conference, former deputy prime minister Winston Peters arrived at the camp and addressed protesters without wearing a mask.
Asked about police response Peters said he was not here to comment on that issue but simply to hear from the people.
Peters has neglected to speak from the main stage. A "we want Winston" chant broke out.
Protesters have been confronting media at the scene. One protester pushed a journalist, and was quickly reprimanded by a security member.
"Stop telling lies," said one of the protesters when asked why they were being aggressive.
Ambulances won't enter camp after violent clashes
Meanwhile, the Wellington Free Ambulance announced that it would no longer enter the protest area at Parliament.
Wellington Free Ambulance, which provides free ambulance and healthcare services for the Greater Wellington and Wairarapa region, said in a statement the decision "had been made to prioritise the safety of our paramedics following the increase in hostilities experienced both this morning and yesterday".
"As the only provider of ambulance services in the region, we will continue to support people requiring urgent medical attention, but this will be at a designated safe space outside the recently established cordon.
"It has been widely publicised that the protesters have established their own medical support within the cordon area. The Wellington Free Ambulance Tactical Emergency Support team will remain behind the cordon to support the NZ Police response."
Non-protesting residents would still receive support if required, the statement said.
"Over the past 95 years Wellington Free Ambulance has responded to emergencies for anyone, anywhere, no matter the circumstances and this decision has not been made lightly.
"We hope that our community of supporters understand the need to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our paramedics during this time of ongoing unrest in the Capital."
Earlier, police said they were appalled by the "absolutely disgraceful" behaviour of protesters in Wellington, and highlighted concerning reports of sexual assault at the protest camp.
A protester was arrested for driving a car into a crowd and three officers were sprayed with an as-yet-unknown stinging substance, which police believe is acid.
Police confirmed the three officers hurt by the substance are doing well, and no one was hurt by the car driving into the crowd.
Hundreds of police officers, armed with riot shields, advanced on the protest area around 6am.
An hour of violent confrontation followed as protesters faced off against officers trying to move concrete blocks closer to Parliament and reclaim Wellington streets.
Police retreated around 7am.
A police cordon across Molesworth St during day 15 of the Covid-19 convoy protest. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Later in the morning, police assistant commissioner Richard Chambers said there were reports of sexual assault at the site, and called for anybody concerned to come to police.
Asked if there were any hope of negotiating given the aggressive behaviour towards police, Chambers said they hoped other leaders in the group would have influence. Police continued to work to de-esclatate the situation.
Police earlier confirmed three people had been arrested, two for obstructing police and another for driving in a dangerous manner.
"Other officers were fortunate to escape injury after a person deliberately drove the wrong way down Molesworth St and stopped just short of colliding with them," police said.
Violence erupted as police clashed with protesters early this morning. Photo / George Heard
About 250 staff were involved in the early morning operation to further reduce the perimeter around the protest.
"Staff secured locations at Aitken, Molesworth and Hill Sts to allow forklift vehicles to move the concrete blocks.
"The bollard line on Aitken St and Hill St was moved in about 50 metres, and about 100m on Molesworth St."
Shields were deployed this morning after protesters yesterday threw human waste at officers, and earlier today when they threw objects.
Meanwhile, Wellington Water wastewater chief adviser Steve Hutchison said teams were checking for contamination in the waterfront, following reports yesterday of raw sewage entering the stormwater system around the Parliament area.
The results of those samples are yet to be returned.
Health warning signs have also been installed along the waterfront at recreational sites as a precaution, Hutchison said.
"We ask members of the public to avoid contact with water in the area and to not gather shellfish in the area while these signs are in place."
A warning remains in place in the area of the Taranaki St dive platform and around Shed 6 on the waterfront, according to the Land, Air, Water, Aotearoa (Lawa) website.
The Government is also continuing to monitor whether the Defence Force is needed at the Wellington protests, after the violent scenes this morning.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare said no decisions had been made, but the Defence Force and police commissioner continued to engage "at an operational level".
"We'll continue to monitor that and I've said to the chief of Defence Force to make sure that in his discussions with the police commissioner about what their expectations [are] should we call in the Defence force."
