New Zealand moves closer to Phase 3 of the government's Omicron response, with a record 3297 new community cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Video / George Heard / Mark Mitchell / Dean Purcell / Michael Craig
Police and protesters clashed on Parliament grounds on Wednesday night following the removal of at least one concrete bollard near the site of the occupation - now in its third week - to let vehicles in.
Protesters claim as many as 30 vehicles managed to re-enter the area after returning from Sky Stadium. Police had earlier warned their offer of free parking for these vehicles - which had choked Wellington streets - would expire at the end of the day.
Clashes started when a large convoy of protest vehicles made their way along Tinakori Rd and down Bowen St at around 10pm.
A member of the public told the Herald there were about 30 vehicles with their hazard lights flashing. Protesters then started tweeting they had moved a bollard and were letting more vehicles back in.
Bollards got moved, we’ve loads of cars come in!!!! ✊✊✊✊
It's understood it took about 15-20 protesters to move the concrete bollards to let cars enter the occupied area.
Police and protesters clash at the Parliament occupation. Photo / George Heard
It came after police made several efforts to add bollards to the camp's boundary to prevent people from joining, and follows violent clashes between the groups after an early-morning police operation on Tuesday.
Three police officers were injured and three protesters arrested in the skirmishes.
One protester claimed about 30 vehicles entered the occupied area after protesters moved a concrete bollard on Wednesday night, allowing traffic to come through.
Protesters could be seen yelling at police officers as a forklift brought in another barricade. Others were urging protesters to "keep your hands off the cops".
A tow truck was also used to remove a vehicle in the middle of Whitmore St.
Three police officers were injured and three protesters were arrested in the skirmishes. Photo / George Heard
It's understood the car's occupant was removed from his vehicle by police and arrested.
It's unclear why the man was apprehended but it is believed he was deliberately blocking the road as part of the protest.
Officers could earlier also be seen talking with a man who was behaving in a confrontational manner as other officers investigated a car parked on Bowen St. Officers restricted the man from moving from the footpath, telling him "the way you're driving is dangerous".
In a statement, police confirmed a car had been towed after it attempted to enter the protest area at Bowen St, near the cenotaph, but insisted "constructive discussions with protesters are ongoing".
Police will continue to reduce the cordon in coming days as the "focus remains on returning the city back to normal as quickly as possible".
Riot police were seen leaving Hill St shortly after 11pm after they lined up near the concrete bollard boundary - while over 100 protesters chanted "love and peace".
A small fistfight briefly broke out between a protester and a member of the protest's security guard - and was met with boos from the rest of the protesters.
Riot police have left the scene following the removal of a concrete bollard. Photo / Adam Pearse
Further down Hill St, protesters parked a car and a truck across the road, forming their own blockade
It appears police have added to the number of concrete bollards in place at Hill St in the last 24 hours.
About eight bollards are now in place in the area.
A protester who had been conversing with police announced over a loudspeaker that only a few officers would remain to monitor the area.
Earlier on Wednesday, police said a number of people and vehicles had left the protest in recent days, and warned the offer of free parking at Sky Stadium would end.
Police blockades have been stopping new vehicles from entering, while also hindering supplies from getting to the occupation.
Protesters spoken to said it was making life more difficult in their "village".
A woman who helped set up the food station in the centre of Molesworth St said food donations were now dropped at blockades several hundred metres away.
Protesters were using vehicles internally to transport the goods.
More police have been seen at the protest on Wednesday night. Photo / George Heard
Earlier this evening, it was confirmed at least two protesters had tested positive for Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health said this afternoon that "due to privacy concerns, we are not in a position to confirm whether or not they were arrested by Police".
Those who have tested positive have been instructed to isolate themselves, the ministry said.
Defiant protesters earlier said police are trying to "break down morale" with the blockades.
The mood of the protest has changed significantly since the weekend, with numbers appearing to be less than a third of the peak on Saturday when thousands arrived from across the country.
The main food tent was closed on Wednesday - reportedly for cleaning - and the band tent was no longer operating. Dozens of rubbish bags were seen piling up.
The once full streets surrounding Parliament were down to about a third of what they were at capacity, with mainly just a hardcore crew remaining.
Since the weekend many protesters have left, some naturally because of the weekend ending but others as the atmosphere became increasingly tense and violent as a result of a "few hotheads".
On Saturday Lambton Quay was chocka with vehicles and protesters. Photo / George Heard
Police have capitalised on this also, launching operations on Monday evening and the early hours of Tuesday to install blockades, operating a one-way policy with no pass outs.
These actions also saw some of the most violent scenes since the first few days of the protest, including officers hospitalised after being sprayed with an "unknown substance", a protester nearly driving into police and protesters reporting injuries from the arrests.
Protesters had been allowed to park for free at Sky Stadium but it is returning to normal operations from Thursday, and police are preparing to help move those people on.
One of the volunteers at the main food station, who refused to give her name, said police actions had made life at the occupation much more difficult.
"Normally trucks would be able to come right up here," she says, pointing to the massive food station made up of 11 gazebos with trestle tables and industrial cooking appliances parked in the centre of Molesworth St.
Many vehicles have now left the occupation - some voluntarily and some had to be towed. Photo / George Heard
"Now they have to stop at the blockades and unload from there," she says, referring to where the concrete blocks have been placed several hundred metres away.
Protesters had innovated and were using vehicles internally to transport the donated goods. Despite the disruption food continued to flood in, she said.
"There's a bit of triple handling but nothing we cannot handle. I've never seen such overwhelming support. People are still turning up all day with carloads full and even hot trays of food to serve."
She said a lot of people had left after the weekend, but also many as a result of rising tensions.
Looking out to Lambton Quay on Saturday. By Wednesday most of these vehicles have now gone. Photo / Mike Scott
There has been speculation on social media and from protest organisers police were engaging in a PR war, alleging some of the troublemakers had been planted, and raising questions about police suggesting sexual assaults had been occurring on site without contacting organisers themselves.
"There are some hotheads, as with any cause, they come from out and about and are not the actual, dedicated protesters," the protester said.
"They come in and cause trouble and some protesters found it was not what they were here for, found it too upsetting to be associated with that and chose to leave.
"We all also have other lives going on too we want to get back to, but are dedicated to remain here.
"Over the weekend there were a lot of rubberneckers, some come to support us and some just came for a party, but during the week it is just like any other village.
"Despite [the police actions] morale is strong and we are here for the long haul to end the mandates."
An aerial photo on Saturday shows the scale of the protest. Vehicles surrounding Parliament have shrunk about two thirds. Photo / George Heard
A police statement said they had noticed vehicles and people leaving over the past few days, but police refused to say if they believed the protest had gotten smaller.
The Herald estimated the number of vehicles in the streets surrounding Parliament to have more than halved since the weekend. Many of the larger house trucks and buses were also no longer visible.
Lambton Quay from the intersection with Bowen St to the bus interchange had been chocka, but by Wednesday was about a third occupied.
The atmosphere in the outer areas of the protest site was tense, with some people seen openly drinking alcohol from their camp sites and vans, and some continuing to intimidate media and passers-by.
Inside the protest site, things continued largely as they have over the past two weeks. The atmosphere was mostly peaceful with the Hare Krishna drum circle continuing, speakers and performers on the main stage and many children about.
Rubbish piles up on day 16 of the occupation. Police blockades have prevented services getting into the site, protesters say. Photo / George Heard
The number of protesters there had dropped significantly though and appeared a vast mismatch to the number of tents. Some protesters spoken to at the weekend had said they would be leaving their tent when they left on Sunday, planning to return the following weekend.
Police say they will maintain a presence at the site, and while refusing to discuss tactics, if the past few days are any indication further actions are highly likely.
