Editorial: Protest returns to Wellington - but what for?

Parliament made it clear the protesters were not welcome back. Photo / Mark Mitchell

EDITORIAL

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Wellington, protest action has lit up again.

So far the group has attempted to muster supporters in the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, on the other side of downtown Wellington from Parliament, for 14 days of protest.

A post on the group's Facebook page declared, "the primary objective of day 1 is to reconnect as a group to reform the foundation built and then teared [sic] apart on the 2nd March 2022".

So it appears the protesters object to their last protest being disrupted.

Remember, police spent 23 days trying to find someone coherent enough to negotiate with during the occupation of Parliament lawn.

Now they have fired up again, despite the mandates they had initially mobilised to protest about are being lifted. Just as mystifying is why they have chosen a war memorial to park their unwelcome presence on.

The manifesto on the group's website says: "Unite recognises that the devastating effects of the Covid-19 response are far-reaching and far from over. We need to be vigilant - now, more than ever and surge forward with the momentum, passion and inexhaustible determination that we have amassed together toward unified and measurable goals."

No goals are elaborated on.

The group appears to be going to some lengths to conceal its plans, stating only that it will update the website on the next day's activities at 9pm the night before. The website states this tactic is to "minimise the chances of interference" but it may well be that the leaders of the group don't know what they are doing either.

Incredibly, despite 13,475 new reported cases on Friday, with 17 more deaths and a rolling seven-day average of just over 14,000 cases, these people still think they have been hard done-by.

Just as was the case in the convoy which hand-braked and descended into three weeks of disruption on the steps of Parliament, it might help if someone in our Government could take the time to hear these people's concerns.

But first, someone from this group needs to step forward and tell us what they are.