Frustrated Wellingtonians have unleashed on protesters who blocked a central city. Video / NZ Herald
A Restore Passenger Rail protester has been arrested after using concrete to fix herself to a road in Kilbirnie.
Rosemary Penwarden has been arrested after blocking the northbound lanes of State Highway 1 alongside several other protesters. A police spokesperson confirmed three people have been arrested and charged and one is receiving medical attention for “the substance they used to adhere themselves to the road”.
Police would not confirm what substance was used, but another protester at the scene confirmed Penwarden had used concrete to affix herself to the road.
A firefighter was seen carrying a hammer towards Penwarden to free her.
The road has been cleared by police, after protesters blocked it just after 7.45am.
The protesters blocked northbound traffic at the intersection with Wellington Rd in Kilbirnie. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency warned commuters to expect “significant delays” in both directions.
“Please consider detouring via Evans Bay and allow extra time for your travel this morning.”
A firefighter gets a hammer out of the truck on State Highway 1. Photo / Azaria Howell
Jonty Coulson, a spokesperson for the protesters, said the group is back because the Government “is still not taking the climate crisis seriously.
“Both major parties are vying for who can spend more on new four lane highways. This is an act of destruction against my generation, and all those who will come after me.”
The group has been quiet for several months, with the last protest in May. There were plans for a protest yesterday but these were called off by the group due to “safety concerns”.
Throughout April the protests disrupted traffic on State Highway 1, Adelaide Rd and Vivian St - and attempted to block traffic on Johnsonville Rd - but were stopped before they could start by police who happened to be driving through the area.
Several of the protesters have been arrested - some repeatedly - for endangering traffic and breaching bail. They appeared in the Wellington District Court last week.
The group protested similarly last year, blocking off Transmission Gully and the Mt Victoria Tunnel as well as the Johnsonville highway and SH1 again.
They demanded that the Government restore passenger rail services and make public transport free – however, after what they described as a failed meeting with then Transport Minister Michael Wood in December 2022, they threw paint across several Labour MPs’ offices.
Whanau had extended an offer to the protesters to meet with her and find a productive way forward – but when they once again blocked roads – this time Adelaide Rd in Newtown – she withdrew her offer.
“They have not moved forward in good faith, they have disrupted Wellingtonians, they have disrupted the lives of normal people instead of the Government’s.”
Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.
