Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken a tour of Parliament grounds to inspect the aftermath, a day after the anti-mandate protest ended in violence.
The PM was accompanied by Speaker Trevor Mallard and Deputy PM Grant Robertson.
"You can see the scale of the destruction from a distance but up close it's something else," she said during the tour.
She is optimistic about the grounds future, "I have every confidence it will be restored and quickly."
The Prime Minister also noted she was "quite upset" about the playground at Parliament being damaged.
Earlier on Thursday Ardern likened the state of Parliament "to a rubbish dump", after violence erupted as police pushed protesters off the front lawn on Wednesday.
Footage from the Beehive shows large piles of rubbish, tents left by protesters who'd set up camp at the site, protest signs and fire extinguishers across Parliament grounds.
Footage shows damaged property and piles of rubbish. (Source: 1News)
The protest turned violent after police upped their presence early on Wednesday morning in an effort to gain back ground during the occupation which was into its fourth week.
Read More: 40 police injured 'in returning Parliament to the people' - PM
A large clean up is underway and police said a “removal phase” will begin on Friday for the remaining concrete bollards on CBD streets.
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