A protest in central Wellington which saw thousands of demonstrators descend on Parliament today has wrapped up.
While the protest had not been expected to descend into the levels of chaos seen last year, police said they would be taking a precautionary approach.
The convoy of supporters, spearheaded by Brian Tamaki's Freedom and Rights Coalition, made its way to Parliament this morning as part of their Abandon Agenda 2030 protest.
They arrived at the Beehive shortly before midday.
Gang members could be seen among the crowd, while one protester was spotted wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet.
Another appeared to be wearing a helmet coated in tinfoil.
A large banner held up by some members of the group read "leave our kids alone".
A sticker on another sign read "this is our Gallipoli", while "NZ is not for sale" and "no more climate scam" placards were also visible.
A small group of counter-protesters from the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition were also seen in central Wellington.
Acting Superintendent Wade Jennings yesterday said extra police staff have been called in from across the country to monitor the event, while roads around the Beehive were closed.
"We've communicated with all the businesses and residents, and we have some good plans in place and contingencies should things go unplanned," he said.
Speaking to media this morning, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the group was a minority.
"Relative to the overall New Zealand population, it's a small group of people," he said.
"The number one issue that was behind the protest last time they were at Parliament was the [Covid-19 vaccine] mandates.
"Every single one of those has been removed."
Tamaki, meanwhile, said the turnout was "fabulous", especially for a weekday. The crowd is "a whole mixture of people", he said.
"People have taken the time, obviously they really have concerns in their mind about the upcoming elections.
"The message is: is our country safe to raise our children in and our families in?"
Tamaki said sex and gender education should be the job of parents, not the state. He called for a "ballot box revolution".
Former police lead crisis negotiator Lance Burdett this morning told Breakfast he didn’t "think it will be the same" as last year.
Former police crisis negotiator Lance Burdett said "it’s a different time". (Source: Breakfast)
"It's a different time — there's nobody in Parliament at the moment, plus most of the country's moved on from where they were."
He said police should be better prepared than they were last year.
"Lots of lessons learned and they admit that but I think obviously, they have to plan for contingencies if those people that were there decide to park somewhere else, and no doubt they've got that at hand."
Burdett said while the core group of protesters are expected to gather for a cause, "it's the outliers, the people that are on the fringes are the ones that cause the problems".
"It's the people that come in and cause disruption, the ones that the media tend to focus on, the ones that are standing up on the bridges doing inappropriate things. They need to be separated from the rest of the group," he said.
One of the key failings made by police last year was a lack of "dialogue" with leaders ahead of time to "set some guidelines, rather than to call them rules or laws — it's some guidelines".
"'Look, you're welcome to protest — everyone's able to do that. Here's what we'd like you to do, we can facilitate that for you. Just know that if you do step out, there will be some consequences.'"
While another protest has been planned for Saturday, Burdett said whether or not police would step in to disperse the group will be dependent on "where they go and what they do, where they settle".
"If they settle just outside of the city somewhere then they'll be left there. If they settle in the city and they're causing havoc, then they will be moved along."
He said "given the way that most of the country's moved on, I think it's going to be a low-key [event]".
"It's definitely not going to end the same way but just the protesters need to know that the plans are in place should it go that way, but I doubt it."
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