Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Police diverge from Speaker over Celine Dion strategy, say they’ll pursue negotiations with occupiers

Speaking to media outside Parliament in Wellington, police give updates on illegal protest occupation. Video / NZ Herald

Police have warned of hygiene problems at the Parliament protest and broken ranks with the Speaker about deploying pop music and lawn sprinklers on occupiers.

Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell indicated yesterday that the protest would likely last for days at least, but negotiations were still being pursued.

He said about 400-500 people had consistently been in tents, the crowd peaked at about 3000, and police had spoken to key leaders and organisers.

“To date that hasn’t been entirely successful,” Parnell said on the occupation’s sixth day, when New Zealand again broke daily records for new Covid-19 cases.

Protesters have voiced a range of grievances but many oppose Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

“End mandates, we go home,” one of many signs read.

It seemed a likely goal of police was to ameliorate the more obstructive protest elements, and tolerate a lawful, long-haul protest.

Parnell said it was important to reach a stage where members of the public could get to work and go about their business.

Superintendent Corrie Parnell, Wellington District Commander, said negotiations at the Parliament convoy protest were largely unsuccessful, but were still being pursued. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“Our goal is to get that back to a state of lawful protest.”

Parnell said police had asked protest organisers and factions to move vehicles blocking access in some nearby streets.

A secure place was set aside for any vehicles that might be towed, in the aim of freeing up public roads.

Using the Defence Force to move vehicles would not be ruled out, but Parnell said this was ideally something to be avoided.

Portaloos appeared to be under pressure and children were playing in unhygienic conditions, with possible faecal contamination on the ground, he said.

Overseas, some protesters in a similar Canberra convoy have advised about the risk of pink eye and athlete’s foot spreading among demonstrators.

Wellington’s Regional Public Health Unit yesterday said no known positive Covid-19 cases were linked to the protest.

Crooner Barry Manilow, whose dress sense was referenced in 1980s movie The Breakfast Club, earned another inglorious place in pop culture with the deployment of his music against protesters.

Anti-mandate protests continued for a sixth day at Parliament’s grounds on Sunday. Photo / George Heard

Yesterday, the Speaker’s speakers blasted out James Blunt and a scratchy, flute-infused version of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On.

But Speaker Trevor Mallard’s decisions to use the music and Parliament’s lawn sprinklers on the soak setting on Friday were not tactics police advised or endorsed, Parnell said.

“Look, it is what it is. It happened.”

No arrests were reported at the Wellington protest yesterday, when heavy rain and high winds lashed the parliamentary precinct, turning Parliament’s lawn into a sodden, muddy bog.

Intelligence analyst Dr Paul Buchanan said the police response last week involved an attempt to remove troublemakers with the arrest of 120 people on Thursday.

“They’re selectively going after the A-holes,” Buchanan said.

But much of the strategy was what he dubbed passive defence, where violent methods of suppression were avoided and the protest was largely expected to fizz out.

Buchanan, 36th Parallel Assessments director, said some arguments had emerged between protest factions.

“One of the axioms of irregular resistance is you’ve got to have a unity of purpose. They’re all over the place,” he said of the convoy group and lawn protesters.

Parnell indicated several hundred of those gathered in the protests were committed, and unlikely to be dislodged.

“That nucleus of 300-500 people, they’ve sat through an extreme weather event.”

Some protesters carried bales of hay to spread on the muddy lawn during the occupation at Parliament’s grounds on the weekend. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But Parnell said police did not intend for the protest to last for weeks.

He added that no threats had been made which could be deemed as jeopardising national security.

The possible involvement of far-right groups was concerning, and the terror attacks of March 2019 were “front of mind”.

Some of the people arrested last week and given bail had returned to the grounds, he said.

Police were working with Wellington City Council on some issues around possible bylaw breaches.

“Removing the portaloos or emptying the portaloos, we’ve explored that at great length.”

Parnell said protest sympathisers who offered food and accommodation were supporting an unlawful occupation.

He rejected suggestions the convoy protest took police off guard.

“This is unprecedented territory in terms of an unlawful occupation and protest at Parliament.”

Parnell confirmed a few people in the crowd were armed with baseball bats or similar items.

“We’re aware of the presence of some weapons on site. Certainly not firearms, no evidence of that.”

The overall situation was complex but police morale was high.

Indeed, some officers even remarked on quirkier aspects of the protest, Parnell said.

“They endured a heck of a night there last night, but they still remained upbeat.”

Covid-19 case numbers nearly doubled yesterday to 810.

Te Pūnaha Matatini complex systems researcher Dion O’Neale said the rise in cases put New Zealand on track to reach 1,000 cases a day by mid-week.

Pandemic response minister Chris Hipkins last week said the anti-Covid strategy would become increasingly devolved, with businesses given more room to make decisions about staff testing and self-isolation.

Dr David Welch, a University of Auckland senior lecturer, said Sunday’s case numbers indicated Omicron was spreading faster than in the first weeks of the outbreak.

“This is in line with outbreaks overseas, where case numbers have doubled approximately every three days,” he said.

“The early spread here was likely limited by contact tracing efforts but with higher case numbers, contact tracing is not able to keep up.”