No one has been arrested or charged yet over the 1000-person protest that swarmed Auckland motorways and interrupted traffic on Saturday, June 23.
On Saturday afternoon after the Freedoms & Rights Coalition held coordinated protests in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, police warned that many people would face prosecution.
Auckland Central Area Commander Inspector Graeme Anderson said work has started to respond to the protests, which included around 1000 people walking onto State Highway 1 in Auckland, between Mt Eden and Newmarket, closing the route to traffic for a time.
Police were reviewing information and evidence to identify the people involved, including those who walked onto the motorway, Anderson said.
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“At this time we have not arrested and charged, or summoned anyone in relation to yesterday’s protest activity in Auckland,” he said.
“We are not in a position to give a time-frame of how long this phase will take but we will provide updates when available.”
On Saturday, Anderson said as well as pedestrians on the motorway, police saw poor driving decisions across the board – motorcyclists without helmets, children in the back of utes, and pedestrians walking amongst moving traffic on the motorway.
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki and other protesters walk along Auckland’s Southern Motorway.
“While the organisers put out a press release the night before, they refused to engage with Auckland police prior to the protest to provide detail about their intended route and did not divulge this information until the protest began.”
The Freedoms & Rights Coalition – a Destiny Church-linked group – on Friday said it planned to unite with “Convoy 2022”, which was planning to meet in the major centres from 9am, 10am, and 11am.
Lawrence Smith/Stuff
A protest led by Brian Tamaki’s Freedom and Rights Coalition at Auckland Domain. The group is protesting the Government, saying “Labour must go”.
Destiny Church leaders Brian and Hannah Tamaki were among the crowd in Auckland, led by a group holding a banner that read: “Labour must go.”
In a statement, organisers said they were opposing violence, the cost of living and a stressed health system.
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