Colin Ford
In Other News
Following on the heels of Friday’s landmark High Court decision which overturned the government’s illegal Covid-19 vaccine mandates for both the police and armed forces, thousands of New Zealanders marched over Auckland Harbour Bridge on Saturday, demanding that the government end all vaccine mandates by 01 March.
Police and Transit New Zealand officials had been insisting, until Saturday morning, that the protesters would not be permitted to march across the bridge, but acceded shortly before the hikoi set off from Onepoto Domain, near the northern side of the bridge.
State Highway One was closed to all southbound traffic for about 90 minutes, to allow the protesters to march in safety.
The group, comprised of many thousands of New Zealanders of all ages and backgrounds, conducted themselves in a good-natured and friendly manner, with many taking the opportunity to thank police officers stationed along the route for their service and congratulating them on their High Court win.
Thousands of northbound motorists expressed their support for the march and their aims, sounding car horns and waving. That support was acknowledged by the marchers with waving and resounding cheers.
The march concluded at Victoria Park, at the southern end of the Harbour Bridge. The protesters gathered there, conducting a prayer, singing the National Anthem and were briefly addressed by speakers.
A New Zealand Herald report gave the number of protesters at 2,000. However, that number is clearly dwarfed by the number of people shown marching in the video accompanying The Herald’s report.
The State controlled Radio New Zealand’s website was careful to only show areas of Onepoto Domain where few protesters gathered, and not show the true number of participants. Similarly, they were equally careful to ensure their report included a photograph of the only two Trump 2024 flags among the hundreds of New Zealand, Tino Rangatiratanga and Pacific Island nation flags, carried by the crowd.