Businesses near Parliament increasingly frustrated at protest

Wellington businesses are becoming increasingly impatient at the demonstration that's sucking foot traffic away from them. 

Wellingtonians appear to be giving the Parliament protest a wide berth, meaning nearby businesses are feeling the burn.

Two owners have told Checkpoint they have been forced to shut - while for another, the lunch time rush has totally disappeared. 

Trax Bar and Cafe sits in Wellington's deserted railway station, and usually the tables are so full at lunchtime that the manager can't take a seat for himself.

But today, Charlie is doing just that and he is ready to vent.

"With this protest, no-one wants to come into town, they're not using the trains, even the bus stations closed, the train station is trying to close, they've closed their platforms during off-peak, it's just getting worse, it's like a ghost town around here."

Yesterday, a group representing protesters at Parliament released a statement, saying even they were shocked by the "alleged violent and antisocial behaviour" displayed by some at the site. 

But they reiterated that most were peaceful and they were seeking to work with police to identify individuals involved in any criminal acts and maintain a "safe and peaceful environment".

A local told RNZ he saw a "violent" assault at the protest site, and that deterred him from walking through the area anymore.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also brushed off verbal abuse thrown her way this afternoon, saying she chooses to focus on the majority who have gone out to get vaccinated.

Charlie said troublemakers at the protest were keeping customers away from nearby businesses.

"A lot of them are very nice, they came in for hot drinks when the storm was here, then it's all good. It's just like tourism, they're out-of-towners just coming in for a chat ... then the other ones, they're looking for an argument, looking for a fight basically.

"There was one particular guy that just wanted to hurt me."

Police confirmed today that some staff working at the protest site had tested positive to Covid-19, and the Ministry of Health also said there were at least two cases of the virus from people at the protest.

'Getting upset and yelling stuff at us'

Long Lin owns a now boarded-up sushi shop just across the road from the protest's western front at the intersection of Bunny and Stout streets.

"In the first week or two, there would be like four or five of them sleeping here, drinking here, smoking. It's really hard to ask them to move as well. I actually got offered $300 a week for them to put a tent in here, honestly."

He said in one incident, they "grabbed the mask and threw it in my face".

He said the surrounding public toilets had been vandalised as well as his shop, which meant coming in after-hours to clean graffiti off the store's frontage, before eventually deciding to pull the pin and close altogether today.

Long's staff said they were sick of bearing the brunt from what they call a minority of troublemakers.

"Getting upset and yelling stuff at us, and it doesn't seem to be connected to us, it just seems to be like a lot of people who are just upset and they want to vent, and that is being directed at us sometimes."

"This morning, I arrived at nine O'clock here and there was a lady standing and started changing clothes, so I knew she was sleeping in here."

On the opposite side of the occupation, inside the police barricade on Molesworth Street, Liz Means' Home Cafe in the shut down National Library sits empty, with a security guard stationed inside the front door.

"No business, no income ... there's nowhere for our staff [to go], it's actually quite dire."

Means is used to protests in the Capital, with her business just a stone's throw from parliament's front lawn. But she said this was different and there were no signs of it disappearing.

"There's three hot meals a day and they're free, there's free coffee, there's free tattoos, I mean it's a village down there, they've just put up road signs yesterday. They had a bouncy castle there on Saturday for the kids and they've got a basketball hoop, I mean why would you rush if you've got nothing else to do.

"I think the protest and the way it's turned out actually took everyone by surprise."

Mayor criticised for no communication over meeting with protesters

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster has been criticised for meeting with the protesters. 

Wellington City Councillor Nicola Young has called it "an embarrassment".

"We're supposed to be working together for Wellington, and he is a lone wolf. We didn't know anything about this until we read it in the paper. We have no idea what was discussed, other than he found it illuminating. And we've had no briefing afterwards. I mean, he's the mayor. He should be working with the council. That's what's embarrassing," Young told Checkpoint.

"We haven't heard from him at all." 

Young said she had not tried to call him, but Foster was not present at meetings today that he was supposed to be at, and she was not aware of any reason given by the mayor. 

She said while she acknowledged the problems caused by the protest as well as mandates being issue for some, this "lone wolf" behaviour did not help the council's reputation for being dysfunctional.

"I think it would have been more helpful if Andy had a stand-up and talked about what the council has been doing, trying to help with the situation, and about the very brave work of some of the council officers down there."

She had planned to go to the protest a few days ago, but was advised not to due to safety issues, she said.

She was very concerned about the future of CBD businesses, she said.

'I'll be back here every day'

Despite the disruption and pleas to pack up, the protesters remain as resolute as ever 16 days into the occupation.

Phil Peters is famous in the camp for his gnarly black eye, which he got when he copped finger to the eye in a skirmish with police.

"You can't be pro-free choice, pro-abortion, pro-free speech, and not be pro the choice to vaccinate or not."

Peters is fully vaccinated but said he could not accept the mandates and would not leave until they were gone.

"I'll be back here every day, I'll be back here bringing supplies when I can. I want to see the Public Health Response Act repealed."

Michael, who came to the protest from Whanganui with his wife, was angry after losing the supermarket job he had for 22 years.

"I will get my old age pension, but my wife is younger than me, so I'm going to have to support my wife and [pay] all my bills on one flippin' pension."

Meanwhile, schools nearby, St Mary's College and Wellington Girls College, have closed down citing safety concerns.

There have been at least two positive Covid-19 test results among the anti-mandate protesters in Wellington.