Note this is from 2009 and also note Chris Hipkins, mentioned in this article is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of the Sixth Labour Government's Cabinet as Minister of Education, Minister for COVID-19 Response, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the House.
Also note that the land that is being occupied outside Parliament belongs to the Maori, not the Government.
Parliament to say sorry to protestors
"In an unprecedented act, Parliament's Speaker announced last week he would be offering an apology and compensation to protesters who were wrongly arrested in a student protest at Parliament in September 1997.
One of those illegally arrested, strip-searched and detained overnight was MP for Rimutaka Chris Hipkins, then a first-year student at Victoria University.
"It was my very first protest march, I remember it well. The Tertiary Review Green Bill was going to turn academic entities into corporate entities, treat students as customers and we were protesting against that."
About 300 people marched down to the grounds of Parliament; unknown to most, the Speaker at the time, Douglas Kidd, had issued a trespass notice saying they weren't allowed to be there.
"We were peaceful and we sat down, but the police arrested us and took us to the station. I was one of the first to be arrested and one of the last to be released. They let me out at around 3am and, as a teenager from the Hutt, I had no way of getting back home at the time."
Mr Hipkins managed to get a ride home but the matter was not over. Those arrested had to appear in the District Court to face charges the only time Mr Hipkins has stood in the dock.
"Some were offered the option of diversion but I wasn't going to take that because I hadn't done anything wrong."
Video footage taken by the police was viewed; police claimed arrests were made because the protest was turning violent.
The judge ruled it wasn't and there were no grounds for arrest.
"To remove someone's right to protest, you've got to have a very good reason. We weren't harming anyone or destroying property, we were peaceful.
"The District [Court] and later High Court agreed with us and confirmed that what we'd been trying to do was not wrong."
The matter dragged through the legal system for the next 10 years, during which time Mr Hipkins became president of the student association, fought alongside the Lower Hutt community against the closure of Petone College and graduated with a degree in politics and criminology.
"I said to my lawyers when I left uni that I was happy to remain involved in the case and there were some attempts at mediation but nothing came of that. For me, the critical part of this is that the Speaker and the police commissioner are offering an apology and it's symbolic."
The financial compensation has been calculated to just over $200,000 and spread among the 41 protesters who lodged the original complaints.
Mr Hipkins says it's not a huge sum of money. "That's not important to me, most of it will end up going to lawyers' fees anyway."
What little is left over will go to charities such as Amnesty International."
Feb. 11, 2022: Camp Freedom
"Security has tightened up at Parliament overnight with some fencing and barriers going in outside the main steps. Here are some shots from visual journalist Jericho Rock-Archer." ~ Stuff
Last night I came across videos and people talking about how the Police have roadblocks up for those heading into Wellington and they are turning around anyone they suspect who may join the protest so people are being told to hide signs in their cars and so on. This is so wrong that they are doing that as it's our legal right to protest.
In relation to the protest outside Parliament, David Seymour, a MP for Epsom and Leader of ACT New Zealand, is quoted as saying, “There's no political benefit in appealing to that group of people outside Parliament. It's a couple of hundred voters no one wants,” in this
News Hub article from yesterday...
With regards to that live feed screenshot I did earlier,
here's the original source of that:
Jeanette Wilson is a TV medium and healer.
Donut's Express is parked nearby giving free donuts to the protesters. (8am to 6pm)
A lot of people are talking about how MSM did not report on what actually occurred yesterday which includes the police brutality and the peaceful way the protesters went abut the day.
Megan, the backup camera (phone) holder on Chantelle Baker's live stream says that some of the police standing on the line yesterday did not look comfortable and looked like they did not want to be there. She's heard some of them have resigned since yesterday because of what their colleagues did in terms of the use of force and violence against the people. Note that Megan used to work alongside police as a mental health nurse.
Chantelle reports that a male came out of Parliament in a suit and tie. He thanked everyone for being there. He did not identify himself.
Chantelle also said she talked to multiple police yesterday who had lost their jobs because of the vaccine mandates. They said they do not want their jobs back after what they saw yesterday at the protest with how their colleagues treated people.
10:22AM: there's video footage of police carrying riot shields into Parliament.
Lawyer Sue Grey is being interviewed on
Counterspin Media just now. She just said police pushed her and assaulted her recently when attempting to get her to move.
Chantelle says on her live feed that she's interviewed many people from communist countries and says that the conditions in New Zealand just now is exactly the same.
There's a lot of undercover police in the crowd, Chantelle says, which is a concern because of how they tend to instigate violence on purpose.
11:12AM: There's now military leaving the local stadium, it's been reported.
1:43PM: The crowd is growing. There's now a first aid tent setup on the lawn. Here's a photo of it below from Counterspin.
2:48PM: There's food stalls setup outside the Parliament gates to feed the people.
4:15PM The people and energy is great from what I can see on the live feeds. There's a family atmosphere. More people are showing up.
Below is the mission statement (and demands) of the freedom protesters outside Parliament.
Below is the brother of the female holding up the poster. This happened yesterday with the violent arrests.
4:34PM: It's now been reported that 12 police officers have resigned after the events of yesterday outside Parliament. One police officer stood in front of Casey Hodgkinson's mother, crying, and told the mother she's quitting.
Below is a post from a freedom group. I'm keeping the person anonymous.
This is the 17yo boy who had his head pushed down into the ground with the full body weight of that policeman.
Feb. 12, 2022: Camp Freedom
7:50AM There's a new live stream available by my friend Clay Drummond. He's about to go live and plans to be live all day. Check his profile
here to find the feed. His current live feed is
here. Here's an image below from the feed. Someone has placed the ducks there.
This is a message from a partner of a member of the West Coast Freedom Convoy Telegram group.
"The girl wearing only a g string is Laura and she removed her clothes herself...she and I were initially sat together but Brent and I were the 3rd and 4th to get dragged out.
14 of us women held out on signing bail release forms...as a result we got the terms changed to parliament grounds.... previously it was within 500 metres of. They allowed us to be in the day room together for awhile today and we collectively decided half of us would stay inside and the other half leave to share experiences and advice in preparation for a possible next round. She is fine and spirits were good....pretty confident they got more than they expected from us women.
They put us in front of the judge from the station cells via teleconference
"
See the link
here to the post above.
9:12 AM: Here's Jacinda Ardern's Taxi outside Parliament.
A photo on a vehicle outside the gates.
10:08 AM: The sprinklers have now been turned off. That would mean they've been on for around 16 hours or longer.
Holes are being dug on the Parliament lawn in Wellington, New Zealand, so that these ferns can be planted in the ground by this Māori gentleman below.
This is a legal tactic for the land to be officially claimed.
The land already belongs to the Māori. There is some contention between the Māori and the Government around this situation.
Check out this post
here for more information on that Māori land claim.
Below MSM attempt to attack Chantelle Baker who's been covering the situation live with amazing footage. You can find her post
here.
I just came across these two Facebook comments in relation to the sprinklers being turned on last night.
Here's advice for lodging complaints to Police in regards to their violent behavior at Freedom Camp:
From a good friend. Police Actions in Wellington -LAY A COMPLAINT. My husband has just been to the Darfield Police to lay a complaint about treatment of people protesting in Wellington. He was told to lay complaint with Wellington Police online which I have done. Please lay your own complaint...
t.me
10:35 AM: Chantelle Baker says MSM continues to say there are low numbers, specifically 100 protesters, but this is just another lie they are spinning, along with many others. A plane has been chartered to take aerial views of the area to show the true numbers.
Counterspin report people are playing cricket on the lawn. A ball just went over the barrier and the police threw the ball back to them.
Here’s a post from Facebook from someone who was arrested at the Freedom Camp protest outside Parliament, in Wellington New Zealand.
“I was arrested yesterday for reserving my right to peaceful protest at parliament.
I was not issued a trespass notice, verbally or otherwise.
I was not read my rights.
I did not witness any violence on the part of the protestors.
I did witness violence from police. I’m struggling to forget some of the violent imagery and the tears in the eyes of men, women and children. This is not the way to respond to a peaceful protest.
I spent the day in a cell with 18 beautiful wahine {a Maori or Polynesian (especially Hawaiian) woman.}. It was chaotic in there and process was not followed in many instances by police. We sang songs and told our stories to keep up morale.
My cell mates were: a naturopath and mother who suffered a hit to the head. A paramedic (who said she was seeing 3-4 serious xaV injuries per week, mostly heart attack & stroke, mostly in the young). A teacher of many years. A couple of peace loving young girls (one of them the naked girl brutally arrested in the video below). She was sitting down peacefully when arrested. A caregiver for the disabled, arrested whilst meditating. A cafe worker, neck injury. The list goes on. All of us had bruising. They even arrested a person in a wheelchair.
In the men an elderly gentleman + poet. Another elderly gentlemen: kind and caring with a big black eye. Another man with a cracked rib. A friend’s gentle and kind husband who’d just turned up after dropping the kids to school. Another with a grazed face. A young teen with a hurt shoulder crying.
The protesters are mothers, fathers, nurses, doctors, paramedics, teachers, midwives, firefighters, farmers, truckers etc. … from every walk of life.
Sadly and predictably the mainstream media are manipulating, lying and taking video footage out of context.
There are a few dickheads in any group. On the side of the protestors and on the side of the public. For example I was abused with a car full of kids for flying a flag that read FREEDOM, TRUTH, NO CENSORSHIP. This kind of behaviour is never cool, regardless on which side.
Sadly the media are focusing and only reporting on these fringe elements in the protestor group rather than on the vast majority of peace-loving, freedom-loving, salt-of-the-earth kiwis, doing their utmost to keep this peaceful, despite police brutality. Another video from an arrest on day 2 was taken out of context with clever editing. It’s quite sickening to witness the real thing and then see the media representation.
That goes for the Freedom convoy too. The sheer size and joy of the convoy and the supporters along the roads all through NZ was completely ignored by MSM. It was massive, and positive, and respectful. A community of people coming together in a common cause and the feeling of unity and family and love was incredible. That vibe is still alive at parliament today. I know I could go up to any person there and they would help me out as if I was family: food, water, sunscreen, medical supplies, shelter, loo paper, a phone, a charger. It’s incredible and heart-warming to experience.
For the past two years the government has done their utmost to minimize, marginalize, and delegitimize the freedom movement. Their strategy is conquer and divide. By making people hate those of us fighting for all of our FREEDOMS TO CHOOSE. Jacinda has 4 spin doctors that work for her for good reason.
So, while I hate posting on FB, especially about me being arrested, it’s important for people to wake up and realize they are being manipulated and lied to at every turn. Not just about this protest but for the past 2 years.
Cheers people, and please don’t abuse me for posting this. I’ve had enough of that to last me a good wee while.”
10:52AM: The plan is to get everyone to move their tents so they can put down carpet over the mud which as resulted from the sprinkler water. This is also to protect the protesters if the police move in. The speaker who announced this also said there will be no more alcohol or drugs allowed at Camp Freedom.
11:11 AM: There's reports that ten thousand are now in and around Parliament in support of Camp Freedom and the protesters.
Here's a screen capture from Clay Drummonds live feed
here (check his
profile directly for future live feeds if that link dies). This is inside a Hari Krishna tent on the lawn.
Four trenches have been dug out to resolve the sprinkler issue. This is what one of them looks like.
11:27 AM: (Below) Chantelle
reports on her live feed that many, many people are coming and she reminds people to keep calm and peaceful. D
Couterspin report that the police are trying to stay away from the protesters because what happens is that the protesters talk to the police and some of the police tend to be so emotionally impacted that they might end up resigning. They have likely been ordered to do this. This is not just a rumour, some police have confirmed this.
Here's a screen capture of my second monitor as I keep an eye on things. I have Chantelle, Clay and Counterspin up:
On now switching to a new post below as this one is getting too large — scroll down.
11:33 AM: The Haka is being performed near the barriers.
1:44 AM: The Daily Examiner have a live feed going
here. When that ends, check their video page
here for the new live. They are reporting that four huge spotlights have been put in place to try and dissuade the people from camping at night.
11:55 AM: I've just updated the live stream list in the first post above. Here's a copy:
Camp Freedom Live Streaming List
For the Facebook live, the URL changes when the feed drops, so find the latest on their profiles/video pages.
Chantelle Baker: https://www.facebook.com/ChantelleBakerNZ/videos/
Chantelle is doing amazing and has been contacted by Joe Rogan for her footage.
Clay Drummond: https://www.facebook.com/clay.drummond/videos
Clay, a friend of Laron, has been there since day one. He was in the front lines when the police violently attacked and arrested people. He’s got a lot of footage on his video section.
Counterspin: https://counterspinmedia.com/live-stream/
Counterspin run their feed similar to how MSM (legacy media) would, but are freedom based and have some great interviews and breaking news events.
The Daily Examiner: https://www.facebook.com/dailyexaminernz/videos (only there for the 12th of Feb.)
Stuffed: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300514229/live-120-protesters-have-been-arrested-and-two-police-officers-injured-as-standoff-continues-outside-parliament
NZ Herald: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-convoy-protest-police-say-protest-may-go-on-for-days-122-people-arrested-2-officers-assaulted/BAUWYUH4FHNHYPWN2HUK47XFKE/
NewsHub: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/02/coronavirus-latest-on-parliament-protest-covid-19-community-outbreak-friday-february-11.html
Note that for the MSM sources, such as Stuff, NZ Herald and NewsHub, there’s a lot of lies being told as they continue to follow a narrative put down by the elites/cabal/government. They are not worth following unless you want to analyse fake reporting.
12:09: PM: People are bringing in hay to lay down on the mud to make things easier for people.
People have donated money, including those that couldn't make it to the protest, for portaloos:
Switching to a new post below as this is getting large...