New Zealand’s anti-vaccine protests continues even during Cyclone Dovi

On Sunday, Cyclone Dovi hit New Zealand, causing power outages, mudslides, and evacuations, yet neither the storm nor Barry Manilow’s music could evict anti-vaccine demonstrators camped outside parliament.
Instead, hundreds of demonstrators – inspired by the Canadian truckers’ “Freedom Convoy” – danced in the mud to music designed to disperse them.
Even a joking offer of assistance from musician James Blunt couldn’t put an end to the standoff in Wellington’s capital, which has now entered its sixth day with no indication of ending.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Television New Zealand there was a “sad element” to the protest.

“Every New Zealander has a right to peaceful protest, the problem is they have gone well beyond that,” he said.

“I do find the rhetoric of these protests highly disturbing … there is a sad element to it, there is a conspiracy theory element that people have been sucked in by.”

Like the Canadian truckers in Ottawa, the New Zealand protesters object to the strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the country and are demanding an end to vaccine mandates.

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