A couple charged in relation to the violent final day of anti-mandate protests at Parliament have chosen to take their case back to Wellington.
Smoke circulates during the violent confrontation between police and protesters on the final day of the occupation of Parliament's grounds. Photo: RNZ
The Golden Bay pair, who were arrested last week, appeared in court today and were remanded without plea.
They were also granted interim name suppression for several reasons, including their safety and to allow more time to explore the strength of evidence.
Violence erupted on 2 March as police moved in on Parliament grounds to remove protesters' tents and vehicles in a bid to return the space to Wellingtonians after 23 days of occupation.
Many protesters refused to leave, despite being warned they were trespassing and risked being arrested.
A large number reacted by lighting fires, tearing up paving bricks and throwing them at police officers, who managed to take the grounds back by the end of the day.
Police last week arrested and charged a 29-year-old man with intentional damage and doing a dangerous act with intent - both of which related to the fires lit on Parliament grounds.
A 29-year-old woman was also charged with doing a dangerous act with intent and rioting.
In the Nelson District Court today duty lawyer Ian Miller said the pair, who lived as a couple but were charged separately, had engaged a Wellington lawyer to act for them.
Judge Jo Rielly said in response to the request for name suppression that she had to be satisfied there was an arguable case around the reasons.
Judge Jo Rielly intends to delve further into reasons for keeping the defendants' names out of the public arena. Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
Miller said the charges arose from an event involving a large number of people, and time was needed to gather evidence. He said public exposure at this point would also constitute "significant hardship", but as duty lawyer he did not have a great deal of instruction.
Judge Rielly noted the pair did not oppose the case being transferred to Wellington, but because they were unable to travel back and forth due to cost, they were advised to sort matters early ahead of their next scheduled appearance via audio-visual link.
She also said the test to keep name suppression at their second appearance would be different than at their first appearance today.
The pair were remanded on bail to 13 June, with conditions including they not travel to Wellington, except to attend court.
This story first appeared in the New Zealand Herald.