The government has made no plans as yet to broadly review the Parliament occupation, the police minister says, while a review of police actions is being left to the police watchdog.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour has also blocked a select committee from questioning the Police Commissioner over the protest, a move National says simply shows the government intends to sweep the weeks of disruption under the carpet.
The so-called "freedom convoy" on Parliament's lawn was broken up by police early this month. The protesters had refused to go peacefully, hurling bricks and tent poles and setting tents, trees and playground equipment on fire.
More than 600 police were involved in the operation, and they responded with force - riot gear, pepper spray, fire hoses. Throughout the day they progressively removed the protesters, their marquees and vehicles.
Some 40 officers were injured, with eight admitted to hospital. At least 89 protesters were arrested.
But that day came after more than three weeks of protest characterised by confusion - over the protesters' messages and demands, over who was in charge of it, and over what any response could meaningfully achieve.
Wellingtonians were harassed, abused and threatened, and lost their own rights of access to Parliament and the surrounding areas. Schools and the university resorted to distance learning; CBD businesses shut up shop as locals stayed home.
The day the protest was shut down, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signalled there would be a review of the occupation and whether more could have been done to prevent it. It would include two pieces of work: one looking at parliamentary security, and the government would also look at enforcement powers, police resources and any threats to critical infrastructure.
"We are not going to dismiss some of the underlying causes of what we have seen, but nor will we excuse it," she said.
The next day, other parties were backing that call. National leader Christopher Luxon described the actions of the protesters as "thuggery", but said a review would be "vital" to examine mitigation and security measures that could be taken in future.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said there would "undoubtedly be a range of inquiries into the protests over the coming months".
This afternoon however, Police Minister Poto Williams said Cabinet had not yet raised the prospect of any broader review of the protest.
"I can't speak for a broader review than ... what usually happens which is the IPCA one. It hasn't been discussed at Cabinet," she said.
National's Justice Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith sought to have Police Commissioner Andrew Coster appear before the Justice Select Committee, but it was blocked by the committee's Labour members.
"We are regularly encouraged and exhorted by the Speaker to use parliament's select committee powers for briefings and investigations. He encourages us to do it all the time, but when we try Labour members continually block us.
"Ultimately this is basically what Parliament should be doing. We should be holding our senior law officers and police commissioner to account - what did they get right, what did they get wrong, what processes they followed, what information that they had.
"All those basic sort of questions we should be able to ask and shouldn't be swept under the carpet by a government that doesn't want to know about it."
He said he believed it suited Labour's narrative to consign the whole event to history.
"I think they just want everybody to forget about it as quickly as possible and we think it's very important that this very traumatic event particularly for Wellingtonians - it disrupted the city for weeks on end - is properly investigated.
He said he had seen no signs of action on any other review into the events either.
"And there will no doubt be criminal cases and investigations but from a sense of political accountability this is an appropriate forum to hear from the commissioner of police."
Williams said the only review of police actions would be left for the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
"It's my view that any reviews of the police, given that there is operational separation from the minister for example, sits with IPCA.
"As I understand it the IPCA are dealing with over 1600 complaints from the protest activity itself so they will be well versed on the actions of the participants in that protest."