Protest organisers have been forced by adverse weather to move their planned march away from the Auckland Harbour Bridge this weekend.
A statement from the organisers of the March for Humanity said there had been “a drastic change to the weather forecast in the last 24 hours, that now shows unsafe wind speeds on the Auckland Harbour Bridge”.
“The march will go ahead with a changed route,” the statement said. “The start time remains 9.30am, Saturday, but will now assemble at Aotea Square. The march will then proceed through the CBD, concluding at Victoria Park.”
The event has been organised by Aotearoa for Palestine, a Palestinian- and Māori-led group supporting “the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice, and dignity in their own land”.
Bianca Ranson, spokesperson for kaiāwhina marshals, said: “Our foremost duty as kaiāwhina is to protect and care for our communities.
“After reviewing multiple weather models, including a forecast commissioned twice from MetService specifically for the Harbour Bridge, it is clear that predicted winds of 75–85km/h make the crossing unsafe.
“Postponing the Harbour Bridge march is the only responsible course of action.”
Police ‘advised’ change of route
Relieving Waitematā district commander Stefan Sagar said police would still monitor the protest, despite the change of location.
He said police had been in ongoing discussions with organisers for some weeks, and agreed the march across the harbour bridge should “not take place” due to the unsafe conditions.
“This advice was given to organisers this afternoon,” Sagar said.
“Organisers have informed police that they have heeded this advice and moved to another location, and we acknowledge them for reaching this decision.”
Sagar said police recognised the right to protest, and its planning alongside partner agencies has focused on safety.
Police advised there would now be disruption in parts of the Auckland CBD and Victoria Park tomorrow. It also advised motorists to avoid those area if possible.
“Traffic management will no longer need to be put in place on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
“Previously advised disruptions on the motorway network are no longer expected outside usual congestion on the network.”
Earlier, March for Humanity spokesperson Nadine Mortaja told Breakfast huge numbers of people were expected at tomorrow’s event, which would also call for sanctions on Israel.
“After seeing Sydney and Brisbane, the amount of people that showed up there were tens of thousands, so I think we are expecting a very big amount of people to show up.
“We know people that are coming from Australia, coming from Hamilton and Christchurch and Wellington, so a lot of people are going to show up for the March for Humanity.”
She said people realise the situation in Gaza was “desperate”.
“We want that message to be heard loud and clear,” she said.
It followed similar protest action in Australia, in which thousands marched across the country in a show of support for the Palestinian cause.
Mortaja said the scenes overseas gave her “goosebumps”.
