Opinion: Renewed appreciation for police work

Penny Gaylor.

Weekly column by Kāpiti's Greater Wellington Regional Council representative Penny Gaylor.

On Sunday Metlink reopened the Lambton bus interchange in the aftermath of the 'protesters' having been moved on by our awesome police force after three weeks of occupation at Parliament and the surrounding streets, which spilled over into our bus interchange.

I want to thank the police for clearing the protesters. Many moons ago I had a stint working in Police HQ as a non-sworn employee, so my appreciation of the nature of policing is well-grounded in that experience.

And now I have a renewed appreciation for the police given how last week they got in there, and with amazing fortitude, focus, and absolute courage, they methodically cleared the protesters.

Having lived in Wellington for years before moving to the Kāpiti Coast, and having worked at Parliament on three different occasions, I wanted the safety of that area restored.

As chair of the GWRC environment committee, along with all my colleagues, we were appalled at the disregard for the environment by the unsanitary actions of the protesters.

So I add our thanks to the respective agencies that were in the mix during the occupation, who under difficult conditions tried their best to undertake testing and preventive works, and thanks to the masses of people involved in the mammoth cleanup of the area.

As noted by our general manager for Metlink, Scott Gallacher, the reopening of the bus interchange is thanks to the Herculean efforts of Metlink staff and cleaning crews, and support from partners like Wellington City Council who have moved heaven and earth to get the bus interchange back up and running as soon as possible for our valued bus users.

Scott added: "The last three weeks have been a tumultuous time for Metlink passengers and staff and the reopening of the Lambton bus interchange serves as another positive sign of things slowly returning to normal.

"Since the police successfully dispersed the protesters, our teams have been focused on removing rubbish, debris and getting all the stops and facilities at the interchange deep cleaned and fogged, in line with our robust Covid-19 safety measures.

"Passengers might still see some stickers and tagging in place but our crews are removing these over the coming week, with our main priority getting the interchange open and returning bus services there as quickly as possible."