Auckland fails in bid to evict Occupy group

The Occupy Auckland protest in Aotea Square, Auckland. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland Council has failed in its bid to win a court order to remove Occupy protesters from Aotea Square.

The council claimed the protesters were breaking various bylaws and attempted to seek an injunction from the court to force them to leave, more than six weeks after they first pitched their tents there.

But Judge David Wilson refused the interim injunction because the protesters were not given enough time to prepare for the court date.

The council's application for a permanent injunction will be heard at Auckland District Court next week.

During a lively hearing in Auckland District Court this morning, Ross Burns, who is representing the council, said the occupation was causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the public space, including causing grass to die and threatening nearby trees.

To this, protesters in the packed public gallery erupted in coughs and someone muttered "bull****'' under their breath, prompting a reprimand from Judge David Wilson.

Mr Burns said the protesters were denying members of the public their right to access and enjoy the the space.

"The interference with other people's rights... has been going on for so long now it has become unreasonable.

"While the council has until now been tolerant of the occupation the reality is that, from the council's point of view, the time has come for it to finish.''

Mr Burns acknowledged the occupiers' right to protest as set out in the Bill of Rights, but "these particular rights aren't absolute, for example, one person can't exercise their entitlement to protest at the detriment of others," he said.

Although the occupiers had clearly been peaceful and their message legitimate, there had been numerous complaints from members of the pubic and their presence at the square was "intimidating'' to some.

Mr Burns further submitted that the protest fell into the category of being an event, and therefore required council consent.

The hearing was briefly adjourned when court staff discovered someone was recording the hearing on their cellphone and streaming it live onto the internet.

Judge Wilson threatened to confiscate the culprit's phone if they did it again.
In an impassioned address to the court, occupier Penny Bright then questioned why Mr Burns, a Crown solicitor, was being used to represent the council - at the expense of ratepayers - when it could have used its own lawyers.

Furthermore, she submitted, the council had no right to seek an injunction because there had been no resolution among its elected representatives that it was an appropriate course of action to take.

"It's disgraceful and despicable,'' she said.

"What we are doing is a fight against the corporate greed of the 1 percent and a financial melt-down, which I think is a little more important than a bit of brown grass on Aotea Square.

"We are part of a global, unprecedented protest and we are using a public place for a public protest in the public interest.

"It's democracy on steroids,'' she said.

The packed public gallery clapped and cheered numerous times during Ms Bright's address.

Judge Wilson reserved his decision.