Parliament protest: Wellington hospitality owners crossing their fingers for minimal disruption as convoy approaches

Businesses surrounding Parliament are apprehensive about the upcoming protest and owners are crossing their fingers it only lasts a day.

About 1000 people are expected to march towards the Beehive on Tuesday as Wellington prepares for a mass protest six months after the 23-day occupation of Parliament grounds.

The Freedom and Rights Coalition has said it will host a "people's court" on Parliament's steps for "crimes against Kiwis".

Protest leader Brian Tamaki, of coalition, is believed to have touched down in the capital a day before his followers are expected to arrive.

Briar Lee, the owner of Trax Bar and Cafe at Wellington's railway station, told the Herald she can see the roads surrounding her café being blocked off with bollards by police.

"I thought it was all over and done with... if [another protest] happens again this week, why can't it happen again next month, or whenever they decide they want to disrupt everything?"

Parliament grounds prepped pic.twitter.com/PZuuK48dnf

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Lee's business is still struggling from the impacts of Covid-19 – with staff shortages, her team are working as many hours as possible and the drop in commuters from outside the city is taking a toll too.

"And now we have this – it's just another thing, and you just think 'oh put the whip away the pony is dead!'".

She said the last protest was extremely challenging, as her "bread and butter" is commuters – and with no one coming into town because of the disruption, business was tough.

The council and Government subsidy for affected businesses saved her – but he says another protest would take weeks to recover from.

"I'm not against protesting, I think everyone has the right to protest but if it affects people's livelihoods then it's morally wrong," she told the Herald.

"I would tell [the protesters] to think further than the end of their noses to be honest, think about the wider implications because it's not just me that loses out, it's my staff and they have families... because we won't be open as late as we usually are, because we don't have customers so they miss out on pay – it's not cheap to live."

The general manager of the Backbencher pub, Alistair Boyce, told NZME he doesn't want any further disruption to an already challenging work environment.

"It's still incredibly difficult [from Covid-19]."

Thousands of Wellington students and office staff have been given the option to work remotely because of the planned protest and the city council's incident management team has been stood up.

Police have released details of how they intend to manage the protest activity, having been "in communication with organisers" to discuss their intentions.

In a statement on Friday, Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said road closures and parking restrictions would be implemented in areas near Parliament from 10pm on Sunday.