Despite what some would have us believe, this was not a peaceful protest.
As police in riot gear prepared to move in, debris such as chairs, metal poles and road cones were hurled through the air.
Tents were set on fire, forcing police to back off temporarily while the fire was put out.
Outrageously, gas canisters were being tossed on to the fires and explosions could be heard.
I felt sick watching this thuggish behaviour.
Also sickening was the fact that children were present and according to one live stream from the grounds, some protesters were calling for children to be taken to the front of Parliament House to act as a buffer between them and the police.
To even suggest such lunacy shows just how deeply entrenched in this these people were.
I read with a sense of sick irony a protest sign attached to the gates: "Is this the future you want for your kids [sic]."
Indeed.
Last week in an editorial, I wrote the anti-mandate protest in Wellington had become a dangerous, chaotic, filthy mess.
More danger emerged in the following days when it became known that the protest became the epicentre for a Covid outbreak.
This protest has left a permanent stain in New Zealand's history books, just like the Springbok Tour in 1981.
Yes, the right to protest is sacrosanct in a democracy such as ours but it must be peaceful and within the law. No one has the right to threaten or be violent towards others - and this includes our brave police, who deserve our utmost respect.
The question now is: Where to from here?
I wouldn't describe New Zealand as a divided society but there is a lot of disagreement.
We are now on the upward swing of the Omicron surge with thousands of people catching the virus daily.
Our priority must be to get through this pandemic health-wise, and the economic battering businesses and the country have taken.
The wounds this virus has ripped open will take a long time to heal. We need to be united as much as possible to heal them.
