Vehicles in the convoy of up to 100 in the Groundswell protest round the corner of Taupo Quay. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Vehicles in the convoy of up to 100 in the Groundswell protest round the corner of Taupo Quay. Photo / Lewis Gardner
People opposed to new farming and other regulations protested in a vehicle convoy around Whanganui on Sunday afternoon.
Vehicles of all kinds gathered at Wanganui Racecourse at 1pm, with people giving out MAGA (Make Ardern Go Away) stickers at the gate.
"I think a lot of people in New Zealandare feeling like the Government isn't listening," organiser Angela Watson said.
There were protests all over the country led by Groundswell New Zealand, a group of farmers and others with rural interests, and were a follow-up to the Howl of a Protest that happened in July.
Sunday's event was a "Mother of all Protests", Watson said. The third protest will be at Parliament in February.
The protest was about eight changes that affect farmers. They are the Three Waters and Crown pastoral lease reforms, freshwater regulation, rules that protect significant natural areas (SNA) and indigenous biodiversity, difficulty getting seasonal rural workers, measures to reduce climate change and the Clean Car programme that affects people buying vehicles.
Most farmers were pretty good at looking after their land and the new rules did not make sense to a lot of people, Watson said.
Protest placards read "Cindy has our backs. Yeah right!", "Stop Scapegoating Farmers" and "Freedom. Enough is enough".
Attendees had been told it wasn't the right forum for protest against vaccination policy, Watson said.
They tuned in to a Groundswell NZ statement broadcast on Newstalk ZB before driving through Whanganui, with some beeping their horns.
Watson had hoped they could gather after the drive, and a flyover organised by David Bebarfald, to get support from their peers. The new rules were affecting farmers' mental health, she said.
"They feel their hard job has just got harder. A chat could lift them back up and give them hope."
But an after-gathering wasn't possible due to the spread of Covid-19 and instead people were encouraged to wear masks and stay distanced, she said.
Protesters and vehicles gather at Whanganui's racecourse before heading off in convoy. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Willy Pelzers and Dianne Blair, a fifth-generation farmer, were waiting in their utility to take part in the convoy.
Blair said she disagreed with the ideas the Government was putting forward, and Pelzers said regulations "that almost make farming impossible" were being pushed through while people were "distracted by Covid".
Manning the microphone was Dougal Pidwell, who has a fertiliser spreading business. He said the Government's climate change measures needed to be less harsh on farmers, and its Crown pastoral lease reform should be scrapped altogether.
