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 The "convoy for freedom" protesters arrived from all corners of New
Zealand and gathered outside the parliament building in the capital
Wellington, called the Beehive, ahead of the first speech for the
year by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The protesters were largely unmasked, held placards calling for
"freedom" and vowed to camp outside parliament until the COVID-19
curbs are lifted. The protests, which may run for days, is inspired
by the ongoing truckers blockade in the Canadian capital Ottawa
against strict government measures to fight the pandemic.
Ardern did not meet the protesters, and told reporters later that
the protesters did not represent the majority view.
ade as a representation of the majority," Ardern said at a news
conference.
"The majority of New Zealanders have done everything they can to
keep one another safe."
In her first parliamentary speech for the year earlier in the day,
Ardern told lawmakers that the COVID-19 pandemic will not end with
the Omicron variant and New Zealand will have to prepare for more
variants of the virus this year.
Ardern's government has enforced some of the toughest pandemic
restrictions for the last two years as the government tried to keep
the coronavirus out.
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 The policies helped keep infections and deaths
low. A country of five million people, New
Zealand has had about 18,000 confirmed COVID
cases so far and 53 deaths.
But it also angered many who faced endless home
isolation, and tens of thousands of expatriate
New Zealanders who were cut off from families
back home as the borders remained sealed. The
measures have also been devastating for
businesses dependent on international tourists.
Ardern's approval ratings plummeted in the
latest 1News Kantar Public Poll released last
month, as the public marked her down for the
delays in vaccinations and in removing
restrictions.
The government said last week that the country
will reopen its borders to the rest of the world
in phases only by October.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Michael
Perry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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