Posted on 15-3-2002
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To The Future For Auckland
Intro by Alan Marston (Photo shows `wired' security, uniformed
and plain
clothes police dragging people out of Auckland City Council
meeting
room).
I was at the 13 March full Auckland City Council meeting filming
for a
PTV programme on transport in Auckland. The scene and atmosphere
at the
meeting brought back memories of the Waitangi and Tour protests
of the
80's and the 70's Vietnam war protests all of which have shown
nothing
much has changed in New Zealand ... plain clothes police in
public
audience actively manhandling people (see male with red shirt
in photo),
pre-planned ID of individuals marked for an arrest schedule,
coordination
of police (note police male active presence in council room),
private
security and politicians for assault on political opponents.
In short, a
battle in which `collateral damage' was accepted and acceptable
to those
in positions of political and civil authority.
The PTV programme brief has now been expanded to include the
state and
process of how politics really works in New Zealand's most influential
city, and by implication, in New Zealand in general. Preface
Ends.
Following is a media release from Marney Ainsworth of Wake Up
Auckland
coalition, issued in the wake of the debacle at the Auckland
City Council
meeting last night, 13 March 2002.
Complaints have since been laid with the Minister of Police
by three of
the women and one of the men who were arrested for the rough
handling
they received at the hands of both the security gruards and
the police.
It should be noted that a 15 year old and 17 year old who went
to the
meetings with their mothers were also arrested -I am only glad
I left my
13 year old at home. These young people live in the council
houses that
the Council voted to sell last night. The sales will go ahead
without any
of the prortections for existing tenants that were proposed
by the City
Vision councillors, and also without the report that would advise
Councillors on the impact on the people affected by the sales.
This
report will not be ready before April. The decision to sell
was taken
after the City Vision and Labour councillors had left in disgust
at the
violence that was being meted out.
I am shocked by this turn of events. Please - lets fill the
streets on
Saturday - lets say no to violence and suppression, and yes
to a green,
democratic, inclusive city that we can all feel proud of.
Citizen
rights trashed at Council meeting
Tonight 17 otherwise law abiding citizens were forced into a
situation where they were placed under arrest for exercising
their
democratic rights of freedom of expression. Ordinary citizens
were
violently ejected by private body guards on the orders of the
mayor
picked people out for ejection based on no apparent reason other
than
they voiced an opinion he didn't want to hear. While this was
happening
the police stood by and did nothing to protect the democratic
of
</fontfamily>Auckland residents. <fontfamily><param>Times
New
Roman</param>These actions demonstrate the politics of
arrogance and
confrontation practiced by John Banks and the ACRN Council members
who
sat there and let the unprovoked violence occur.
The item on the agenda, the
sale of council housing, was never raised by John Banks or ACRN
during
the election campaign. This is one of many such issues that
have never
been mandated by either an election campaign, consultation processes
with
the public, or through the recommendations of council officers.
Ordinary
citizens from all around </fontfamily>Auckland City were
subjected to the
indignity of having their bags and pockets searched before they
could
enter the Town Hall. Once inside the Council meeting room,
Banks refused
to allow anyone to speak in the public forums. When one man
objected to
this decision, he was dragged from the room by several security
guards on
the orders of John Banks. <fontfamily><param>Times
New
Roman</param>Later, a woman who had been sitting quietly
was forcibly
removed by four private security guards who carried her spread-eagled
from the room, despite the efforts of many members of the public
to stop
this from happening. One of the women involved was later treated
for the
shock by the ambulance service.
These developments will be
viewed with horror by most Auckland City residents. It is
notable that under the worst excesses of the Les Mills mayoralty,
someone
well known for his bullying attitude, people were always allowed
to speak
and placards and banners were well tolerated.
This debacle needs to be
reviewed urgently by Central Government, Human Rights and Civil
Liberties
to wipe tonight's decisions from the books and to ensure that
this
Council cannot exercise their powers when they ride rough shod
over the
democratic rights of ordinary citizens to make a peaceful protest.
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