Protests in New Zealand

One protester drove a car towards a New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance, police said on Tuesday, as they tightened a cordon around a convoy that has been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.

The clashes in the capital of Wellington came a day after police reported that some of the protesters had thrown human faeces at them.

Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters the actions of some of the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates, were unacceptable and would be dealt with assertively.

“Our focus remains on opening the roads up to Wellingtonians and doing our absolute best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said. “The behaviour of a certain group within the protest community is absolutely disgraceful.”