20,000+ on Queen St.

I say "Nay", you say "Chur" - "Nature"

The largest protest I ever went on was in the mid 90s. There were 10,000 people there that day, and I’ve never forgotten it. An enormous mass of people, chanting together. Stretching block after block, bringing traffic to a halt.

But I can’t say that’s the biggest protest I’ve ever been on any more, not by a long shot. There were at least double that many, with announcers telling us there were 20,000 at Aotea Square prior to the march, quite possibly many more.

There were still people starting their march as others were practically finishing. Like you see in a large marathon field where it takes some competitors a long while to reach even the start line. As I moved from one end back towards the other to take photos it looked like the whole of Queen St was full.

I got there early, wanting to see people arriving, take some photos, maybe say hello to a few folks before the speeches and the march. Even well before the scheduled time you could hear the noise from the square walking up Queen St. Happy people moving towards the music, laughing and excited - it felt like arriving at a rock concert.

Standing in the square taking it in. Lots of people in Green or Red of course, I saw both Labour and Greens MPs there, but didn’t notice any from other parties. Older folks and wee ones, a bit overwhelmed by the noise. Lots of dogs.

There was a tremendous feeling of goodwill. It made me feel quite emotional seeing all of these good people, my fellow Kiwis, there because they care and they do not accept what the government is planning with it’s Fast Track bill.

A friendly chap approached and asked if I was Nick, I confirmed I was indeed and he introduced himself as Brian, a fellow reader. You might have seen Brian’s comment recently about “Flippery Suckers”, which I put to use having enjoyed that description.

It was lovely to overhear conversations taking place. Trendy young twenty somethings, perhaps students, proudly introducing their grandparents who were there to protest. Such a positive vibe full of determination and optimism amplified by the sheer volume of people there.

The compère was very good, light and jokey. A good bit of banter with the crowd while also being really humble. Perfect for the occasion.

The first speech was from Russel Norman, a tremendous hero of mine. He got a great response talking about the sort of life we can have without destroying nature. “Listen to the people of this nation not the dollars of your donors”, he implored the coalition.

I particularly enjoyed the speech from Nicola Toki of Forest and Bird, a really natural speaker. Clearly someone who knows what it’s like to fight for something for a long time and achieve wins.

There were other passionate speeches and songs, many in te reo. Much discussion of how damaging the action’s of this government are to our democracy and to respecting te tiriti. We were reminded that the protection of our environment rested with Christopher Luxon and that he is responsible for the actions of his ministers.

Some practice chanting and then we were off. Although not for a bit as even being quite near the front it took a long time to move out onto Queen St as the march formed.

We shuffled forward smiling at each other, some of the younger folks having a bit of a boogie. Actually it wasn’t just the younger one, one lady who must have been about my age took the opportunity to do a very expressive dance all the way down Queen St.

The noise was intense, and with the pressing together it did feel a bit like being at a rock concert. A drumming group played latin rhythms, led by someone I worked with a long time ago, Maire (she’s the one with the red hair). She grinned and said hi.

Leaving the parade proper I made my way alongside, where bemused pedestrians looked on quizzically. Able to get some perspective by stepping aside from the mass of humanity I got a sense of just how many people there were.

I don’t know exactly how many tens of thousands there were this afternoon but I can say with certainty that I’ve never seen a protest that large before and I’ve been on a fair few from the TPPA, Nuclear Testing, and all manner of Government cuts.

No doubt some on the right or in the media will paint that group of people as rent-a-crowd, or professional protestors, or whatever label they want to use to discredit. But that’s not what I saw.

This afternoon thousands of Kiwis marched down Queen Street, and in other places I’m sure - apologies I haven’t seen any media yet. They were from all walks of life, all ages, races, demographics, united in their determination to stand up and say - not in my name.

I do not consent to you opening our country to exploitation, just so some already wealthy people can get even wealthier. We can live good lives, respecting our environment and te tiriti without plundering our conservation land, or our sea bed, for riches than we do not need.

Whether you went on a march, or you were there in spirit, you should be very proud today Aotearoa. Our government ignores the people at it’s peril.

It was certainly a great feeling today, seeing so many good people coming together.