Anti-vaccine protests swell in Australia and New Zealand

Days-long rallies against Covid-19 vaccination mandates in New Zealand and Australia gained strength on Saturday, with protesters blocking roads and disrupting life in both countries' capitals.

About 10,000 protesters gathered at Canberra's major showgrounds, forcing the cancellation of a popular charity book fair, bringing traffic to a standstill and blocking roads in the Australian capital.

Police said three people were arrested, but overall, the crowd was “well behaved".

In New Zealand's Wellington, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near parliament for a fifth day, despite heavy rain and unusual tactics to try to make them disperse.

Inspired by lorry drivers' demonstrations in Canada, the protesters have occupied and blocked several streets around parliament with their lorries, vans and motorcycles.

Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard said he ordered sprinklers around parliament to be turned on overnight on Friday, in a bid to drive the protesters away.

“No one who is here is here legally, and if they’re getting wet from below as well as above, they’re likely to be a little bit less comfortable and more likely to go home,” Mr Mallard said, according to news organisation Stuff.

“Some people have suggested we add the vaccine in the water, but I don’t think it works that way,” he joked.

But after the protest grew on Saturday, Mr Mallard came up with a new tactic: using a sound system to blast out vaccine messages, Barry Manilow songs and the 1980s hit Macarena on a repeat loop.

The protesters responded by playing their own tunes, including Twister Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It.

The anti-vaccine protests in New Zealand and Australia have been relatively small, with an overwhelming majority of the population supporting inoculations. However, the protesters have persevered, with rallies occasionally turning violent.

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said demonstrators had a right to protest, but in a peaceful and respectful way.

He pointed out that most vaccination mandates in Australia had been imposed by the states and territories, not the federal government.

“So, I understand their concerns about these issues,” Mr Morrison, who has been urging vaccinations, said.

The federal government last year made vaccinations compulsory for carers of the elderly, disability workers and people working in high-risk situations in health system. Most states and territories have imposed broader mandates and barred unvaccinated people from restaurants, concerts and many public venues.

Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, speaking in Sydney, said the rallies were not going to gain widespread support. “Go home,” he told demonstrators.

In New Zealand, police detained more than 100 protesters on Thursday but had made no further arrests as of late Saturday, according to the police.

New Zealand logged a daily record of 454 community Covid-19 cases on Saturday.

The country of five million people has reported just under 19,000 confirmed cases and 53 deaths since the pandemic began. About 94 per cent of eligible people are vaccinated, with shots mandatory for some staff in frontline jobs.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last week that the country would gradually lift quarantine requirements for incoming travellers as it reopened its borders. She also promised not to impose more lockdowns.

In Australia, which is opening its borders to tourists later this month, 94 per cent of those aged 16 and over are double-vaccinated, but the country is still battling a wave of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

There were at least 65 coronavirus-deaths reported across Australia on Saturday.

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