Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
About a year ago, hundreds of cars and a few thousand people descended on central Wellington and Parliament to protest against the government's Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
The motivations were varied, but at their core were anti-vax conspiracy theories.
A year on, the groups which came together for 23 days on Parliament's lawn are now somewhat splintered, but the disinformation which drove them remains - as does the fallout from the occupation and riot which marked its end.
The images from the 2 March riot remained etched in the country's collective memory.
It was set against a backdrop of flames, after protesters set fires in what had been their campsite.
Some peeled pavers from the footpath and hurled them at police officers while others yelled encouragement, telling them to aim for the officers' legs.
A ripped-up pavement outside Parliament is seen on 3 March, 2022, a day after the bricks were used as projectiles, which protesters hurled at police. Photo: RNZ
Massey University Centre for Defence and Security Studies director Wil Hoverd said the protest revealed a side of New Zealand that was scarcely imaginable before the pandemic.
"I think the legacy has been that we are now far more aware in New Zealand that there are lines of mis- and disinformation and hate speech that are influencing everyday New Zealanders."
But while the protesters might have been misguided, the difficulties many faced were real, Hoverd said.
"I think it's very, very clear that New Zealanders were suffering and are today still suffering. That there are hard to reach New Zealanders that have been struggling for a long time and the pandemic and an impending recession has done everything to exacerbate that," he said.
"So that underlying socio-economic factor is not going away."
Protesters and police clash in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
However, the groups responsible for disseminating disinformation and unifying their supporters under a common cause against the mandates were now splintering along ideological lines, Hoverd said.
That became clear in August when Brian Tamaki announced his new political alliance - Freedoms NZ - only to have the Outdoors Party almost immediately distance themselves.
Anti-disinformation group FACT Aotearoa spokesperson Stephen Judd said he still had concerns about the common ground the various factions shared.
"Case in point - recently when Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer appeared in court in Christchurch, members of The Freedoms and Rights Coalition and Voices For Freedom and some of our local white supremacists were all outside the courtroom demonstrating in support," Judd said.
"So there's still a commonality of purpose, even though there's a huge diversity of ideology and that common belief is being against government and against our institutions and believing a lot of stuff that just isn't true."
There were also plans among protesters to get together to commemorate the events of 2 March in the North Island next month.
Judd said he expected numbers to be smaller than at the protest.
Protesters gain control of a fire hose and aim that at police as well Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
But in an election year, the groups would be active - especially when it came to disrupting mainstream politicians, as occurred when National Party leader Christopher Luxon visited Rangiora recently.
Alp and other supporters of Counterspin Media and Voices For Freedom shouted questions at Luxon regarding Pfizer, the Covid-19 vaccine and the World Economic Forum.
Backbencher Ltd managing director Alistair Boyce, whose Backbenchers pub sat across the road from Parliament, said he did not think politicians had learnt from last year's events and anger would continue to be directed at them from those who felt left behind.
In central Wellington, businesses were still feeling the lingering effects of the protest as many were predicated on the patronage of civil servants and the protest drove them to work from home.
"Businesses that are directly in that heart of the CBD - the Lambton Quay end, the parliamentary end - are only operating around 60 percent of pre-Covid turnover, so the squeeze is on," Boyce said.
Tents and rubbish litter Parliament grounds after clashes between police and protesters yesterday. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Police were also still dealing with the fallout of the protest.
They arrested more than 300 people in relation to the three-week occupation.
Between 9 February and 4 March last year, 253 people were arrested with 168 having their charges withdrawn, 30 receiving diversion, two youth were warned, and 20 had already pleaded guilty while one was found not guilty.
Thirty people were still before the courts in relation to active prosecutions.
Since 4 March, police had also arrested a further 48 people - the vast majority of whom remained before the courts.
"The identification and arrest phase... Operation Convoy has been concluded. The operation will remain ongoing while prosecution cases continue," a police spokesperson said.
"A significant amount of effort was put into identifying the individuals who were sought, however, it was not possible to identify everyone.
"Police have not ruled out further arrests while investigations are ongoing."
The Independent Police Conduct Authority was also still reviewing the policing of the protest.
It hoped to publish a report by the end of next month.
RNZ contacted several individuals and groups involved in the protest - none had responded.
