Stefan Sagar: Acting Waitemata District Commander on Auckland Harbour bridge protest change

Police say protest organisers made the right call, by postponing tomorrow's Auckland Harbour Bridge protest due to weather. 

Southbound lanes were to close to accommodate the tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protestors..

The march will now take place from Aotea Square to Victoria Park, while a new bridge crossing date is decided. 

Acting Waitemata District Commander Stefan Sagar told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he acknowledges the organisers for heeding their advice. 

Saga says with winds potentially reaching over 70-kilometres an hour, it's not a feasible environment for pedestrians.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Organizers have called off the Garza protest across Auckland's Harbor
Bridge tomorrow. They say it's for safety reasons because of
forecast high winds. A march will still go ahead. It'll
start at ol Tar Square and head over to Victoria
Park in the City Central, a Central City, but organizers
say they're still committed to making that bridge march happen,
just on another day. Stephan Cigar is the relieving White

(00:21):
Matar District commander and with us, Hey, Stephan.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Afternoon, heaven have they made the right call here? Ah? Yes, absolutely,
and acknowledge the organizers have taken our advice this afternoon.
We're expecting some pretty big gust winds tomorrow, seventy commerce plus,
so it's just not a feasible environment for pedestrians on

(00:45):
the bridge tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Is it still open to cars?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yes, as far as i'm we're it's still open to
cave Okay.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Now, is it the case that police that NZTA originally
said no to this, to opening the bridge to the protesters,
and police overrode that decision.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
No, that's not quite correct. No permit was issued to
the organizers and NCTA referred them back to US but
when you have twenty thousand plus and people intent on
crossing the bridge, you were left with, you know, balancing
out sort of maintaining safety of everyone involved and fatilitating

(01:27):
a peaceful protest. So that was sort of the problem
we were faced and have been working with those organizers
over the last few weeks to plan our response.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
So let me get this right. So ZITTA did not
issue them a permit. No, that's great, correct, Which is
that NZTA said.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
No, NCTA have referred them back to us.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yes, no permit and then they came to you and
you I said yes.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
So we're left with that problem of twenty thousand people
who are quite intent crossing the bridge. What we're seeing
internationally in Australia that significant numbers turned out for that
purpose recently, and so we needed to make a plan
on how to best facilitate those protesters or sorry, those demonstrateds.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Isn't What are you saying to me that they would
have crossed regardless, Like if you guys had said no,
they would have just gathered and done it.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, look, our primate role is the safety of emone involved,
and that's motorists place stuff and the people are planning
to walk, so we would need to put in place
plans around that, and on this particular occasion, we were
planning for potential for facilitation across the bridge.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Why would you need to shut down the entire like
the whole southbound lanes rather? Is it the Alklyn Marathon
just shuts a couple, doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yes, so obviously the northbound lanes were still we're still operating.
But what we've learned and the advice from ZTA is
that the clip on lanes is they termed, aren't actually
designed for pedestrian traffic, and so there's some danger with that,
and so we needed to use the center span.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
I see. Okay, Hey, thanks Stefan, I appreciate it. Stefan
Sega relieving wa to Mata District Commander.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
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