Corrie Parnell: Wellington Police District Commander on the preparations for the hīkoi arriving at Parliament

Hīkoi participants are beginning to arrive in Wellington's Waitangi Park where they'll travel to Parliament.  

Police say traffic on State Highway 1 is starting to build and people should avoid travelling this morning.  

Traffic management plans are in place, but people should also expect delays around central Wellington. 

Wellington Police District Commander Corrie Parnell told Mike Hosking that a month's work of planning has gone into it. 

He says there’s been a lot of meetings across different departments, but they’re well prepared for today’s events. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the protest culminates today in the Capitol with a
lot of people turning up at Parliament, and charge of
keeping it all in order are, of course the police.
The district command of Curry panels with us. Curry morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
What am I?

Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're feeling good about it all?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I am like you. A month's with the planning has
gone unto us, so beautiful down in the Capital City
and everything's looking good at this stage.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
A month's worth of planning. What's involved in that.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Lots of meetings across with their partners within police. But yeah,
perfect management plan. So you're lots of layers go on
near But you know, the Capital City we're not immune
to this stuff. We meekly have major events, so well
prepared and planned for this.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
All of the numbers that are being bandied about the place,
do you have any idea how many people there will
actually be?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yes, I've said all the way through that's never an
exact science around numbers, but I'm fairly confident from what
I've seen over the last few days here we can
anticipate an excessive ten thousand minimum two day worth planned
for higher numbers. But that said, at the moment It's
the sort of sense I get of.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, it's ten power, so the media is reporting thirty,
so they might have got carried away. If doesn't materially
change what you do and how you do it, if
it's ten versus thirty, it.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Doesn't for me. In terms of the planning, we've planned
for both scenarios there and the abilities of scale up
operations or a descale down. Accordingly, for today.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Is the most worrying part. The dispersal at the end
and where the people go peacefully.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
I'm quite comfortable. We've had tremendous engagement right throughout the
last week ind and half with the Hikoi leadership. What
we've seen has been peaceful and they've stuck to their intent.
I see no departure from that today. Quite confident in
terms of post the parliament phase today there are some
celebrations back at quite tiny part, but the general sense

(01:57):
I'm getting from the interactions I've had are looking forward
to being back to the perhaps of the more two today.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, well appreciate it. Cory Parnell, who's the Wellington Police
District Commander. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
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