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Wellington, February 22, 2022
One of the persons funding the ongoing protest in Parliament has said that it makes no sense to maintain a quarantine system at the border now that Covid-19 cases are rife in the community.
Red Stag, which has business interests in forestry, timber, property development, and tourism, is helping to fund the protesters’ efforts.
Chief executive Marty Verry said that he hopes that they can bring about changes in the government’s vaccine mandate and border policies.
Police hurt in incident
Early today, one person was arrested at the Parliament grounds protest after attempting to drive a car into a group of Police Officers.
Police, some with shields, have been moving the concrete barriers to reduce the protesters’ ground around Parliament.
At least three officers needed medical attention after being sprayed with an unknown substance by protesters as they resisted the police’s actions.
Verry told Morning Report that he does not support the protesters sending death threats to politicians and government workers.
“Of course, I am not happy with some of the antics; nobody is happy. However, at the same time, the government has restricted the movement and the ability of thousands of businesses to do business for the last few years,” he said.
Financing the protesters
Verry would not say how much money he has donated to the protesters or how long he has been doing so but believes that protests are a way of getting the government to listen and to make changes earlier than they otherwise would be made.
He said that his financial contribution is through a website and that it is a modest amount.
“I have an axe to grind, that is regarding what I see as to whether there is any justification now to maintain a quarantine system at the border for international tourism,” he said.
According to Verry, tourism was once an $18 billion earner for New Zealand.
He said that he supports the protests because they are a vital part of the economy, especially when Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) can be used readily to detect the virus among travellers.
He said that one positive case may have got through the border and was detected through RAT on Friday (February 18, 2022), the same day the country had 1929 community cases.
“So, how can one extra person coming into the country affect an $18 billion sector? There is no justification for keeping the borders closed because we have got one extra person with a cold,” Verry said.
-Published under a Special Arrangement with www.rnz.co.nz
