Occupy protests in New Zealand

Occupy protests took place in Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Lower Hutt, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill.

Other contributing factors included the concurrent Rugby World Cup and the impending 2011 New Zealand general election, held on 26 November 2011.

Soon after the commencement of the Occupy Wall Street protests two groups attempted to simultaneously form an Auckland-based Occupation.

The following day, Saturday, 8 October, a meeting was held in the gazebo in Albert Park, attended by approximately 30 people under the auspices of "Occupy Auckland".

During the remainder of the week, planning sessions and promotional activities were conducted, including the scouting of Aotea Square and Albert Park by four Town Planners.

Aotea Square was chosen for its political significance, its central location, and because it had recently been "taken" from the people of Auckland by "The Edge", and was no longer used as a marketplace and speakers' forum.

Albert Park was seen as being less contentious, more centrally located in terms of the overall geography of the city, more suitable as a camp ground and closer to natural allies at the university; however, the site was rejected and at least two organisers[who?]

Donations began to drop off, in large part due to decisions made in the first days of the Occupation to use Facebook almost exclusively.

The loss of support from the professional activist network gradually accelerated until the issuance of a trespass notice by Auckland Council.

This letter cited the "exemplary professionals" of the Auckland Council and the New Zealand Police, and suggested that the prime minister could take advice from these bodies, who to this point had a positive working relationship with the Occupation.

This statement, which was workshopped heavily for 10 days, was addressed to the people of New Zealand, though it was understood that it would be read widely in government circles throughout the country.

In the weeks that followed its ratification, criticisms of the declaration began to emerge, though there was no serious or concerted attack on the document, and support remained strong.

Similarities between the two documents include the citation of the authority of the framers and the strong reference to logical assertion of sovereignty, a common theme in populist political thought in New Zealand.

TO THE PEOPLE OF AUCKLAND AND NEW ZEALAND; we the Citizens and Residents in Occupation in Aotea Square wish to communicate a few of our grievances, space being limited, so that you may judge for yourselves whether we are right in our cause.

Consequently, in Solidarity with all other peaceful Occupiers around the world, we declare; It is unacceptable to us that 1% of the population should own and control a disproportionate amount of the wealth of our country.

We also decry the shameless exploitation and manipulation of our young people for profit by companies selling them unhealthy foods and debilitating products.

We denounce the practice whereby young people are expected to work for nothing as Interns, or languish in dead-end jobs because companies refuse to pay for vocational training.

It is a scandal that our young families cannot afford to buy a home, and that devious lenders are allowed to trap them in a lifetime of debt slavery.

We refuse to accept the artificially high levels of unemployment and reduced working conditions which have been forced upon us by the Architects of Globalisation.

We also denounce the destructive, systemic undermining of our economic self-sufficiency, the flooding of our local markets with cheap goods from overseas at the expense of local producers, the irrevocable sale to faceless foreign corporations of our precious lands and resources, and the shameless lack of social conscience exhibited by some of our companies.

We therefore state as a governing principle that as companies and corporations are not natural persons, they shall not be entitled to protection under our Bill of Rights, and they may not act to influence our political processes for their own ends.

We, the Citizens and Residents occupying Aotea Square call on you to consider our grievances and respond in whatever way your Reason and your Conscience dictates.

As the first Occupiers were for the most part neither homeless nor unemployed, the level of donations were more than adequate to cover the needs of the Occupation, and standards were very high.

However, as word got around in Queen Street that the Occupation was providing three hot meals a day to all comers, the homeless began coming to the camp, swelling numbers.

Many of the homeless assumed responsibility in overseeing and performing kitchen and cooking duties, replacing the original Unite Members who set it up initially.