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10,000 turn up for ACC Protest Rally in Wellington
The crowd of 10,000 at the steps of parliment
Photo: Frankie Lister
Motorcyclists protest
ride on Parliament
New Zealand’s motorcyclists took to
the roads yesterday in a massive protest rally on Parliament to show their
opposition to ACC's proposal to hike their levies on the grounds that they're
having more accidents. It’s estimated around 10,000 people, including 6,000
motorcyclists gathered in the capital to voice their protest on the proposed
increases. BRM’s Mark Whyte said he’s never seen so many bikes in one place and
the atmosphere was of a collective purpose and total opposition to the
Government’s plans.
After the show of strength, which
was all very well organised and good natured, the Government is unlikely to
introduce recommended levy increases on bikers, ACC Minister Nick Smith said
yesterday after the protest.
As Dr Smith took to Parliament’s
forecourt to address the crowd, he was greeted with shouts of "bullshit,
bullshit", a gesture that perhaps sums up the motorcycling fraternity’s
displeasure with the ACC Minister.
"I've indicated to them that
it's unlikely that the Government will agree to the scale of increase that the
ACC board has recommended," Dr Smith later told the press.
Photo: Peter Mitchell
The show of anger from the
6000-strong "bikoi" was concerning enough for Dr Smith to be flanked
by the police bodyguards usually reserved for Prime Minister John Key when he
fronted them.
Organiser Brent Hutchison said he
could understand why Dr Smith had the bodyguards.
"There's an angry mob out here
calling for the minister's head. It would be lax if the Diplomatic Squad did
not stand by him."
Mr Hutchison said he received an
email this week from a biker "trying to incite this into a riot" but
had worked with police to stamp it out and ensure the protest was peaceful.
The protest rally also served to
show the full diversity of New Zealand’s motorcycling community, often
portrayed by the mainstream media in a stereotypical manner of leather clad
‘bikies’. Gathered on the Beehive lawn were ordinary Kiwis of all ages and from
all walks of life with a common passion – motorcycles.
Labour leader and biker Phil Goff
dismissed the statistics the Government were using to justify the rises for the
motorcyclists as "crap - absolutely crap".
He said they were often the fault of
cars, as in his own crash when "a car ignored a Give Way sign and cleaned
me out on the way through".
Mr Goff reflected the disappointment
of many of the crowd at not being able to ride their bikes into Parliament's
grounds, noting it was okay for National MP Shane Ardern to be able to drive a
tractor up the steps "but it is not good enough for us".
Labour MP Rick Barker, clad in full
leathers after riding down from Hawkes Bay on his Triumph Rocket III, railed
against the way the system had always been against bikers.
Protest organisers counted 3000
bikers on SH 1, 1800 on SH 2 and hundreds more already in Wellington in a far
bigger turnout than expected.
- Additional reporting NZ Herald/NZPA
The new Nick Smith exhaust system.
Photo: Peter Mitchell
A few of the politicians who showed up.
Photo: Peter Mitchell
Some of the 10,000-strong crowd, including around 6,000 bikers
Photo: Peter Mitchell
An awesome spectacle
Photo: Frankie Lister
Some of the bikers assembling before the ride to parliament
Photo: Mark Whyte
A bikers-eye-view of the ride on parliament
Photo: Mark Whyte