Yesterday there was another “anti-government” protest outside parliament in Wellington. The last such protest was in February and attracted many different protestors who didn’t agree with the government about their public health measures. It was called the Convoy 2022 protest, and went on for a month and ended in riots.
There were fears we may have the same problems again, and many people who work in the area around parliament decided to stay home yesterday. Police put up barriers to stop people from bringing cars into the area, and another group of protestors who opposed the anti-government protestors also gathered.
Thankfully, the protestors came and went peacefully and there was no violence. The leader of the protest was Brian Tamaki, the leader of the controversial Destiny Church and also the Freedom and Rights Coalition. At the protest, Tamaki said that he will form a new political party to run for government in the next election.
Vocabulary:
Anti – this is a prefix that means “against”. Anti-government means “against government”
Protest: a kind of parade where people are trying to communicate a message to the government or the public
Protestor: someone who is in a protest
Such: similar, like
Public health measures: the things a government does to keep everyone in the country (the public) healthy
Went on: continued
Riots: when a crowd of people becomes violent
Barriers: heavy things to that are used to block a road or path; a kind of wall
Oppose: disagree with
Controversial: attracting conflict, usually because many people disagree with some actions or opinions
Coalition: a group of organisations working together
Form: start, make
Political party: a group of people who want to form a government
Run for government: be a candidate in an election for a new government
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Watch the video and answer these questions:
- Roughly how many protestors were there?
- Does the reporter call the other group of protestors: a) anti-protestors b) counter-protestors c) court-protestors