Occupy Auckland protest mobs Citibank Centre
A small group of ‘occupy’ protestors crowded the doors of the Citbank building in downtown Auckland this morning, making a rare foray from their upper Queen Street base.
The Citibank Centre houses US bank Citi's local office, the US consulate and, at street level, a Postshop with a Kiwibank.
Four police officers stood just inside the door, and told NBR they would take no action unless the lobby was invaded. The protesters demurred.
NBR asked a spokesman for the group if it had any specific demand for the NZ or US government. The spokesman replied the protest was a show of solidarity with the Wall Street occupation. The US consulate was the target of the protest.
Banners exhorted passersby to "Love More" and "Fear Less". The protestors briefly took up a "We are the 99% chant," and "We want power" (the call that drew NBR's correspondent from the newspaper's office across the street, assuming it was some kind of shopkeeper unrest over the gas cuts).
A member of the group waving a Unite banner said he was a supporter of the service workers' union rather than directly affiliated.
One protestor expressed concern about what he called a "Zionist conspiracy" and the influence of the Rothschild banking dynasty.
Another said the group would stay in front of the Citibank building for “between one minute and eternity.”
But five minutes later, the noisy but well-mannered group was trooping back to its Aotea Square base, safely away from the downtown commercial district.
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Comments and questions62
What a bunch of morons. Surely the most hopeless protest of the year.
The Auckland offshoot isn't a very successful Occupy protest, but internationally the movement is really capturing a significant (and broad) discontent.
Here we get the usual socialist and student protesters with probably a handful who're coming out for specific Occupy issues. In many of the US protests there are left wing protesters alongside right-wing (even Tea Party) supporters who also feel that the government is failing to represent the people (which is the broadest issue).
Even here that criticism, especially with respect to things like the TPPA, is significant from the Occupy movement.
Yeah, but morons doesn't even come close to it.
Even if the percentages were right, and they're a nonsense, the 99% whose lives have been made much better because they can live off the innovations - computers, iPhones, etc - made by the risk taking 1%, are in reality protesting against the crony capitalist system they voted for:
http://tinyurl.com/4476zau
And now the chump in this picture is wearing the Palestinian symbol of terrorism around his gaping maw. Given that the thing around his evil neck is a declaration of the intent to initiate force, I’d say give the US consulate authority to fire on them in their self defence.
Utter numb nuts. I'd tend to leave the Occupiers where they are as a monument to the monumental stupidity the welfare state breeds, though if the authorities were serious about disbanding them, then all they need to do is cut off the benefits: obviously none of them are actively looking for work while on the protest.
"One protestor expressed concern about what he called a "Zionist conspiracy" and the influence of the Rothschild banking dynasty."
Anti-Semitism dressed up as something else again. Not here, please.
[There was no indication that protester, although dogged, was representative of the group. See also the "resolution" comment below - Editor]
wish I could have no job, #occupy and lie in a tent for a month.
"A member of the group waving a Unite banner...." Rent a crowd
Get a job, hippie
Thatsthe mccarten gang masquerading as unite,plus a gaggle of alleged suspects Minto,Bradford Sykes and Harawira.Hope MCcarten has now paid the taxes he owes to us all,last i read the IRD were in full flight after his lot,EG. UNITE.
Aren't they meant to be occupying Auckland? #confused
Bunch of dip*#@! & bludgers, expecting something for nothing.
I am a member of the OccupyAuckland movement, though I do not speak for the movement.
The General Assembly of Occupy Auckland has passed a Resolution stating that Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racism and Sexism are completely unacceptable.
Given this position, certain individuals have been identified attempting to garner publicity from our movement for views which are not in accordance with the stated positions of the General Assembly. This is a common problem with all successful protest movements. Ways of preventing our protests from being hijacked in this manner are being discussed.
Oh don't worry about the committes and resolutions, just go find a job provided for you by the 1% and stop sponging off the rest of us who deserve to live lives free from the State.
they have run out of bike trails to build,good on them beats working on a dairy farm for some ignorant tight cockie who doesn't give a stuff about nz anyway, interest is the biggest killer, no wonder they went to citibank
Please be advised that the our next General Assembly of Occupy Auckland will be held on Monday in the bus shelter in front of the WINZ office.
The Occupy Movement and Occupy Auckland is against all forms of Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racism and Sexism.
Surely someone from WINZ should be there checking if these guys are on the benefit as they certainly aren't looking for work.
Were 'work' and 'getting a life' also considered unacceptable by The General Assembly?
that fact that the word "equality" has been repeatedly misspelled as "equilty" all over the queen street sidewalks is probably a good indicator as to the general intelligence of this group....
All the more reason for Economics to be compulsary in High School. These idiots obviously have no clue.
I fully agree!
They're the next star and future members of the Labour Party ... I mean, the unions.
...and Labour think they have credibility enough to manage and lead the country?
At least they have a new logo... and a new leader for Christmas probably too.
We, the 53%, are too busy actually working to protest. These guys need to get a job and stop being so ignorant. A waste of time.
We have persistant unemployment, low growth, and low taxes for wealthy people. Govt policy has not let to growth. Makes us somewhat like the States doesn't it?
And where the US has the Tea Party we have Federated Farmers, an ant-science right wing interest group.
Who said that this is a successful protest movement, not much coverage on television etc.
Len Brown has shown how useless he is by not getting these losers evicted
What a joke!
It made for a good laugh for a Friday afternoon....
Check out one of the morons in a Motorhead vest. Doesn't he realise that Lemmy is comfortably off in his mansion with wine, women and lots of other errr...substances thanks to the 1% (oh and nice fat royalty cheques from Guitar Hero). Ace of Idiots.
Um, you might want to look at these figures from my post here :
1) 44% of households take more from the tax system than they put into it.
2) 10% of top income households fund 71% of taxation.
3) 17% of htop income ouseholds fund 97% of taxation.
It seems the 'wealthy' people are the only ones paying any tax that matters. You are protesting for their further slavery, and the slave state, you greedy, grubby little imp.
Most sneak home after dark and occupy their homes
Cactus Kate toured the site and asked one of the protestors if he slept there. He said no, he went home, because there was too much light pollution :)
Look at all these people commenting, "Get a job!" Look at the times on these posts - they're all during working hours!
Unless "Corporate Shill" is now a profession, some of these people are obviously stealing time from their employers by surfing the Internet, reading news and spouting rubbish on the bosses' dime.
It would be amusing, if it weren't so tragic.
Hey tribeless your figures are meaningless because they have no context. The 44% you mention probably barely make it through the week even if they are paying less than they get, because the basics are getting more and more out of reach in a country with abundant food, power, land and resources, so what do you suggest... begging??? and where are the jobs for unskilled people. You need to address your grumpiness towards the countless governments that have failed to incentivise an exporting culture while constantly rewarding importers and endless property speculation. Quite frankly the last thing we need right now is a moaning do nothing. It's easy to demonise this global movement but they have some very good reasons to be pissed, I'm sure the anti slavery campaigners of their age were demonised initially as well.
wow cause theres just sooooo much employment prosperity in new zealand at the moment everybody can get a job, maybe i should listen to paul bennett when she says
lol
Sigh. Capitalism's intellectuals commenting again.
Actually you can get a job if you are worth something that the world requires. If you are unskilled, uneducated or have based your university degree on something completely obscure such as the impact of aboriginal culture on Formula 1 chassis design then you are f***ed.
Wow some people are ignorant. I am a full time uni student studying to get a double major in criminology and psychology. I also have a part time job, and I make time to get down to the square and help with anything I can. This movement is absolutely spot on and anything we can do to help them in their actions should be done. The majority of us are in the same boat as them, we might have jobs and live great lives, but you can't tell me that you don't see the apparent inequalities in this business model that has taken the place of life. Where did virtue go? We now need more and more, cars, houses, and the like, and when we get it, it isn't enough. Do you think this lifestyle just popped out of nowhere? No! We are all being screwed hard by this system that uses us to achieve and maintain the ultimate goal of power. God knows the majority who posted here don't have it. We should not be ruled by the elite, we should be capable to live the lives we want with the ability to control our own destiny. Now you can agree or not, but the question of "am I really happy?" needs to be asked. I'm tired of this system and I help and support for future generations who deserve a life free of "norms" to adhere to. One love.
You are getting a double degree in subjects that will only get you a job we don't need in the government or academia. another non -contributing leech on society. no wonder youa re worried about your future. You should be, but stop dumping on the rest of us who got a useful degree and a job/career that contributed to the economic welfare of NZ.
If you even have to ask yourself the question "am I happy?" then isnt it obvious you arent.You are pursuing a double degree in criminology and psychology. Will you be willing to work for the minimum wage once you graduate to ensure you dont become one of the elite you so despise. Perhaps before you try to lecture us on the way the world should be run, you should listen to your mummy and tidy up your bedroom, or even better why not leave home now while you know everything.
Youre funny. You should think about responses like that, my parents died when I was young and I left home, I'm from the states, but thanks.
New Zealand actually has the 2nd highest crime rate, after the United States, her choice is very useful.
Or his*
Hey Chris. If you're against racism why aren't you protesting outside the Maori Party headquarters? They're a political organisation whose sole purpose is to promote the interests of one ethnic group above & to the detriment of all others. Put your money where your mouth is you egg.
There'll be some more jobs for this bunch misguided youth when the youth wage rates are reinstated after the election. They should be pointing the finger for their unemployment at the Labour & Green Party's & thanking ACT & National for making it easier to find employment.
Yeah mate, and I've had cancer (no s**t) and got through it by not letting it define me so life just aint fair is it. So stop bleating and harden up if you want to make it. The universal law is that world will pay you exactly what you define you are worth.
Go out and get jobs and stop moaning you pikies.
Please read "None Dare Call it Conspiracy",by Gary Allen 1971.You then well understand why the rich live so well and the rest is paid for by the middle class people of this planet earth.It is good that the young are just beggining to understand about generations of global power.
Send the Police in and use some live rounds on these morons
I'm a right winger, property owner etc. But I'm totally with these guys.
They might not have much to complain about in NZ, but in the states they certainly do.
The banks have screwed the system in their favour over there. Goldman Sachs et al have an awful lot to answer for.
And of course the majority of middle class jobs have been offshored over the last 20 to 30 years, so America doesn't really make anything any more.
Not everyone can be a product designer.
And there just aren't enough jobs in the finance/real estate sectors to keep everyone employed.
And when the middle class have found things hard, have they had a bailout? Like the banks got? Why not?
Yes, Bob Builder, you're right. The problem is crony capitalism (part and parcel of the regulated Big State and planned economy). And crony capitalism is to capitalism, proper, as sea horses are to horses.
The problem is these protestors don't get the difference. In their minds they're actually protesting against capitalism, thus they are protesting for the Big State prison that they support and its crony capitalism – the game playing of regulation. It all ends in some Gulag or other, where the individual has neither privacy nor freedom from the State: indeed, if you have look at the powers of search and seizure held by IRD, you have to conclude we're already in the Orwellian nightmare.
Regarding your comments on the crony capitalist banks, not one of which would have been bailed out under laissez faire (or existed), Nicholas Kristof of New York Times explains it well here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/opinion/kristof-crony-capitalism-comes-homes.html?_r=2
Quote:
... and note my main gripe when I came into this thread was the idiot wearing the Palestinian bandana, a universal symbol of terror. He's deliberately casting himself in the role of the terrorist who would bring everything down, and replace it with the complete violence of the vacuum.
Tribeless, yep, the banks, GM etc. all got bailed out. So the moral hazzard is huge.
Under true capitalism they would have been allowed to fail.
The other point I want to make is that westernised countries need a strong (i.e. well off) middle class.
Henry Ford knew back in the 1900s that if he paid his workers well, they'd all be able to buy one of his cars. Which made him even richer.
But today, the well off seem to want to offshore all the jobs (paying a pittance to overseas workers) AND have the middle classes buy their iPads, shoes, clothes, plasma tellies etc.
And for a long time the middle classes could - they just re-mortgaged the house... But of course, that's now no longer an option for most.
So what needs to happen I reckon is that working people in western countries need to be paid a decent wage (which sounds very lefty I know) - but then they will spend that money in the economy and businesses of all kinds will do better - which is the payoff for those on the right.
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