It seems that New Zealand has not missed out on the global trend for truckies create a convoy and blockage cities. Today was a protest against new Government Road User Charges that truckies say are putting their businesses in jeaopardy and they don’t believe they are fair to the industry.
Protesting in Wellington is a fairly common thing and when I used to work behind the Parliament buildings it was a regular thing to be looking out to see who was getting airiated that day. I think this was much more spectacular and had quite an impact on all the major cities around New Zealand – Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Parmerston North, Invercargill, Dunedin, Rotarua to name a few.
Fortunately I didn’t have to see it for myself but have watched the reports on the web which show the convoys in action. Here’s a snapshot for you to see direct action by the truckies New Zealand style.
CONVOY INTO WELLINGTON ALONG THE MAIN STATE HIGHWAY
SIMILAR AFFECT IN TOWARDS AUCKLAND CBD
ACTION IN AUCKLAND CBD
HEY MATE, WHICH WAY IS THE CONVOY?
Didn’t know that you had that many lorries or trucks in New Zealand?
There are reports of at least 4,500 truckies in New Zealand who participated. This represents about 20 per cent of the countries truckies. Can you imagine what it would be like if they’d all joined the convoy!
The really interesting thing is that when being reported in the media there was a focus on the local flavour of the trucks in different towns. For example, down in Christchurch there were quite a few sheep transporters and logging trucks!