Karl du Fresne: An essential counterpoint to 'Fire and Fury'

On a Tuesday afternoon in February 2022 I happened to be in Wellington. My route home took me via the bottom end of town, through the precinct occupied by Parliament and the Old Government Buildings. To my surprise, I found my way blocked by protest vehicles.

There had been chatter on the radio that morning about an anti-vaccination mandate protest convoy arriving in town, but I expected it would be over by afternoon and the streets would be clear again. I was wrong.

Mike Butler: When stupidity and pride turn deadly

Stupidity and pride turned deadly on March 2, 2022, when New Zealand politicians unleashed overwhelming force on anti-mandate protesters in front of our Parliament.

River of freedom, which documents last year’s protest, from the first truck to the last rubber bullet, captures the outrage that brought thousands to Wellington.

They sang “stick your mandates up your arse, we won’t get off the grass”, in front of a long line of posters that recorded the names and details of those killed or maimed by the Pfizer vaccine.

Graham Adams: River of Freedom flows into cinemas

Director Gaylene Barnes’ excellent documentary River of Freedom on the anti-mandate protests in Wellington will be welcomed by the government in much the same way Nicky Hager’s books have been in the run-up to elections. Which is to say, not at all.

Hager’s Dirty Politics appeared in August 2014, five weeks before September’s election. Among a wide range of damaging allegations, it suggested National had orchestrated anonymous attacks against their political enemies via bloggers. John Key went on to win a third term, but Dirty Politics made campaigning much more difficult for him.