Planned protests in Wellington City
***UPDATED: Protests have ceased and roads have reopened. Buses have resumed their regular routes.***
Wellington Police have advised they will be in and around the city today (Tuesday, 23 August) monitoring The Freedom and Rights Coalition protest and the likely presence of a counter-protest group. As a precaution, additional Police staff have been called in from outside of the Wellington Police District setting up a base in the Parliament buildings.
A detour is in place for Metlink bus services in the Wellington CBD and all road closures will be in place until the conclusion of the protest.
Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell shares that their primary mission today is to maintain law and order, ensuring that the public feels safe and free to move around. Structures will not be permitted to be erected on Parliament grounds and any behaviour deemed unlawful or that disrupts people from going about their lawful business will not be tolerated.
What you need to know:
- Roads in the city area, including the Parliament end of Lambton Quay, lower Molesworth Street, and Kate Sheppard Place have been closed to unauthorised vehicles today.
- Buses that would normally use Lambton Quay and Wills Street will detour along Jervois and Waterloo Quays.
- Bus routes 14, 32X, 22, 81, 84, 744, 745 heading toward Molesworth Steet will travel along Bowen Street and Tinakori Road to avoid the Parliamentary precinct.
- Any concerning behaviour can be reported to Police by calling 105.
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
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37.9% I avoid spending money on coffee
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49.5% I still indulge at my local cafe
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12.6% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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