16 Mar 2012

Report recommends moving Christchurch Occupy protesters

12:00 pm on 16 March 2012

A Christchurch City Council report is recommending the removal of a group of Occupy movement protesters from a city park.

About 20 protesters - all that's left of the Occupy movement in New Zealand - have been camped in South Hagley Park for the past five months.

Occupations in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland were all moved on by councils enforcing anti-camping bylaws, and now the council report is recommending the same thing for Christchurch.

The council says it has received complaints about the occupation from members of the public.

A High Court decision in relation to the Auckland protest found the removal of occupiers did not breach the Bill of Rights, which protects a person's right to protest.

The protests were party of a worldwide movement opposing corporate greed.