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Speaker 1: Organizers have called off the Garza protest across Auckland's Harbor

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Speaker 1: Bridge tomorrow. They say it's for safety reasons because of

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Speaker 1: forecast high winds. A march will still go ahead. It'll

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Speaker 1: start at ol Tar Square and head over to Victoria

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Speaker 1: Park in the City Central, a Central City, but organizers

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Speaker 1: say they're still committed to making that bridge march happen,

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Speaker 1: just on another day. Stephan Cigar is the relieving White

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Speaker 1: Matar District commander and with us, Hey, Stephan.

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Speaker 2: Afternoon, heaven have they made the right call here? Ah? Yes, absolutely,

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Speaker 2: and acknowledge the organizers have taken our advice this afternoon.

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Speaker 2: We're expecting some pretty big gust winds tomorrow, seventy commerce plus,

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Speaker 2: so it's just not a feasible environment for pedestrians on

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Speaker 2: the bridge tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: Is it still open to cars?

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Speaker 2: Yes, as far as i'm we're it's still open to

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Speaker 2: cave Okay.

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Speaker 1: Now, is it the case that police that NZTA originally

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Speaker 1: said no to this, to opening the bridge to the protesters,

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Speaker 1: and police overrode that decision.

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Speaker 2: No, that's not quite correct. No permit was issued to

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Speaker 2: the organizers and NCTA referred them back to US but

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Speaker 2: when you have twenty thousand plus and people intent on

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Speaker 2: crossing the bridge, you were left with, you know, balancing

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Speaker 2: out sort of maintaining safety of everyone involved and fatilitating

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Speaker 2: a peaceful protest. So that was sort of the problem

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Speaker 2: we were faced and have been working with those organizers

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Speaker 2: over the last few weeks to plan our response.

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Speaker 1: So let me get this right. So ZITTA did not

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Speaker 1: issue them a permit. No, that's great, correct, Which is

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Speaker 1: that NZTA said.

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Speaker 2: No, NCTA have referred them back to us.

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Speaker 1: Yes, no permit and then they came to you and

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Speaker 1: you I said yes.

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Speaker 2: So we're left with that problem of twenty thousand people

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Speaker 2: who are quite intent crossing the bridge. What we're seeing

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Speaker 2: internationally in Australia that significant numbers turned out for that

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Speaker 2: purpose recently, and so we needed to make a plan

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Speaker 2: on how to best facilitate those protesters or sorry, those demonstrateds.

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Speaker 1: Isn't What are you saying to me that they would

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Speaker 1: have crossed regardless, Like if you guys had said no,

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Speaker 1: they would have just gathered and done it.

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Speaker 2: Well, look, our primate role is the safety of emone involved,

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Speaker 2: and that's motorists place stuff and the people are planning

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Speaker 2: to walk, so we would need to put in place

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Speaker 2: plans around that, and on this particular occasion, we were

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Speaker 2: planning for potential for facilitation across the bridge.

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Speaker 1: Why would you need to shut down the entire like

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Speaker 1: the whole southbound lanes rather? Is it the Alklyn Marathon

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Speaker 1: just shuts a couple, doesn't it.

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Speaker 2: Yes, so obviously the northbound lanes were still we're still operating.

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Speaker 2: But what we've learned and the advice from ZTA is

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Speaker 2: that the clip on lanes is they termed, aren't actually

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Speaker 2: designed for pedestrian traffic, and so there's some danger with that,

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Speaker 2: and so we needed to use the center span.

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Speaker 1: I see. Okay, Hey, thanks Stefan, I appreciate it. Stefan

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Speaker 1: Sega relieving wa to Mata District Commander.

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Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.

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