Police were called to an altercation between a 14-year-old climate change protester and a motorist at the Esplanade at 10.20am.
The teenage demonstrator had blocked the entrance of the car park and said they would only allow hybrid and electric vehicles to access the facility.
A driver who was denied access verbally abused the teenager, who reported to police that they felt threatened by the driver’s behaviour.
A police spokesman said the driver apologised for their actions to the protester after officers attended the scene.
Police also advised the youth about more appropriate places to protest in the future so they do not block public roads.
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I might stand over the entrance way to the police station car park and see how forgiving they are, has this country lost its mind
We've lost the Presbyterian punishment impulse.
Brave kid.
He should obviously be hooning around in a souped up Honda Civic (I think that's where the term civic duty comes from) instead of doing this, so yes this country is definitely on its last legs, mentally.
I’m afraid this is all rather naïve, surely the added delay to petrol driven motorists would have prolonged the running of their engines, thus adding to exhaust emissions from cars that would have been turned off and parked much sooner had this protestor not taken such action. This manner of protest is more harmful and disruptive to the community than any positive outcomes for the environment.
It is about raising awareness of an important issue and demonstrating their frustration at inaction. And may I congratulate this individual on a job well done. Thousands of comments on social media and a prominent headline in ODT.
would the reaction be the same if it was a middle-aged well-dressed person refusing entrance to anything but expensive new vehicles that the majority of the populace can't afford?
Hi Pat. Are you happy for me to prevent you from going about your business, if you are about to do something that might contribute to climate change?
What a teen hero, full of self-righteousness till someone raised their voice! Kind of lost the impact when being merely shouted at caused the kid such distress they called the police. I'm amazed motorists hadn't already called the police to take this lightweight Greta wannabe home to mummy.
Hang on a minute! Youth blocks vehicles going about their legal business. Youth gets apologised to by driver? Anyone else see anything wrong with this picture!
Teen breaks the law, then gets upset and calls the police when someone gives them a rev-up about it? What a joke.
Maybe the rev-up wasn't entirely legal either?
What short-sighted mindlessness.
Second-hand petrol-fueled vehicles are the most economically viable.
Electric vehicles and hybrids are still very expensive.
By selecting EV/Hybrids you probably think you've filtered for [people who are in favour of protecting the environment] and against [people who are not].
In reality, you've filtered for [people who can afford and have bought an ev/hybrid] and against [people who can't/couldn't].
Your protest dis-proportionally affects the poorest of people, and privileges the rich elites cruising in EVs.
Next time make your protest relevant - that means focusing on the causers of harm. You've missed the target here.
World following the wokeness, that's all. No real news here, move on. He will not be alone.
While I admire the lads determination and concern for the future, may I again draw attention to the fact that EVs aren't what they are cracked up to be. You fools are merely being subjected to clever marketing. Fact of the matter Lithium and Cobalt are elements that require mining. The copper in the electric motors? MINING. In fact, we can't have a dam to generate enough electricity without concrete and steel. Iron ore requires mining, and where do you think cement comes from and the impacts of it? Then lets consider the elements required for tyres, plastics and electronics and solar panels. All or most require mining and processing. Even your wee smart phone requires the very same resources. While the cruise ships sail, the container ships transverse the planet in their thousands and you all book your next flight of fancy........
You can't just go around picking on drivers of petrol cars and not expect some backlash. Technology is our only way ahead and that takes time.....put your young head to good use and assist with finding viable solutions. And that WON'T happen overnight. Unless we're all going to walk! Causing confrontation is NOT the way ahead.
Building an EV generates as much greenhouse emissions as running a petrol car for 5 years. If the vehicle was 1 year old and he replaces it at the request of this child then that's the equivalent of 9 years petrol emissions just moving to EV. How can this child possibly know the 5 and 10 year future plan of this motorist? EV batteries are a 1200 pound ecological nightmare and as of now they are not being recycled.
I cannot imagine the outcome if the protest was held by the 14 year old and an 8 year old.
Most of us would agree that electric cars are the best choice, but how are we going to pay for them. Lots of people live on the outskirts of cities and need cars to travel in to get food etc. The cost of an electric car is prohibitive for the average kiwi Maybe the 14 year old would be be better off using his talents and time to offer ways of creating electric cars that we can afford.