Wellington Mayor Andy Foster says he is working on a support package to “reactivate” the city after the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament came to an end on Wednesday.
Foster said himself and business leaders had written to Finance Minister Grant Robertson asking for the Government's help with the package.
He said businesses in Wellington needed direct financial support in the wake of the protest's end and due to Covid-19.
The Omicron outbreak had proven a "real challenge", Foster said, with foot traffic in the capital down 30 per cent.
Foster reflected people needed to be drawn back to the city centre.
It’s quiet the day after the protest ended violently but a big clean up will be on the cards.
"If we need the vitality back in the heart of our capital city we need the Government to come in and support it," he said of the package.
Foster recognised it would be a "special case", but the protests, on top of Covid-19, were an "insult to injury".
The mayor said the protest had been like a "home invasion", with a darker element becoming more prevalent over the last few weeks.
In the wake of the protest's end, Foster's biggest thank you was for police, who he said had done a "fantastic job", were methodical, professional and showed "admiral restraint" in dealing with a volatile situation.
Foster also thanked firefighters, Wellington Free Ambulance, Māori Wardens, Sky Stadium and the local community.
SHARE ME