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The cost of keeping protesters away from occupying central
Auckland is soaring.
Council officials say they are forking out hundreds of thousands of
dollars for security plus repairs to damage done in Aotea Square
during the Occupy Auckland protest.
A handful of protesters were today back in Aotea Square, just a
day after Auckland Council threw them out.
"They arrested me in handcuffs and dragged me along the concrete,"
said one of the protesters.
Another protester, Isaac Connell, said: "We're just left with the diehards and they're just keen to get arrested."
Security fences remain in place, keeping the activists off the patch of grass which has been their home for more than 100 days.
Auckland councillor Cameron Brewer said Auckland ratepayers forked out $80 million to refurbish Aotea Square and restrengthen the carpark underneath.
Just to inspect the safety of the area above the carpark is set to cost the ratepayer another $65,000 and that is before any repairs are done.
Asked if the protesters have achieved anything but damaging the of grass, Connell said: "People's focus, people are more aware".
With only a few maintaining a presence, the group's future seems uncertain. A rally is planned for tomorrow afternoon.
Protest organisers say relocation is an option. ONE News understands among the locations being discussed are Waitangi and, symbolically, Bastion Point.
The site is where more than 200 occupiers were evicted by police in 1978 after they spent 507 days protesting against a Government sell-off of tribal land.
Council estimates put the eventual cost of battling the Occupy Auckland protest at more than $200,000.
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