Hundreds of people are on the Parliament lawn, though some have been driven away by the heavy rain and winds lashing the capital.
Plastic mats being used to cover the mud are being picked up by the wind and thrown across the precinct.
A man began speaking through a megaphone at lunchtime, but demonstrators do not have the full sound system setup of previous days.
Some are calling out to Parliament and asking where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is. Parliament’s buildings are largely empty with politicans not returning to the Capital until Tuesday.
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero and Speaker Trevor Mallard are recommending only staff who need to come to Parliament buildings for exceptional circumstances do so tomorrow.
The playlist booming through Parliament’s loudspeakers changed about 11am, and now includes an out of tune recorder rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’, the Titanic theme song by Celine Dion.
UK musician James Blunt earlier posted on Twitter telling New Zealand police to contact him if the Barry Manilow music, which was playing, did not deter protesters.
His suggestion has been enacted, with his song ‘You’re Beautiful’ now on rotation. It has played so many times protesters now know most of the words and are singing along.
Both songs and the government’s spoken message advising the crowd to leave the grounds are being met with loud booing and chants of ‘Freedom’.
In its regular statement today, where the Ministry of Health revealed there were more than 800 new community cases, the ministry also noted there have been a number of rumours circulating about possible cases of Covid-19 linked to the protest, but the Regional Public Health Unit had confirmed that there were currently no notified positive cases linked to it.
Molesworth Street remains blocked by cars, campervans and trucks and Metlink has stopped all buses using its Lambton Interchange until further notice because of the protest.
Retailers say disruption to surrounding streets has also affected their trade.
Superintendent Scott Fraser said police would continue to have a significant presence at Parliament grounds and are exploring options to resolve the disruption.
