A small group of people who occupied the Auckland office of a state-owned power company due to be partially sold off by the government claim they were assaulted during their protest.
The protesters entered the Mighty River Power office on Auckland's Albert St about 1.30pm today and stayed for about 20 minutes, a Mighty River Power spokeswoman said.
They occupied the boardroom for most of that time before leaving peacefully, she said.
Protester Julia Espinoza told NZ Newswire two of the protesters were assaulted by a Mighty River Power staff member who tried to get them out of the boardroom.
They laid complaints to police, who were outside the building as they left.
She said police acted courteously and no arrests were made.
The protest was partly aimed at publicising a day of action being held around New Zealand on Saturday opposing the government's partial sale of several state-owned assets, including Mighty River Power.
NZN