By Jane Luscombe
The Auckland Council is still trying to work out how to remove a hardcore group of protesters who continue to occupy Aotea Square.
But political commentators say the council's job may be done for it, as the Occupy movement slips into a terminal decline.
Security officers turned up at 2:30am this morning to finish fencing off a swathe of grass previously covered in protesters' tents.
It has left a small, diehard group, cut off from the busier reaches of the square.
Auckland Council cleared most of their tents yesterday but a handful more have reappeared.
The council will not reveal its next steps, but a spokesman said it wants the lot gone so the public can have full use of the area again.
But it is not going to be that easy. Just a few hours after the fence went up, the protesters had taken a large section down.
Otago University political analyst Bryce Edwards says it is the dying convulsions of the Occupy New Zealand movement.
He has seen the same in Dunedin, where the camp has been cleared, but a diehard few keep returning.
“The longer it goes on the more it appears, to outsiders at least, like a bit of a circus or a freak show rather than a robust, healthy political movement. So it's only going to dwindle more.”
It could take some casualties with it.
Three police officers are being investigated for wearing the same badge ID numbers when Auckland occupiers were arrested yesterday.
The police did not respond to calls about the investigation today, but protesters say they are considering legal action of their own.
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