A lone demonstrator and police face off at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington. AP

New Zealand anti-vaccination demonstrators set alight their own protest camp outside Parliament on Wednesday after riot police moved to end their weeks-long occupation of the legislative precinct.

Thick black smoke billowed across the grounds of Parliament and sirens blared as retreating protesters set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs.

Ending a previous light-touch approach, hundreds of officers used perspex shields and pepper spray to force back protesters, who responded by pelting them with chairs, bottles and paint bombs.

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It appeared to be a final act of defiance as police broke up the camp that protesters first set up more than three weeks ago. Police retook control of the Parliament grounds although hundreds of protesters remained in nearby streets.

When it became apparent that police were winning the battle for control of the makeshift tent city that sprang up on Parliament's lawns three weeks ago, the demonstrators torched it themselves.

Protesters against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions gather near Parliament in Wellington. AFP

"This is not over," one man yelled, while others chanted "Shame on you" at advancing officers as a thick pall of black smoke enveloped the area.

Earlier, police wearing riot gear and using pepper spray had moved in on protesters who had been occupying the grounds and surrounding streets. Police efforts in the morning focused on the periphery of the protest before turning to the main camp in the afternoon.

It was the most significant use of force to date by authorities against the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates. As the protesters retreated in the afternoon, they tossed objects onto several fires, which police eventually doused with water hoses.

Around dawn, police had begun telling protesters over loudspeakers they were trespassing and needed to leave, while officers tore down tents in peripheral areas and a police helicopter circled overhead. Some protesters confronted police and used milk to try and clear their eyes from pepper spray.

People face off with police near Parliament as police move in to clear protesters in Wellington. AFP

Speaking to reporters in Parliament after initial skirmishes took place just a few hundred metres (yards) away, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern backed the force's tough tactics.

She said what began as a movement against coronavirus vaccine mandates -- inspired by similar protests in Canada -- had turned toxic, describing demonstrators' conduct as "disgraceful".

"The protest has been at times violent. Increasingly we find misinformation and sadly conspiracy theories," she said, also labelling the camp a health risk for Wellington residents.

"It has become a location of interest, we know Covid has circulated within the protest and there have been hospitalisations as a result." 

Police spent the morning clearing roads around the legislature, using a large forklift truck to remove cars and camper vans that arrived in the capital in a convoy on February 8 and were used to jam downtown streets.

In the afternoon, they turned to the protest's epicentre on the lawns of Parliament, where around 3,000 people congregated at the height of the demonstration about two weeks ago.

Numbers have since dwindled to a hard core of about 300 and police commissioner Andrew Coster said they had shown a willingness to use violence.

"We've seen tactics (from protesters) today including spraying fire extinguishers at the police line, the throwing of paint, early on we saw weapons," he said.

He said police were not seeking confrontation but added: "This protest has now tipped over a balance and it now needs to end."