A proposal by two Christchurch City Councillors to investigate banning protests at several sensitive locations across the city has failed following a narrow vote at the council table.

Councillors voted eight to seven against the proposal on Wednesday, with one councillor abstaining.

The notice of motion, put forward by Cr Aaron Keown and Cr David Cartwright, asked the council to investigate whether protests should be restricted at sites including the Bridge of Remembrance, the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial, places of worship and cemeteries.

Keown told councillors the proposal was not about preventing people from expressing their views.

He said the intention was to explore whether certain locations should be protected from protest activity due to their significance.

Keown said he had witnessed protesters confronting tourists at the Bridge of Remembrance and believed it reflected poorly on the city.

However, the proposal drew strong opposition from veteran protester John Minto, who defended the right to demonstrate at the central city memorial.

Minto told councillors  “The Bridge of Remembrance is the most appropriate site in Christchurch for protests in support of Palestine liberation,” Minto said.

“If you visit there, you’ll notice that on both sides of the bridge, very prominently etched into the sandstone, is the word Palestine.”

Minto said the memorial referenced the First World War campaign in which New Zealand soldiers fought in battles against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine.

He told councillors the conflict and its aftermath remained central to modern geopolitical tensions in the region.

“Palestine is the defining human rights issue of the 21st century, just as the Holocaust was the defining human rights issue of the 20th century,” Minto said.

“I think this notice of motion is an attack on the right to protest under the Bill of Rights Act and the right to free speech,” he said.

“Having the right to protest only at designated places reflects the actions of authoritarian states around the world.

“Mr Keown, I would invite you to withdraw your notice of motion and join us at the Bridge of Remembrance this Saturday at one o’clock and reflect on the lives of those Canterbury soldiers who were killed in the battle for Palestine,” he said.