Hundreds of people gathered at two separate New Zealand protests in Auckland today, prompting police cordons and some road closures.
Destiny Church-affiliated Freedom and Rights Coalition protesters gathered at Victoria Park in the late morning, and marched towards Fanshawe Street, where a police cordon had been set up.
A second protest took place in Queen Street, led by Toitū te Aroha, which called for solidarity among diverse communities.
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The first was led by Destiny Church’s Brian Tamaki, who delivered a speech and then asked the large crowd to follow him in a march.
In anticipation of the march, police had set up a cordon at the Fanshawe Street motorway on-ramp and off-ramp.
Superintendent Naila Hassan said more than a thousand marched towards the cordon.
“In Victoria Park, at its peak, police estimate 1200 people gathered and marched to our Fanshawe Street cordon, before dispersing.”
‘Precautionary measure’
Superintendent Hassan said the police cordons were a “precautionary measure” for the safety of pedestrians and motorists.
“I’m immensely proud of all the police staff deployed on today’s operation for their professionalism in response to this event. Pleasingly, Aucklanders have been able to largely go about their weekend without incident.”
The protesters marched to the entrance of the motorway, but retreated, after being met with dozens of police officers.
Tamaki addressed supporters of the Freedom and Rights Coalition at the cordon, and not long after, the group dispersed with many returning to Victoria Park.
The group was denied a permit to walk across the Harbour Bridge last month and police said no protest group from here on would be allowed to cross the harbour bridge for safety reasons and the pressure placed on the bridge’s infrastructure.
“We thank the public for their understanding, particularly those motorists who were briefly stopped on the northern motorway earlier today,” Superintendent Hassan said.
Toitū te Aroha march
A protest led by Toitū te Aroha saw more than 2000 people march along Queen Street, escorted by police and temporarily blocking the road.
Spokesperson Bianca Ranson said the aim was to stand in solidarity with diverse communities across Aotearoa.
The march continued from Te Komititanga Square and gathered in Myers Park.
Community group members addressed the gathering, including New Zealand Central Sikh Association representative Marshal Walia.
The rally ended with a haka led by Eru Kapa-Kingi.
After both rallies had ended, Superintendent Hassan said police operations would continue to monitor any protest activity happening across Auckland CBD.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
