Chlöe Swarbrick at the Auckland Rainbow Parade on Ponsonby Rd on Saturday. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
The queer community needs the country’s love and support after a “hatred” which boiled over into violent scenes at a children’s event and disruption at a pride parade, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says.
Brian Tamaki says he told a leader of his Destiny Church groups Man Up and Legacy Sisterhood - which are in part charities purporting to help combat family violence - to storm a community centre where the event was happening.
Swarbrick, herself a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, also encouraged people who feared being targeted: “The very point of pride is to occupy a space and be crystal clear that we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going anywhere.
“We have just as much entitlement, for lack of a better word, as anybody else does to exist.”
Swarbrick told the Herald Saturday’s violence, which saw the church groups punching, shoving and pushing their way past library staff and event organisers, was the result of growing hateful rhetoric around the world emboldening and normalising such behaviour.
“It is probably reflective of the unfortunate trajectory that we’re seeing around the rest of the world where what was once just quite hateful rhetoric is now crystallising into violent actions.
“That’s why we need to be really careful about the kind of rhetoric we allow to stand in the public sphere.”
She believed the Destiny-affiliated protesters were led by “a really hateful ideology” inspired by fear and a lack of understanding.
“These actors are known actors who have consistently pursued and targeted our community,” Swarbrick said.
“What our community wants, I think, more than anything, is to understand what they’re so scared of; because what you’ll see if you spend any meaningful time engaging with our rainbow community, is love of diversity in all of its forms.
“It’s just really important that we are able to have those moments where we can actually genuinely and meaningfully see each other.
“I would just really invite those who have any sense of fear, or questions or otherwise, about the existence of the queer community, to learn a little bit more about history and to spend some time actually, truly listening to the stories of our rainbow communities and their incredible resilience and love.”
While calling for the country’s support, Swarbrick recounted the inaugural pride festival in Blenheim last year, saying there was a large turnout in opposition to threats of violence.
“There was a fear and concern about how they were going to kick that off because they’d received some hateful messages beforehand and were worried that that could result in some quite gnarly counter-protests and clashes.
“So the community showed up in force. And funnily enough, the guys who’d been threatening and harassing didn’t end up turning up.
“Therein lies the message, that it is always really, really important to turn up and to show that support, especially when we’re seeing these kinds of quite violent views, being manifest in actual violence.”
Members of the church groups, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Make NZ Great Again” and “Real Men”, were denied entry into the ticketed event at the Te Atatū Community Centre on Saturday and then bowled past council staff and event organisers.
A row broke out, with Man Up and Legacy members seen punching, pushing and shoving their way into the venue while yelling about the “sexualising of our kids”. The large group pushed past four library staff and organisers standing in their way, and fearing for their safety, staff huddled themselves and the children inside.
Tamaki told the Herald the groups were protesting the “Government[‘s refusal] to address the excessive spending on borderline pornography and perversion targeting out innocent Kiwi kids”.
The event was a children’s science show hosted by a popular Auckland drag artist. Auckland Council cancelled a second show slated for later that evening due to fears of more protest action.
Tamaki told the Herald Man Up and Legacy were “forced to take peaceful action”.
Hours later, the same groups broke through police barricades at the Auckland Rainbow Parade on Ponsonby Rd, blocking the parade as they performed a haka. As police dispersed them, they danced and swaggered away, smiling and waving to an unimpressed crowd.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown fired a salvo at the protesters, calling their behaviour thuggery.
He said there was no place for it and hailed his city’s diversity. He also said he respected the right to protest, but said it unacceptable to intimidate council staff and members of the public going about their business, noting the venue was a public building for the community’s use.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the protesters went “too far” and said diversity made the country a better place. Labour leader Chris Hipkins took aim directly at Tamaki, calling him a “boy” and saying real men would not preach hate.
Police said they were investigating allegations of assault in relation to the Te Atatū protest.
Acting Waitematā District Commander Inspector Simon Walker said police strongly condemned the actions of the group and said “the protest crossed the line”.
“Freedom of speech and the right to protest are fundamental principles of a free and democratic society under the rule of law, but nobody, especially children, should ever be made to feel unsafe.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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