In the Loop: What it was really like at the Auckland Posie Parker counter-protest

British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull abruptly fled Aotearoa after more than 2000 counter-protesters - including one armed with a bottle of juice - drowned out her Auckland rally.

Keen-Minshull - who was in the country as part of her Let Women Speak tour - has since labelled New Zealand the “worst place for women” she has ever visited.

But what was it really like at the protest? Today In the Loop hosts Katie Harris and Cheree Kinnear sit down with New Zealand Herald reporter Isaac Davison who was right in the thick of the protest.

He reveals just how tense things really were and what he believes this could mean for this year’s election.

Despite her sudden departure, her presence in the country is still being felt and on Sunday thousands in Wellington and Christchurch took to the streets in support of transgender rights.

On Monday RNZ reported a group supporting Keen-Minshull, Speak Up for Women, was making a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority regarding her safety at the Auckland rally.

Spokesperson Suzanne Levy told the station she found the protesters’ behaviour disturbing and violent.

British activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull aka Posie Parker is drowned out by trans-rights supporters at Albert Park. Photo / Dean Purcell

The British activist widely labelled as anti-transgender and self-described as a women’s rights activist, rose to infamy in 2018 when it was reported she was questioned by police over alleged comments she made about Susie Green, the chief executive of Mermaids - an advocacy organisation for trans youth - and her daughter who transitioned.

Some of the alleged comments, according to the Christian Post, included tweets misgendering Green’s daughter and referencing “castration” about her transition.

The same year Women’s Place UK, an anti-gender self-identification group, distanced itself from Keen-Minshull by withdrawing from a meeting she was due to speak at, after she wrote a series of tweets containing anti-Muslim sentiment.

Some of the posts referenced the city of Bradford, and claims that the culture was “not British”, and an “awful place for women”.

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