Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki led a protest march down Queen St in central Auckland on the weekend.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says Destiny Church’s “vile rhetoric and behaviour” is not welcome in New Zealand and has condemned both the protest and the use of culturally significant and sacred weapons for hate.
It comes as religious groups targeted in a flag-burning stunt during Destiny Church’s rally on Saturdaycalled for the Government to act now to stop the divide, claiming the unrest is at similar levels seen before the March 15 terror attack.
At least one claim has already been lodged with the Human Rights Commission after the protest that saw Brian Tamaki and scores of his followers march down Queen St, ripping up flags of religions and movements they deemed “satanic”.
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, the Combined Sikh Association of New Zealand and the New Zealand Buddhist Council have come together to urge politicians to take action before hate crimes rise rapidly and lives are lost.
Meanwhile, Mitchell, also the Ethnic Communities Minister, said while freedom of speech is not up for debate, he was “appalled” watching the footage of taiaha, a culturally sacred weapon, being used to stab at flags representing minority groups before they were burned on a city street.
“Behaviour that incites discrimination or violence is damaging and reductive. I condemn the vile rhetoric and behaviour of the Destiny Church and its associates. The behaviour I saw was not Kiwi, nor Christian.
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki leads a march down Queen St in central Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton
“The actions I saw from Destiny Church this weekend in my view are not welcome in New Zealand.”
New Zealand welcomes all people, of all backgrounds and ethnicities, who are willing to behave in a way that is tolerant and reflective of our values. The actions I saw from Destiny Church this weekend in my view are not welcome in New Zealand.
In a statement responding to the growing criticism, Tamaki, the Destiny Church founder, said Saturday’s march was “a lawful, peaceful, public stand for faith, family, and freedom”.
He rejected claims that the protest was hateful or inspired by racism.
“We do not hate – we care deeply about the future of our country, our children, and our national Kiwi identity,” Tamaki said. “We are not targeting people based on race or religion – we are standing against radical ideologies and foreign religions that undermine the fabric of our nation.”
He defended the march’s slogan, “No Immigration Without Assimilation”, as “common sense” and rooted in New Zealand’s heritage.
“New Zealand was built on Christian foundations. The Treaty of Waitangi was brokered through Christian missionaries. Our freedoms, laws, and national identity are rooted in that heritage.”
In a show of unity, a combined statement from three associations and councils targeted say that current law allows some to “exploit the lack of effective legislation to not only provoke unrest, disharmony and violence but also seek notoriety for their cause through racist stunts”.
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki leads a march down Queen St in central Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton.
“With the rapid rise of hate incidents reported to the NZ Police, we now have similar conditions which gave rise to the terror attacks of March 15.
“In an increasing diverse multi-faith and multi-ethnic Aotearoa New Zealand, there needs to be in place a sustained strategy for social cohesion. This was clearly outlined and specified in detail in the Royal Commission, which have now been mostly abandoned.”
The collective said it wants a consensus approach from all political parties on ensuring social cohesion is a national priority, an expedition of the work of the Law Commission on hate crime and to include recommendations on the way forward for effective hate speech legislation, more education on hate crimes in schools, completion of the applicable recommendations of the Royal Commission and more funding for community-led social cohesion education programmes.
Tamaki responded sharply to suggestions that Saturday’s march could lead to another terror attack.
“To suggest that our peaceful protest could lead to another March 15 is deeply offensive,” he said. “The claims being made by the Federation of Islamic Associations, Sikh associations and the Buddhist Council are false and inflammatory. To equate peaceful public expression with terrorism is deeply offensive and, frankly, shameful.”
He added that Destiny Church would “continue to stand boldly, peacefully, and unapologetically for truth, for New Zealand and for future generations”.
Meanwhile, a member of the public has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against Tamaki and Destiny Church, saying the actions on Saturday “took deliberate aim at minority groups on the basis of nationality, religion, ethnicity, race, gender identity and sexuality”.
The Human Rights Commission has been approached for comment.
They chanted “Faith, flag, family” and then “No assimilation, no immigration”.
“It’s time to take aim and launch a full assault – exposing Islam, the UN and every foreign religion and ideology hijacking our country,” Tamaki claimed earlier in a press release.
A statement by the Human Rights Commission confirmed it had received more than 30 complaints on Monday in relation to the rally.
