Brian Tamaki attends Christchurch anti-vax protest in apparent breach of bail conditions

Police are investigating a rally protesting the Government’s Covid-19 vaccination mandates and lockdowns held in Christchurch and attended by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki.

Tamaki also spoke at the event, in a possible breach of his bail conditions.

However, the Auckland-based bishop said Saturday’s event was a “family picnic, not a protest” and judges and police had acknowledged he had a right to protest.

Tamaki is currently on bail, after earlier pleading not guilty to multiple charges of breaching the Covid-19 Public Health Order and breaching bail conditions after attending three separate demonstrations in the Auckland Domain.

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Under his bail conditions, Tamaki, 63, is banned from organising, attending, supporting or speaking at any protest gathering in breach of Covid-19 requirements. He is also prohibited from accessing the Internet to incite non-compliance.

Under orange restrictions, any event held without vaccine pass requirements is limited to 50 people. Many more attended Saturday’s event.

The rally was held in Hagley Park, where Tamaki reportedly addressed the crowd. The crowd also marched down Riccarton Rd.

Tamaki said on Sunday, via a spokeswoman, that Saturday’s event was a family picnic, not a protest.

People were confined to groups of 50 in cordoned-off areas, he said.

Tamaki said he did not organise the event and was invited to speak because he was in the city to preach at the Destiny Church service in Cranmer Sq on Sunday.

“As I move around the country to visit our churches I should not be subjected to media lynchings when I am doing my best to adhere to current Covid rules.

“I also should not be an unfair target by NZ Police when they have an obligation to apply the current Covid laws in a fair and consistent manner, which clearly has not been the case to date when it comes to myself, and then they show leniency towards others.”

Canterbury district commander Superintendent John Price said police were looking in to whether there were any breaches with regard to Saturday’s event. Enforcement action may follow, he said.

“We encourage individuals attending protests to conduct themselves in a safe manner and adhere to current Covid-19 orange restrictions, which are there to ensure the safety of all.”

Tamaki also spoke at Destiny’s church service held at Cranmer Sq on Sunday.

About 150 people were at the service, listening to Tamaki speak via loudspeakers from the back of a truck . Two portaloos were also on site.

Stuff reporters at the scene were blocked from photographing him by attendees with large umbrellas, who started recording them on their phones.

Despite repeated requests, Stuff was refused an interview with Tamaki following the service. Attendees prevented Stuff from getting anywhere near him. In a text message later in the day his spokeswoman apologised and said Tamaki would have been happy to speak to the reporter.

Tamaki spoke for more than an hour at the service. Much of his address was devoted to anti-vaccination and anti-Government rhetoric.

At the end of the meeting, he said next week he was getting charges together to arrest Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for crimes against the people of Auckland and was “gathering evidence to charge and arrest” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield, deputy prime minister Grant Robertson and Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins for “crimes against the citizens of New Zealand”.

That comment sparked a cheer from the crowd.

The Cranmer Sq services, along with repeated anti-Government protests, were controversial with local residents, who say they have been putting up with “intimidating and noisy behaviour” for months.

At one point on Sunday, a woman walked around the perimeter of Cranmer Square, clearly angry at the church’s presence. She told people in attendance they were ruining the peaceful nature of the neighbourhood.

The protests were organised by Tamaki’s Freedom and Rights Coalition, and have been held almost every second Saturday for the past two months.

Destiny Church holds services in Cranmer Sq most Sunday mornings, residents say, erecting food trucks, portable toilets and temporary stages without the required permission from Christchurch City Council.

Tamaki was first charged with breaching the Covid-19 Public Health Order in October, after a protest of around 1000 people in the Auckland Domain, in breach of alert level 3 restrictions in force at the time.

He was charged again by police after he attended a second “freedom rally” against Covid-19 restrictions later that month.

In November, Judge Steve Bonnar QC released Tamaki on bail, telling him he was “skating on thin ice” and added a new condition for him not to support or speak at any gatherings, and not to enter the Auckland Domain.

Judge Brooke Gibson had initially set conditions for Tamaki which included not to attend or organise any protest and not to access the internet for the purpose of organising or inciting non-compliance with Covid-19 level requirements.

However, last month Tamaki’s lawyer successfully challenged the bail conditions, allowing Tamaki to enter Auckland Domain so long as he was not protesting.

Tamaki was still banned from organising, attending, supporting or speaking at any protest gathering in breach of Covid-19 requirements.

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Stuff.co.nz can be found here ***