Minister for Ethnic Communities Mark Mitchell. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The Minister for Ethnic Communities says he was "appalled" by a Destiny Church march on Saturday which was neither "Kiwi, nor Christian".
Church followers marched down Auckland's Queen Street on Saturday against "foreign religions", with leader Brian Tamaki saying the church was building a "Commonwealth crusade" to "reclaim Christian nations".
A number of flags were also set on fire but were put out before firefighters arrived.
Protesters at the Destiny Church rally in Auckland. Photo: RNZ
In a post to Facebook, Minister Mark Mitchell said everyone had a right to freedom of speech and protest.
"That does mean, however, that New Zealanders are free to condemn behaviour that is not in keeping with our values as a country and as a wider community.
"I am proud to be the Minister of Ethnic Communities in a multicultural and diverse New Zealand, which has had a proud history of welcoming people from all walks of life."
Destiny Church said the march was to take "a bold public stand for Christian values, Kiwi identity and the future of this nation".
Mitchell said behaviour that incited discrimination or violence was "damaging" and condemned the "vile rhetoric and behaviour" of the Church and its associates.
"The behaviour I saw was not Kiwi, nor Christian.
"The use of taiaha, which is a culturally sacred weapon, to overtly stab at flags representing minority groups in our country, while being torn to pieces and burnt is not acceptable."
Mitchell said the government had a strong focus in public safety.
"Anything that threatens or disturbs the public's right to go about their lives free from threat of violence is something I take very seriously.
"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."
Protesters and counter-protesters at the Destiny Church rally. Photo: RNZ
On Saturday, Acting Prime Minister David Seymour denounced the marching, saying it was "un-Kiwi".
"What it means to be Kiwi is people come from all over the world, and so long as they come peacefully to build a better world, then they're welcome," Seymour said.
"Brian Tamaki's various attitudes have all sorts of problems, but at their heart they're un-Kiwi attitudes because they're intolerant and uninclusive.
"What I take issue with is his attacks on other New Zealander's right to practice their faith just as he has a right to practice his."
Speaking to media, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the march was a repeated pattern of "thuggish" behaviour by Brian Tamaki and his "mob".
"I think the vast majority of New Zealanders would look at that and be pretty horrified by it," Hipkins said.
'Despicable event' - faith and ethnic communities
It comes as faith and ethnic communities urge the government get moving on hate speech legislation in response to a Destiny Church march on the weekend.
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, the Combined Sikh Association of NZ, and the New Zealand Buddhist Council say the event was "despicable" and New Zealand needs a strategy for social cohesion.
In a letter to the government, all MPs and public sector agencies, the groups said there were "elements" in New Zealand who exploit the lack of effective hate speech legislation to gain notoriety for through "racist stunts".
"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 15 March. 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."
In the letter the groups requested:
- A consensus approach by all political parties on ensuring social cohesion is a national priority.
- Expediting the work of the Law Commission on hate crime and include recommendations on the way forward for effective hate speech legislation.
- Funding and curriculum resources for schools so tamariki can be exposed to multiculturalism and respect for all communities.
- Completion of the recommendations of the Royal Commission.
- Funding community-led social cohesion education programmes which emphasise community connections and living with diversity.
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