By Katie Harris of 
Posie Parker aborted her New Zealand tour after her planned speech was drowned out by counter-protesters. Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida
A young Gisborne man accused of punching an elderly woman in the head during the heated Posie Parker counter-protest in Auckland has been granted diversion.
The 20-year-old first appeared in Auckland District Court on 20 April and was granted interim name suppression, which will remain in place until the legal proceedings have ended.
The man was due to appear in court yesterday, however, a registrar told the Herald he had been accepted on the police diversion scheme and the appearance was not required.
A further report of progress will be available by 9 October, he said.
Footage circulating on social media following the March event showed a heated meeting of the two groups in Albert Park in central Auckland. A man was filmed striking a woman at least twice in the face.
Opposing views in confrontation at the Posie Parker rally. Photo: RNZ / Jordan Dunn
Police confirmed in April an arrest for common assault had been made.
British anti-transgender rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, self-described as a women's rights activist and also known as Posie Parker, aborted her two-event New Zealand tour after her planned speech in Albert Park was drowned out by counter-protesters.
Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Suzanne Levy said the court decision to grant diversion for the incident at the Let Women Speak event in Albert Park was part of a "dangerous cultural shift".
"We extend our aroha to the victim and we will not stop our public opposition to radical gender ideology."
Outside the court following the first appearance in April, controversial restaurateur and former Auckland mayoral candidate Leo Molloy taunted the man saying: "You better get used to this - it's the rest of your life".
The businessman stopped after the defendant and an older relative passed a police officer.
Molloy later told the Herald that he had done his best to out the man prior to his arrest and he intended to continue attending his court hearings. Mob violence was reprehensible, he said.
Former Auckland mayoral candidate Leo Molloy taunted the man saying: "You better get used to this - it's the rest of your life". Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
