There were several COVID-19 protests in New Zealand held during the period of COVID-19 restrictions from 2020 to 2022, where people protested the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, in particular the lockdown measures in place in March–May 2020, August 2020, and August–November 2021 and the later vaccine mandates. The protests were largely condemned by members of parliament, as well as local city and regional councils. Fears were also raised about the protests increasing the spread of the virus.
2020 13 August On 13 August 2020, FACTS NZ and Kotahitanga Movement Aotearoa organised an anti-lockdown protest, that was attended by 60 people including Advance New Zealand co-leader and New Zealand Public Party leader Billy Te Kahika. The two groups held separate marches walking from Forum North to the Whangārei police station, when they arrived at the police station both groups delivered speeches in regard to the COVID-19 alert levels, Nationwide and Auckland lockdown(s). Afterwards the two groups combined and continued their demonstration walking along Walton and Dent Street which resulted in cars being stopped at traffic lights and roundabouts. There have been no known arrests in relation to this demonstration, however there was a police presence monitoring the protests to ensure they remained peaceful.
22 August On 22 August 2020 in Aotea Square, Auckland there was a COVID-19 anti-lockdown, anti-vaccination, anti-5G and anti-1080 protest organised by NZ Liberty March in which 150 people attended, the protest was peaceful and there were no significant issues or arrests made. The demonstrators used the handling of COVID-19 in Sweden as an example as what New Zealand should have done, discrediting those who said its handling of COVID-19 was horrible and criticised the government's lockdown policy. Some attendees also made health claims regarding COVID-19 but did not elaborate. A minimal amount of attendees wore masks, however all attendees stuck to those that resided with them keeping distance between protestors that did not reside with them.
29 August On 29 August 2020 in Aotea Square, Auckland there was an anti-lockdown, COVID-19 denying, anti-vaccination, anti-United Nations protest, in which 500 people attended including Advance NZ co-leader Jami-Lee Ross and New Conservative Party deputy leader Elliot Ikilei. Most protestors did not wear masks or adhere to social distancing requirements.
5 September On 5 September, several anti-lockdown protests were held throughout the country including Auckland, Whangārei, Wellington, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Rotorua, Nelson and Christchurch. The protest in Auckland's Aotea Square was organised by the NZ Liberty Movement, whose Facebook page reported 500 participants. The Auckland protest breached the Alert Level 2.5 ban on gatherings above ten people. In Rotorua, protesters, many of them claiming to be from the Advanced NZ party, gathered at Te Manawa, the intersection of Hinemoa and Tutanekai Streets. Some participants objected to wearing masks while others highlighted the financial and emotional damage caused by the lockdown.'
12 September On 12 September 2020, anti-lockdown, COVID-19 denying protestors again marched from Aotea Square in Auckland. The protest was organised by Advance New Zealand co-leader Billy Te Kahika who dubbed it the 'National Rally for Freedom'. It is estimated that over 1,000 protestors were in attendance, including Jami-Lee Ross, Advance New Zealand's other co-leader. Many signs labelled New Zealand a police state. Other protestors carried signs unrelated to COVID-19, including some advocating against vaccines and 5G.
10 October On 10 October, the Advance NZ party staged a "Rally for your Future" in Auckland's Aotea Square. The party's leader Jami-Lee Ross gave a speech claiming that New Zealand's freedoms were being eroded "in the name of the virus" and calling for people to vote for Advance NZ. Several signs read "COVID=Nazi Nexus" and that "Children are not for sale." The NZ Liberty Movement, which had previously organised rallies with Advance NZ, did not participate in the "Rally for your Future" due to a breakdown in communication and coordination with the latter.
2021 14 January On 14 January, Te Kahika led a "freedom rally" outside the New Zealand Parliament opposing the Government's COVID-19 lockdown policies that was attended by between 100 and 150 people. Rally participants also sported banners and signs expressing support for US President Donald Trump and attacking 1080 usage, water fluoridation, the Chinese Communist Party, and the United Nations.
18 August On 18 August, Te Kahika led a 100-strong anti-lockdown protest outside the TVNZ building to oppose the Government's recent decision to move the country to Alert Level 4 following a community case that was reported on 17 August. Many of the protesters reportedly did not wear masks. Te Kahika was detained by Police 43 minutes into the rally. He cooperated with the authorities to minimise the risk of supporters causing trouble. One demonstrator urged shopkeepers to keep their businesses open in defiance of lockdown restrictions limiting business operations to essential services. Police reported that they had arrested four people in Auckland for breaching the Health Act notice.
In addition, other anti-lockdown protests were staged outside the local police stations in Nelson and Tauranga. Four people were arrested in Tauranga.
19 August On 19 August 2021, far right activist Kyle Chapman and two other individuals staged a small anti-lockdown rally at Christchurch's Bridge of Remembrance on 19 August. The trio appeared in the Christchurch District Court the following day on charges of breaching lockdown restrictions under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020.
2 October An anti-lockdown protest outside the Auckland War Memorial Museum in the Auckland Domain, organised by "The Freedoms & Rights Coalition" (TFRC) alongside Bishop Brian Tamaki, the leader of Destiny Church (who is a member of the TFRC). Estimates of attendance range from hundreds to two thousand people. The crowd included gang members on motorbikes, young children and elderly, many of whom were not following social distancing rules or wearing masks. The protesters were criticised for flouting lockdown restrictions and endangering public health by ACT Party leader David Seymour and Auckland Council councillors Jo Bartley and Richard Hills. Bartley and Hills also criticised the Police for not arresting demonstrators or issuing fines.
Jacinda Ardern condemned the protest as a "slap in the face for the Aucklanders who have sacrificed their freedom to keep others in the city safe." In addition, a Change.org petition calling for his prosecution drew over 150,000 signatories. Tamaki was charged in relation to organising the protest and appeared in court via video-link on 12 October and was bailed to January 2022 under conditions. In mid-December 2021, The New Zealand Herald reported that Tamaki had ignored text messages from Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha urging him to ensure that the crowd practised social distancing.
That same day, a "Families Freedom Picnic" was held at Dunedin's Queens Gardens. The protest was attended by 100 people including Dunedin City councillor Lee Vandervis, who talked about the effects of lockdown regulations on local businesses, freedom of speech and the pressure to be vaccinated. According to local police, participants were peaceful and maintained social distancing of two metres.
16 October An estimated 2000 people congregated at the Auckland Domain and 1000 gathered at Kensington Park in Whangārei protesting the alert level restrictions. Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki was present at the Auckland protest. In addition, other outdoor "Freedom protests" were planned for Mount Maunganui, Whakatāne, Gisborne, Havelock North, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch. Police stated they would be prosecuting the organisers.
Tamaki was arrested on 20 October for breaching the bail conditions put in place after the previous protest and for breaching Alert Level 3 restrictions. In addition, Police laid charges against three other men for organising protests in Whangarei and Hamilton.
Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth In late October 2021, the self-proclaimed "Sovereign Hīkoi of Truth" (SHOT) Movement announced that they would travel from Rotorua on midnight 27 October to Waitangi via the Waikato-Auckland border to protest lockdown restrictions in the Auckland and Waikato regions. The hīkoi (or protest march) was condemned by several Māori leaders including former Māori Party president and Ngāti Whātua leader Dame Rangimārie Naida Glavish and former Te Tai Tokerau Member of Parliament Hone Harawira for violating lockdown restrictions and promoting anti-vaccination views. One of the Waikato speakers was New Zealand Outdoors Party co-leader Sue Grey, who has espoused anti-vaccination and anti-5G views.
Protest participants were stopped by a police checkpoint near Mercer, a village near Auckland's southern border. Police objected to the convoy citing a health order restricting travel across the Auckland boundary. Participants subsequently camped by the side of the road. The presence of the protest participants created a traffic jam near the Auckland Southern Motorway. Speaker Grey objected to the police decision to block the protesters. In response, Mayor of Waikato Allan Sanson urged the protesters to return home, pointing out they had breached travel restrictions by travelling from Rotorua (which is under Level 2 restrictions) to Waikato (which is under Level 3 restrictions).
On 27 October, 2,000 SHOT protesters converged on Waitangi in solidarity with the Northland-bound anti-lockdown hīkoi that was blocked by Police at Auckland's southern border. While most of the local marae leaders objected to the presence of the SHOT protesters, they felt obliged by Māori custom to show manaakitanga (hospitality) to the visitors. The New Zealand Police deployed personnel including iwi liaison officers to assist with general policing and crowd control.
30 October On 30 October 2021, an estimated 5,000 people marched from the Auckland Domain to streets in East Auckland for 90 minutes to protest the ongoing lockdown. In attendance was Hannah Tamaki, wife of Brian Tamaki, the latter of whom was arrested at a previous protest. Police supervised the event. Auckland Police have confirmed they will be prosecuting the organisers for breaching Level 3 restrictions.
That same day, Freedom Day protests were also held in the South Island cities of Nelson and Timaru. The Nelson protest was organised by Destiny Church Nelson Pastor Martin Daly and attracted a thousand people. Speakers spoke on a range of topics including abortion, the Government, 5G and the COVID-19 vaccination programme. In Timaru, several hundred protesters gathered at the Piazza at Caroline Bay before marching towards State Highway 1 and terminating at Strathallan Corner in the Timaru CBD. Many participants at both protests did not wear masks or practise social distancing. Police indicated that they were investigating both protests to determine whether to pursue prosecution.
2 November On 2 November, two individuals heckled Ardern's news conference in the Northland Region, questioning the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and accusing her of lying about the death of a vaccinated individual. One of the individuals was Shane Chafin, a correspondent for the far-right talk show Counterspin Media affiliated with Stephen Bannon's GTV Media Group. Chafin also accused the mainstream media of perpetuating "fake news." In response, Ardern suspended the press conference.
3 November