A woman recently jailed for escaping a managed isolation facility is planning on speaking at an Auckland "freedom rally" alongside Advance NZ party leaders Billy Te Kahika and Jami-Lee Ross.
The rally at Auckland's Aotea Square on Saturday will "call for a halt to Labour and National’s failed lockdowns strategy", according to Te Kahika.
The 37-year-old woman due to speak at the rally led her children's escape from an isolation facility in Hamilton to attend their father's tangi on July 24.
She was sentenced to jail for 14 days on August 27 over the breach.
“We grieved for LK (a pseudonym for the woman) and her whānau as she was made an example of last month,” Te Kahika says in a statement.
“She is one New Zealander who has suffered a considerable loss because of the Government’s responses to Covid-19.
“That’s why we are holding this National Rally for Freedom; to show the nation that it’s time to stand up and be counted.
“This mother was desperate to help her children see their father one last time before he was buried.
“Even though her and her children tested negative, she was treated appallingly and thrown in prison for two weeks."
Ross, who joined Advance Party after being booted from National last year, recently caused another controversy after refusing to take down a political advertisement addressing vaccinations despite concerns it is deliberately misleading.
Auckland is still under Alert Level 2.5, meaning social gatherings of more than 10 people are not allowed.
The maximum penalty for failing to comply with orders under the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 is six months' imprisonment or a $4000 fine.
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