Last year’s protests at Parliament may have descended into a 23-day occupation that ended with the Speaker’s Playground being set on fire, but at least there were some common issues that brought those demonstrators together.
The same probably can’t be said for the protests taking place at Parliament today.
While last year’s protests were mostly focused on vaccine mandates, all of those Covid-related rules have since been dropped – so what are today’s protests all about?
Let’s take a look.
Who has marched to the Beehive today?
Today’s protests have been largely spearheaded by the Freedom and Rights Coalition, a group led by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki.
This “people’s movement” was first formed in response to Covid vaccine mandates, but its website says it’s now made up of people with “varying frustrations”.
The group has labelled today’s protest as being part of their “Revolution Convoy 2023”.
The Stop Co-Governance group, led by Julian Batchelor, has also marched to Parliament’s grounds today.
What are they all protesting about?
Prior to marching on the Beehive, the Freedom and Rights Coalition said it was protesting the United Nations’ Agenda 2030.
Signs along the lines of ‘Reject Agenda 2030’ have also been spotted at today’s demonstration.
What is Agenda 2030?
Agenda 2030 is a United Nations plan for addressing issues like poverty, hunger, and climate change.
Is that all they’re protesting about today?
It doesn’t appear that way.
Parts of today’s protest also seem to have been about the LGBTQIA+ community and sex education.
Social media hashtags shared by the Freedom and Rights Coalition from today’s protest include #LetWomenSpeak, a phrase often used by anti-trans groups.
Other signs spotted at today’s protest include rallying against 15-minute cities (a planning concept where most daily activities can be reached within a 15-minute walk or bike ride), “climate scams”, and digital ID.
Another sign asked for “liberty for all” and “no more sexualisation of our children”. It said today’s movement was “our Gallipoli”, a reference to the World War I operation that saw more than 2700 New Zealand soldiers lose their lives on a peninsula in Türkiye.
Why are these groups protesting at Parliament when there’s nobody there?
The groups are not deterred by the fact the current Parliament was dissolved nearly three weeks ago with most MPs currently busy on the election campaign trail.
Is this the last of these protests for now?
No. The groups who marched to Parliament today are planning to protest again this Saturday.
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