Happy Pride weekend everyone – except to you Brian Tamaki

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 16th, 2025 - 40 comments
Categories: uncategorized - Tags:

Auckland’s Pride parade has been a cornerstone event promoting gay pride in Tamaki Makaurau for many years.

I have attended a few. It is a joyful celebration for a sector in our community that has historically suffered from discrimination and violence.

During my lifetime the treatment of LGBTIQ has gone from absolutely appalling to much improved. More and more of us realise that gender and sexual preferences are complex and fluid and we should respect and celebrate the diverse range there is.

And Labour has a proud record in imroving the plight of LGBTIQ.

As an example:

  • In 1985, Labour MP Fran Wilde led the charge on homosexual law reform.
  • My friend Chris Carter was the first openly gay MP elected as the Labour MP to Te Atatu in 1993.
  • In 2004, the Labour Government’s Civil Union Act was passed.
  • In 2013 same-sex couples won the right to get married, thanks to a bill introduced by Labour MP Louisa Wall.
  • More recently Labour passed legislation to wipe historic homosexual convictions, invested in mental health support and HIV research, and lifted the cap on gender confirmation surgeries. 
  • Labour also banned conversion therapy.

These have all been important steps in progressing the treatment of LGBTIQ.

And no doubt this is why Labour is treated so well at Pride parades.

Yesterday Brian Tamaki’s destiny church decided to inject themselves into celebrations, and not in a good way.

A group of followers, some of which were wearing “Man up” tshirts decided to display their manliness by terrifying a group of children at Te Atatu library watching a children’s science show hosted by drag artist Hugo Grrrl. Protesters punched, pushed and shoved their way inside the library.

About 30 toddlers, young children and adults had to be barricaded inside.

How manly.

The group then went to Ponsonby Road and disrupted the march by performing a haka before being ushered away by Police.

Chris Hipkins’ response was good. He said:

Real men don’t barricade women and children. Real men don’t threaten and intimidate. Real men don’t preach hate. Real men do show respect, compassion and love.

Real men are comfortable enough in who they are to celebrate the diversity of others. Brain Tamaki, you are just a boy.”

Brian Tamaki explained the protest as follows:

Our radical young people have had enough! Our Man Up men have had enough! Destiny Church has had enough!

Enough of what I am not sure. Unless they think of respect for fundamental human rights and diversity is a bad thing.

Destiny Church uses a number of Auckland Council facilities. On the basis of the risk they pose to other users of these facilities it may be time for this to be reconsidered.

40 comments on “Happy Pride weekend everyone – except to you Brian Tamaki ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. tc 1
    16 February 2025 at 9:57 am

    The 'man up' mafia also go about intersections in sth Auckland with their tamaki branded intolerance.

    A cult masquerading as a religion spreading fear with unlawful acts yet again.

    • alien 1.1
      17 February 2025 at 6:26 pm

      very sickening to see this and im on the other side of the world things like this nastiness wont be doing tourism any good either cos europeans dont want to go to places with the third reich thinking and atmosphere ..

  2. Mike the Lefty 2
    16 February 2025 at 10:22 am

    If it had been the Mongrel Mob in their place the police would have arrested them. So how come Tamaki's thugs can wear what could easily be called "gang insignia" (theatening and aggressive message t-shirts) and get away with it?

    Probably because the police don't dare to arrest people performing a haka, even when it is an obviously pathetic imitation of the real thing copied from a Chinese video site.

    • alwyn 2.1
      16 February 2025 at 12:07 pm

      "Mongrel Mob in their place the police would have arrested them".

      One would like to think so, and I am surprised to see that you appear to approve of the idea, but I really don't think that that would have happened.

  3. Obtrectator 3
    16 February 2025 at 10:51 am

    Those Density people are fundamentally insecure types who constantly have to validate and revalidate themselves through various kinds of authoritarian and/or attention-seeking behaviour.

    • tWig 3.1
      16 February 2025 at 11:23 am

      And to accuse trans people of being pedophiles while having one for years as a Destiny Youth Pastor.

  4. Obtrectator 4
    16 February 2025 at 11:06 am

    My comment on "Bishop" Tamaki:

    • roblogic 4.1
      16 February 2025 at 8:38 pm

      I was thinking of a Monty Python clip, but this is not funny anymore. Tamaki has gone beyond rhetoric into violence.

  5. tWig 5
    16 February 2025 at 11:18 am

    Surprisingly, Wayne Brown's statement hit the spot.

    He said Destiny Church’s actions were “totally unacceptable”.

    Brown said: “While I respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest, to enter a council library facility that is there for all our communities to use and intimidate council staff, volunteers and community members going about their business is completely out of line…There is absolutely no place for thuggery…and I value the diversity of the communities that make up our great city”

  7. Binders full of women 7
    16 February 2025 at 11:53 am

    Please tell me Destiny aren't tax-free. Put that squeeze on them for a start..

    • tWig 7.1
      16 February 2025 at 5:22 pm

      Two of their charities were stripped of tax exemption a few years ago for non-compliance with IRD rules, but they took it to court and won them back.
      I guess their church remains tax- and rates-free. Maybe one for Wayne Brown to chase…cancelling their rates-exemption would possibly bankrupt Destiny.

  8. Wynston 8
    16 February 2025 at 12:08 pm

    I recently heard Tamaki's 'kingdom' perfectly termed as "Dysentery Church"!

  9. tWig 9
    16 February 2025 at 7:01 pm

    Presumably after confab at the highest political levels The Herald reports Destiny Church violent protests: Police condemn actions, investigate assault allegations.

    Destiny also power-rushed pro-trans marchers in Queen St when Posey Parker had her little 'do', but police stood back then.

    I think Brown's rapid and indicting response actually had a pivotal effect on the right. Even the Free Speech Union publically step away from this, when I looked.

    • Visubversa 9.1
      17 February 2025 at 9:59 am

      It wasn't a "little do" in Albert Park. It was an exercise of the "thug's veto" to stop women speaking about things that followers of a particular ideology thought that they should not be allowed to discuss. A violent crowd assaulted several older women while the Police ignored it until the last minute.

      • weka 9.1.1
        17 February 2025 at 10:24 am

        worse, it's possible the police colluded with the protestors.

        • Visubversa 9.1.1.1
          17 February 2025 at 1:04 pm

          Probably, in the same way that the Melbourne Police let that bunch of "black shorts" neo-Nazi's (average age 17 and a half!) march onto the area where they were keeping the two sides apart.

      • tWig 9.1.2
        17 February 2025 at 7:52 pm

        I watched this on real-time streaming, and in a slowed down post-event analysis of the footage.

        Posy Parker's security firm advised her the venue could not be safely secured, and refused the job.

        She decided to go ahead anyway, employing a mickey-mouse alternative at the last minute, who were completely unprepared for this uncontrollable set-up. Parker and her firm evacuated herself, and abandoned the people who were to have spoken in the band rotunda.

        A young man punched an older woman in the face after she was moving purposefully towards him for the second time. Not acceptable, but not an organised gang of thugs, by any means. Those anti-posey protesters around him pulled him away from her, one by his pack straps, as soon as they realised what he'd done. Saw this with my own eyes on the slo-mo footage from 2 different viewpoints.

        The anti-posey protesters were around half women, some of whom were rally marshalls in the crowd, who did their best to manage the situation.

        I feel for those essentially tricked by posey to her manufactured psychodrama. As we saw in Melbourne, it was not about Letting Women Speak. It was the Posey show.

        In Posey's audience you could see the real gangs of thugs, the masked-up neo-nazi Zelandia gang, and Tamaki's bunch, moving in a cluster at the rally, riding on their bikes, hitting a Green MP when she crossed the road, and rushing unprepared anti-posey protesters at the bottom of Queen St.

  10. I Feel Love 10
    16 February 2025 at 8:37 pm

    I've been watching this excellent TV series M – Son of the Century about the rise of Mussolini & it so reminded me of that uneditted video of the assualt at the library. Pathetic Luxon did not condemn it outright, we have laws in this country for fucks sake.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussolini:_Son_of_the_Century for anyone interested.

  11. Whero 11
    16 February 2025 at 10:58 pm

    These "Man Up" patches . . . are they allowed to be displayed in public these days?

  12. Psycho Milt 12
    17 February 2025 at 8:38 am

    Great to see people on the left coming to the sudden realisation that the Free Speech Union was making a good point about 'thug's veto' all along, ie that a protest mob trying to forcibly shut down an event or speech it doesn't like isn't a good thing.

    Not so great to see Chris Hipkins offering up "real men" bullshit. A "real man" is any male child who reaches adulthood, Chris – there are no behavioural or other criteria.

  13. Tiger Mountain 13
    17 February 2025 at 9:04 am

    Mr Scamaki needs taking down a few pegs–remove Destiny cult from tax and rates exemptions, and as anti democratic as “snatch the patch” law is–apply it to the Man Up leather boys too.

    These thugs have a women’s division also–Legacy Sisterhood, and do not just go for the rainbow sector, they have threatened others such as Palestinian Solidarity activists.

    A negative reactionary group that need to be challenged–a sizeable bunch invading a kids event at a Library? The plods seem to have a hands off position on this lot such as the recent motorway block…I remember the 2016 TPPA protests in Auckland and a minor motorway sit-down, the cops literally put the boot into sitting people. Policing is rarely a great answer to situations like this it is up to all of us to do something. I wonder if the state snoops monitor any Destiny meetings? they sure do surveil left and green meetings.

    • weka 13.1
      17 February 2025 at 9:41 am

      did the police know about the library action?

      Not for the first time, the left needs to get their heads around protest and what it is and issn't, and stop saying only the protests we agree with are allowed. It makes us look like idiots otherwise.

      The problem with the library action is that it involved children. That is sufficient, and it would apply to any action.

      Beyond that, the behaviour needs to be judged according to principle, not whether the left agrees with the point of the protest or not. We can of course, and should, protest against bigoted protest. We just have to not throw out protest principles along the way.

      For instance, Māori land occupation is valid, as is occupation of Parliament grounds (still fucked off that wasn't a climate protest). But the behaviours matter. Some of what happened at parliament was legitimate, some of it wasn't. Too many lefties couldn't tell the difference, and just lumped the whole protests into the bad category, mostly because of the cause.

      XR and related protest movements argue that it's acceptable to interrupt the general population's normal daily activities, because the climate crisis is an immediate and existential threat. I agree, and thus disagree with FSU and Milt above, there is no absolute right to hold an event or have the freedoms of life. But XR and co also have protest principles that constrain how force can be used.

      Destiny have different boundaries around that, but the biggest problem I see is that they think that they can bully people into change. But if the left can do that (eg Albert Park) why can't Destiny?

      The left need to get clear on this, but it's also a matter of society knowing what is legitimate protest. Otherwise we will have governments that start to remove protest rights, and then we're fucked. Protest is so core to democracy that I would say that without it as a right, there is no democracy. This is why the left has to stop with the 'protest we agree with stuff'. Atm, we're telling society that we want protest to be attached to values not principles. Which means that when the right have power, they get to say where the boundaries are, and we won't be able to protest.

      • Psycho Milt 13.1.1
        17 February 2025 at 2:00 pm

        XR and related protest movements argue that it's acceptable to interrupt the general population's normal daily activities, because the climate crisis is an immediate and existential threat. I agree, and thus disagree with FSU and Milt above…

        I don't know that we disagree on that. If I have trouble going somewhere because a protest march has closed streets in town, fair enough. But if protesters try to forcibly prevent me hearing a speaker I want to listen to or a drag story hour my kids want to attend, I expect the cops to use force if necessary to prevent those protesters depriving me of my human rights.

        • weka 13.1.1.1
          17 February 2025 at 2:52 pm

          so the principle there would be that freedom of expression is of high importance in a democratic society, for society to function well, and to protect democracy itself.

          And that we can't reasonably expect to suppress some expressions and for society to retain others.

          Obvious caveats around where freedom of expression impinges on the rights of others and/or harms society. This is probably where NZ is stuck at the moment.

          Here's a test then. Climate activists shutting down meetings of oil executives, or oil company shareholder meetings, or pro-mining public meetings for a proposed coal mine. Are they using thugs' veto?

          • Psycho Milt 13.1.1.1.1
            17 February 2025 at 5:27 pm

            I think freedom of speech and freedom of action are different cases.

            If there's a proposal to dig a coal mine, build a dam, drill for oil, develop property etc, that's serious change that can't be undone (at least not in your lifetime, or unlikely in your lifetime). You can make an ethical case for trying to prevent it happening.

            But if someone wants to hear some speeches, or read a book to some kids in a library, don't try and kid yourself you can make an ethical case for trying to prevent that. You're just an authoritarian.

      • Karolyn_IS 13.1.2
        17 February 2025 at 2:15 pm

        Agree. I'm neither Kellie-Jay Keen (Posie Parker) fan, nor a fan of Tamaki and Destiny Church. That's why, even though I think female sex-based rights and provisions are some thing to fight for, I never went to the LWS Albert Park event.

        I'm also not a great fan of male drag, especially when it indulges in exaggerated feminine stereotypes, and even more so when it's sexualised. However, it's not something I would protest about nor try to ban.

        I also think Tamaki and Destiny Church are homophobic and misogynist: eg the macho "real men" stuff. I think they are mostly driven by homophobia.

        But I was shocked by the mob-backed violence at the Albert Park event. And I am majorly appalled by Destiny Church's violence at the library and the way they treated female staff, the drag queens and the children at the library event.

        Also, as a lesbian, I no longer support Pride because of its trans/queer-dominated homophobia and misogyny.

        It's hard being a materialist feminist these days.

        • weka 13.1.2.1
          17 February 2025 at 3:01 pm

          really hard.

          I'm also not a great fan of male drag, especially when it indulges in exaggerated feminine stereotypes, and even more so when it's sexualised. However, it's not something I would protest about nor try to ban.

          The problem I have with DQSH in the NZ context is that we can't even have a conversation about what is appropriate. Thanks to the reactionary right and the liberals. The drag performer this week was female, which just highlights that DC hate gender non-conformity as much as anything. Where it's DQs, we know that internationally there have been instances of inappropriate performances. I will guess that's not happening in NZ, but I want openness and transparency and public debate, not 'stfu bigot, this group of people are inherently trustworthy and not to be questioned'.

          As we've seen with the UK, the public has a poor understanding of safeguarding, principles and conventions, and it's been a long hard fight to retain those. It's like liberals think safeguarding and boundaries are dirty words, or are just really confused about what they are now. Anyone who thinks there's nothing to worry about can google rainbow dildo butt monkey and come back and argue why that was appropriate for kids.

          I also find the argument that parents are free to take their kids to whatever they want less than convincing. If the culture shifts on safeguarding boundaries and conventions, and critique of this is suppressed, we lose the safeguarding and the public trust in convention.

          • Karolyn_IS 13.1.2.1.1
            17 February 2025 at 3:21 pm

            Weka:

            "DC hate gender non-conformity as much as anything."

            Tamaki & DC have been against gay rights for a long time.

            2019:

            "Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki has apologised to members of the gay community if they have been hurt by his comments about them. But he hasn't changed his beliefs, and doesn't agree with homosexual activity."

            It looks to me that it's only recently they've started campaigning against drag and transgender people, and it looks to me they've been coat-tailing the campaigns largely by women, for sex-based rights and provisions.

            Many people who are against gender non-conformity see it as likely being a sign of homosexuality.

            Agree on the need for open discussion of the issues.

          • Psycho Milt 13.1.2.1.2
            17 February 2025 at 5:18 pm

            Anyone who thinks there's nothing to worry about can google rainbow dildo butt monkey and come back and argue why that was appropriate for kids.

            Could any of us have imagined 20 years ago that this would be a sentence someone would need to write at some point? Fuck I hate Queer Theory.

    • thinker 13.2
      17 February 2025 at 12:39 pm

      Good point TM. Was thinking similar.

      Scumaki/Dysentery Church seem to have been given much more leeway than most of us would expect to have been given and this weekend I was left wondering what 'this time it's gone too far' really means, in context.

      Maybe I'm overthinking things.

      • David 13.2.1
        17 February 2025 at 2:57 pm

        Brian Tamiki and his mob don’t have any more leeway than any other group of protesters. We can all demonstrate peacefully, however as some have mentioned above, the right to protest, should not be the right to cancel an event or to stop people listening or participating in an event.

        unfortunately there have been some events that have been cancelled due to “safety concerns” if this is the case, the police should investigate and prosecute those who have threatened the organisers and venue operators.

  14. Obtrectator 14
    17 February 2025 at 4:10 pm

    Just been watching the footage put up by Mountain Tui. This is New Zealand's "01/06/21" moment.

    • Obtrectator 14.1
      17 February 2025 at 11:07 pm

      If the police bottle out of pursuing this, in the face of all the evidence available, then we'll know the country's been given over to mob rule by any bunch of thugs designating themselves as a "church".