New Zealand police failed to protect women’s rights activist Posie Parker from a chaotic protest that forced her to flee, a watchdog has found.
The Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) criticised officers for not deploying enough staff to ensure her safety at the Let Women Speak rally in Albert Park, Auckland, in March 2023.
The protesters surrounded Parker, who was the main speaker and drowned out her speech. Parker had only four personal security guards, and several men wearing skull-patterned face coverings were also present.
The IPCA said police failed to properly respond to unfolding events by deploying additional staff to protect Let Women Speak (LWS) supporters.
“While police had insufficient staff to manage the general disorder in any meaningful way, and there is no suggestion that officers failed to help anyone they directly witnessed being assaulted or threatened,” the authority said.
Large Number of Complaints
The IPCA received 168 complaints from the public regarding the police response at the event.The report also found that two arrests of people counter-protesting during a pro-Palestine protest in Auckland in November 2023 were unlawful. One was arrested for breaching the peace, and the other for obstructing police.
In one case, a man was holding an Israeli flag around 150 metres from where protesters were setting up a speaking area.
Police told him to leave and to stay away from the event and warned that he would be arrested if he returned. He later returned without his flag but with his face covered and was arrested for intentionally obstructing a police officer.
During the same rally, police told a woman to put down a sign they believed could incite violence. When she failed to comply, they physically moved her and took her sign.
She continued trying to re-enter the protest area and was arrested breaching the peace.
Calls for Legal Reform
Police have accepted all three findings against them and stated that they are taking action to improve pre-event planning and ensure officers know the law around obstruction.However, both the police and the IPCA point out that New Zealand has no specific laws governing protests and public order, and they believe this needs to change.
New Law Needed, Similar to Part of Australia: IPCA
Such an Act would align New Zealand with comparable jurisdictions such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the report stated.Existing laws—such as those related to trespassing, disorderly behaviour, and breaching the peace—are not well-suited to managing protests.
“At the operational level, this lack of statutory guidance results in a systemic failure to provide police with sufficient guidance as to what reasonable limitations can be imposed when they are planning for a protest event,” the review said.
The proposed law would also protect critical infrastructure and private homes and allow police or councils to charge protest organisers for some or all of the cost of traffic management.
“We have proposed that the most senior officer at the scene should be able to impose conditions on the protesters as a whole or any group of them,” the authority said.
“The current offence structure [should] be substantially revised to provide better protection of protesters’ rights and more clarity and certainty as to the limits of the law for both protesters and police officers alike.”
Any condition or instruction imposed by police should not unreasonably limit the rights of freedom of expression, movement, or assembly, the review said.
However, the IPCA does not believe that the police should have the power to issue broad “move on” orders, as is permitted in parts of Australia and the United Kingdom.
The report concluded that police needed improved policies, procedures, and training to handle protest situations effectively.
