A Christian group has blocked a Sikh parade by performing a haka and holding a banner saying “this is New Zealand, not India”, less than a month after staging a similar protest in Auckland.
The True Patriots of NZ activist group, which is linked to the Destiny Church, also waved New Zealand flags, linked arms, and chanted “whose streets? Our streets” and “Jesus” while standing in the way of the religious procession in Tauranga on Sunday afternoon.
Video posted by Sikhs and Destiny Church founder Brian Tamaki shows hundreds of participants in the parade, called a Nagar Kirtan, facing off with the protesters while bagpipers attacked to the procession play in the background and police stand between the opposing groups.
The procession began at the Gurudwara Sikh Sangat on Burrows Street, and was attended by locals MPs and councillors, who described it as a “vibrant” celebration of diversity.
Christian group True Patriots of NZ blocks a Sikh parade with a haka and banner saying “This is New Zealand, not India” in Tauranga today.
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— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) January 11, 2026
“WHOSE STREETS? KIWI STREETS.”
“The True Patriots Are Not Backing Down.”Today in Tauranga, our True Patriots answered the Sikh Parade with a haka…not violence, not silence, but peaceful defiance.
Our chant rang out across our streets:
“Whose streets? OUR streets.”
“Whose… pic.twitter.com/sDQzIbqNRg— Brian Tamaki (@BrianTamakiNZ) January 11, 2026
Labour MP Jan Tinetti said: “Events like this remind us of what makes our country so special — our diversity, our kindness, and the way we walk together as one community.”
Tauranga City Councillor Rod Taylor said: “It was great to see the number of our residents who came along to get a taste of this vibrant culture.”
But Mr Tamaki objected to the parade and attendees who were allowed to carry long swords and daggers in a series of social media posts, and accused police of double standards.
“If the gangs, or Maori/[Pacific Islanders] walked the streets carrying blades, police would shut it down instantly. But when it’s labelled ‘culture’ or ‘religion’, the rules suddenly don’t apply. Weapons do not belong on our streets. Foreign religions do not belong on our streets,” he wrote in one post.
“Today in Tauranga, our True Patriots answered the Sikh Parade with a haka… not violence, not silence, but peaceful defiance,” he wrote in another post.
“To Chris Luxon, Winston Peters, and David Seymour: You have failed to protect our national identity. You have opened the gates without demanding assimilation. You have allowed New Zealand to be fragmented, divided, and diluted.
“Leadership is not managing our decline. Leadership is defending the nation. The way forward is clear: Stop mass immigration. Start remigration. Start deportation. Start restoration.”
Some parade attendees spoke out against the protest on social media, with one calling it “extremely disappointing and unacceptable” and another, Preet Kaur, who described herself as an “educator”, revealed the parade route was changed at the last minute to “avoid conflict”.
“We will not stop celebrating who we are. We believe New Zealand is a place where cultural and religious expression belongs to everyone. Thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered to make this even happen to a larger scale ever before,” she wrote on social media.
The protest comes after the same group blocked a Nagar Kirtan in Manurewa, South Auckland, just before Christmas, with Mr Tamaki speaking out at the time about Khalistani separatist flags spotted in the crowd.
Header image: Left, right, the protest in Tauranga (Instagram, Brian Tamaki).
