New Zealand protests: Thousands rally against government's pandemic response outside parliament

About 2,000 anti-government demonstrators gathered outside New Zealand’s parliament on Tuesday to vent their frustration with the government's pandemic response nearly six months after protesters were forcibly removed from the grounds of the legislature.

Organized by the Freedom and Rights Coalition, the demonstrators were protesting over tighter environmental regulations for farmers, a government bid to take over regionally owned water assets and now largely removed COVID-19 restrictions.

At the same time, about 250 counter-protesters gathered in a bid to counter hate, homophobia, bigotry and disinformation from the far right, organizers of the counter-protest said in a Facebook post.