Sandra Anne Goudie is a New Zealand politician. She was the mayor of Thames-Coromandel from 2016 to 2022 when she resigned. She was the Member of Parliament for the Coromandel electorate from 2002 to 2011,representing the National Party. During the COVID-19 pandemic she was criticised for her anti-vaccination stance.
Brian Raymond Tamaki is a New Zealand Christian fundamentalist religious leader,and politician. He is the leader of Destiny Church,a Pentecostal Christian organisation which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality. Tamaki has been involved with various fringe political parties and movements,and since 2022 he has led the Freedoms New Zealand party. A perennial candidate,he has run for office several times but has yet to be elected.
Kelvyn Glen Alp is a New Zealand far-right politician and activist. During the 1990s,Alp established a paramilitary organisation called the New Zealand Armed Intervention Force. During the 2020s,Alp founded a far-right media platform called Counterspin Media,which played an active role in leading the 2022 Wellington protest.
The New Zealand Outdoors &Freedom Party,formerly the New Zealand Outdoors Party,is a registered political party in New Zealand. It is part of the Freedoms NZ umbrella movement. The party is co-led by Sue Grey and Donna Pokere-Phillips.
The Advance New Zealand Party was a short-lived political party in New Zealand from 2020 to 2021. The idea was first unveiled in a newsletter from founder Jami-Lee Ross in April 2020. Ross has claimed that the party was a centrist and anti-corruption movement designed to appeal to voters "in the middle";however,their main policies represent the political fringe rather than centre.
Donna Marie Pokere-Phillips is a New Zealand politician known for her conspiracy-driven views. She is the co-leader of the NZ Outdoors &Freedom Party.
The New Zealand Public Party was a short-lived political party in New Zealand led by Billy Te Kahika. It was founded in June 2020,and two months later became a component party of registered party Advance New Zealand in order to contest the 2020 election. Advance received only 1.0% of the party vote and neither Advance nor Public won any electorate seats,so the Public Party did not win any representation in Parliament. The Public Party split from Advance shortly after the election acrimoniously,and Public's party secretary and director both resigned in January 2021.
Nicola Mary Turner is a New Zealand public health advocate who is a Professor at the University of Auckland and Medical Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre,an organisation that advises the New Zealand medical profession and the New Zealand Government. She has contributed to advisory committees for the New Zealand Ministry of Health,is a spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action Group and works in general practice. Much of her research and outreach has focused on improving immunisation coverage and closing equity gaps for the national schedule vaccine delivery in New Zealand and she has commented publicly on these issues during COVID-19 in New Zealand.
There were several COVID-19 protests in New Zealand held during the period of COVID-19 restrictions from 2020 to 2022,where people protested the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand,in particular the lockdown measures in place in March–May 2020,August 2020,and August–November 2021 and the later vaccine mandates. The protests have been largely condemned by members of parliament,as well as local city and regional councils. Fears were also raised about the protests increasing the spread of the virus.
William Desmond Te Kahika Jr,also known as Billy TK Jr,is a New Zealand conspiracy theorist,blues musician and former political candidate. During the 2020 New Zealand general election,Te Kahika attracted media coverage both as the leader of the fringe New Zealand Public Party and for his promulgation of conspiracy theories. Te Kahika and the Public Party opposed the New Zealand Government's lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand began on 20 February 2021,and will continue throughout the pandemic with the goal of vaccinating all willing New Zealanders aged 5 or older. Those aged 5 to 11 require a parent,caregiver or legal guardian accompany them to their appointment and provide consent for them to be vaccinated. As of 1 September,anyone in New Zealand,regardless of their immigration status,is eligible to be vaccinated.
Claire Ann Deeks is a New Zealand anti-vaccine activist who has challenged the government's response to COVID-19. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Advance NZ party in the 2020 general election,and set up the group Voices for Freedom (VFF),which distributed pamphlets that have been criticised by experts as containing COVID-19 misinformation about vaccines,lockdown and the wearing of masks. As a food blogger,Deeks promoted the paleo diet and "healthy" lunchboxes for children,and developed a petition to stop the rating system for foods used by the NZ and Australian governments. She is a former intellectual property lawyer.
Simon James Thornley is a New Zealand medical doctor and academic specialising in epidemiology and biostatistics,and as of 2021 is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland.
The COVID-19 Protection Framework was a system used by the New Zealand Government during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The three-tier traffic light system used vaccination and community transmission rates to determine the level of restrictions needed. It came into effect at 11:59 pm on 2 December 2021,replacing the four-tier alert level system,which used lockdowns. On 12 September 2022,Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the traffic light system would be dropped at 11:59 pm that night.
The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The occupation spring boarded off the New Zealand Convoy 2022,a mass convoy of vehicles that made its way from the top of the North Island and the bottom of the South Island to Parliament starting on Waitangi Day and arriving three days later on 9 February. The occupation lasted just over three weeks. At its peak,the protest spread over a large area of Thorndon and into Pipitea with approximately 1,000 participants. Protesters blockaded areas around the parliamentary grounds with their vehicles and occupied the lawn and surrounding areas in tents. Some associated with the protests harassed bystanders,and disrupted local businesses. The protest was forcibly ended by police on 2 March 2022,and the protesters had none of their demands met by the Government.
Counterspin Media is a far-right,anti-vaccine,and conspiracy theorist New Zealand online media platform that was founded in May 2021.
The Freedoms &Rights Coalition (TFRC) is a self-described "people's movement" founded by Destiny Church founder and leader Bishop Brian Tamaki in 2021 to oppose the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and vaccine mandates. The group organised protests in Auckland and across New Zealand. In mid-July 2022,the Coalition launched a second wave of protests against the Labour Government,whom they accused of incompetence and contributing to the country's socio-economic problems and shortages.
TJB 2021 Limited,trading as Voices for Freedom (VFF),is an anti-vaccine advocacy group in New Zealand that formed in December 2020 to oppose the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 mitigation policies and vaccination rollout. The organisation is founded and led by food blogger and former Advance New Zealand candidate Claire Deeks,Libby Jonson and Alia Bland. Voices for Freedom has been criticised by NZ Skeptics,The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman,and "FACT Aotearoa" for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccinations.
Elizabeth Jane Cooney,commonly known as Liz Gunn,founded and led the New Zealand Loyal Party. She is an anti-vaccination activist,conspiracy theorist,and a former television presenter from New Zealand.
