Up to 1000 people, including politicians, have joined activists in a march to Auckland's Mt Eden Prison to protest against recent police raids.
The protest, one of thirteen organised in centres around the country, drew a diverse range of people, with a bus filled with people from Tuhoe arriving especially for the march.
Seventeen people were arrested under the Firearms Act and the Terrorism Suppression Act on October 15 following raids in Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton, Christchurch, Whakatane and Ruatoki, 20km south of Whakatane.
The raids were the culmination of a year-long investigation into weapons training camps alleged to have been held in the Urewera country and netted a haul of weapons.
Seven of those arrested are in Auckland, with six of them in custody at Mt Eden Prison.
Veteran protester Tame Iti is due to be transferred to the prison this week.
With those from Tuhoe leading the march the protesters made the way from Aotea Square to the prison, chanting pro-democracy and freedom slogans and carrying signs saying they were not terrorists.
Among those protesting was one of those arrested and the only person in Auckland to be out on bail, Rongomai Bailey.
Speaking to the crowd as they gathered at Aotea Square Bailey said the raids were a big issue not just for New Zealand but the world because they involved the use of surveillance. (See video below)
Outside the prison Bailey again addressed the crowd, saying he and those arrested were not terrorists.
"We are standing up for ourselves and our communities which are under attack."
Bailey urged the crowd to educate themselves because there was a "lot of shit going to go down".
Outside the prison Green Party MP Keith Locke addressed the crowd and said ordinary New Zealanders had reacted badly to the arrests but it was Tuhoe who had been hurt the most.
The protesters were well behaved, amid a heavy police presence around the prison, with Tuhoe leading the march with a haka after many speeches.
After more than two hours of standing in the sun protester numbers began to deplete and by the time the group made their way to the final stop -- the entrance of the prison -- the group had grown considerably smaller.
Veteran protester John Minto, one of the organisers of the march was also among the crowd, along with Green MP Sue Bradford and former MPs Laila Harre, Willie Jackson and left-wing political activist Matt McCarten.
Demonstrations were held in other centres including Auckland, Hamilton, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Protests were also held in Australia, England and the United States.
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