# List of protests in New Zealand

This is a list of protests in New Zealand.

## Protests relating to the Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi was between the Māori and the British Crown and was first signed in 1840.
| Year | Day | Name | People | Location | Notes |
| 1844–1845 | | Hōne Heke's protests | 1 | Russell | Protest against the British Crown by repeatedly chopping down flag pole. Eventually leading to the New Zealand Wars. |
| 1845–1872 | | The New Zealand Wars | | North Island | A series of conflicts between the British crown, its allies and various Maori tribes. |
| 1881 | 5 November (invasion of government troops) | Parihaka pacifist settlement | | Taranaki | Pacifist settlement invaded by government troops and many prisoners taken without trial. |
| 1898 | | Dog Tax War | | Northland | Threat of armed civil disobedience over disproportionate taxation. |
| 1975 | 13 October | Māori Land March | 5000 | Auckland | March from Northland to Wellington to increase public awareness. |
| 1977–1978 | ended 25 May | Bastion Point protest (Ngāti Whātua land claim) | | Auckland | Police and army personnel removed 222 people |
| 1984 | | Kia Ora Incident | 1 | | Fired after insistence on using the greeting Kia Ora. |
| 2004 | | Foreshore and seabed Hīkoi | | Nationwide | Protest over the seabed and foreshore being declared public land. |
| 2004 | | Tim Selwyn axe protest | 1 | Auckland | Charged with sedition |
| 2006 | 6 February | Waitangi protest | | Northland | |
| 2007 | 15 October | New Zealand police raids | | Ruatoki and throughout the country | Several people charged as terrorists, but not found guilty for that offence. Extensive protest over the police handling of the investigation. |
| 2014 | | New Zealand war memorial day petition | 12,000 | Nationwide | Petition to raise awareness of the New Zealand wars by creating a memorial day |
| 2023 | 5 December 2023 | Government policy protest | | North Island | A Te Pāti Māori organised protest regarding the National-led government policy changes. |
| 2024 | 10-19 November 2024 | Hīkoi mō te Tiriti | | North Island | |

## Environmental protests

| Year | Day | Name | People | Location | Notes |
| 1959–1972 | | Save Manapouri campaign | 264,907 signed (1970) | Southland, nationwide | Largely successful in reducing the effect on the lake |
| 1960's-1980's | | Nuclear-free protests | | Nationwide | |
| 2001 | September | Anti genetic engineering | 10,000 | Auckland | resulting in a moratorium |
| 2004–2007 | | Save Happy Valley Coalition | | West Coast | Anti coal mine protests |
| 2004–2007 | | Marsden B protest | | Northland | |
| 2010 | 2 May | Opposing mining on conservation land | 40,000 | Auckland | One arrest made |

## Protests against employers

This list contains notable protests against employers ether for the disruption caused or their results on society and working conditions. It also includes protests against the government when it is in the role of an employer. As in a ten-year period from 2005–2015 there were an average of 25 strikes a years this list does not seek to cover every such protest.,
| Year | Day | Name | People | Location | Notes |
| 1890 | Ended 10 November | Maritime strike | | Ports around the country and Australia | First nationwide strike |
| 1908 | | Blackball strike | | West Coast | |
| 1913–1914 | | The Great Strike | 14,000-16,000 on strike | Started in Huntly coal mines and Wellington port | Unionists against employers |
| 1943 | 25 February | Featherston prisoner of war protest and massacre | 240 (49 killed, 70 wounded) | Wellington | Japanese prisoners of war refused to work and may have rioted. |
| 1951 | 13 February to 15 July | Waterfront dispute | | Nationwide | |
| 1978 | | Mangere Bridge dispute | | Auckland | |
| 1979 | | General strike | 300,000 (max) | Nationwide | |
| 2006 | | supermarket workers’ dispute | | Nationwide | |
| 2008 | | Junior doctors’ strike | | Nationwide | |

## Protests for or against social change

| Year | Day | Name | People | Location | Notes | Image |
| 1879 | | Orange ‘riot’ | | Timaru and Christchurch | Sectarian unrest | |
| 1893 | | Women's suffrage petition | 32,000 signatures | | Women's suffrage followed late that year | |
| 1908 | November | No License Campaign | | Dunedin | | |
| 1916 | November | | | Blackball | miners went on strike to oppose military conscription. | |
| 1917 | October | Paddy Webb | 1 | West Coast | Webb, a Member of Parliament, opposed conscription and when called up refused military service. He was court-martialled and sentenced to two years' hard labour and his seat was declared vacant. | |
| 1943 | 3 April | Battle of Manners Street | 1000 (total) | Wellington | Some of the American servicemen from the American South in the Services Club objected to the presence of Māori soldiers. | |
| 1971 | | Anti-Vietnam War protest | 35,000 | Nationwide | | |
| 1973 | 24 March | Battle of Harewood | 23 arrests | Harewood Airport and the nearby Weedons Stores Depot | People from Citizens for Demilitarisation of Harewood, Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and Anti-Bases Campaign, invaded two Operation Deep Freeze air defence bases. The violent clashes were the first anti-spy base demonstration in NZ and could be viewed as a forerunner to the Waihopai Station arrests | |
| 1977 | May and December | Abortion-rights marches | | Wellington and Christchurch | Protest against the amendment to the Contraception-Sterilisation and Abortion Bill | Logo of Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand |
| 1981 | | Springbok tour | | Nationwide | | |
| 1985 | | Coalition of Concerned Citizens | 800,000 signatures (claimed) | | Opposition to the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 | |
| 2003 | February | Anti Iraq War | 10,000 | Auckland and Wellington | | |
| 2004 | August | Enough is Enough march | 10,000 | Wellington | Brian Tamaki led this protest upholding family values, and opposing the government's proposed Civil Union Bill devaluing the traditional institution of marriage |
| 2005 | | Black caps tour of Zimbabwe | | | | |
| 2008 | April | Ploughshares Aotearoa | 3 | Waihopai Station | | |
| 2009 | | New Zealand Internet Blackout | | | | |
| 2011 | | SlutWalk | | Auckland and Wellington | | |
| 2011 | | Occupy movement | | Major centres | Protests in the wake of the 2008 economic crises. | |
| 2012 | | Against gay marriage | 250 | | | |
| 2018 | 26 July | Abortion availability | | Wellington | | |
| 2022 | Sunday, 6 February | Thousands protest against the vaccine mandates at the parliament grounds in Wellington and Picton | | Welllington and Picton | | |
| 2024 | Sunday, 23 October | Protests against government policies over worker's rights | | All of New Zealand | | |