Founded by Tamaki in the 1980s, the Destiny Church is known for its position against homosexuality, its patriarchal views, and for its calls for a return to biblical conservative family values and morals.

[9] Tamaki dropped out of secondary school at fifteen, after, as he describes in his autobiography, dabbling in drugs,[10] before completing the fourth form and took a labouring job in the forestry industry.

[19] In late July 2022, it was reported that Tamaki was facing a charge of careless driving after crossing the centre line and colliding with a car carrying two occupants near Rotorua on 6 May 2022.

[35] Following the release of preliminary results, Tamaki defended the anti-abortion stance of the unsuccessful National Party candidate Simon O'Connor, describing New Zealand Christians as "gutless.

The Wilsons lent the money, which they had received from the sale of nautical clothing label Line7 in the mid-'90s, on the understanding that it was to be used to purchase a block of land in Rotorua for the construction of a church.

It was reported that after almost 10 years and countless attempts to contact Mr Tamaki and his wife Hannah, the Wilsons had given up hope of ever recovering the full amount.

[40] In June 2006 Tamaki expressed opposition to Sue Bradford's private members Child Discipline Bill, which removed the legal defence of "reasonable force" for prosecutions of parents who have assaulted their children.

[48] Television New Zealand pulled the original opening episode of his series Higher Ground, because it "had language and phrases that did not meet industry standards of accuracy, fairness and balance".

[7] On 16 November 2016, Brian Tamaki drew controversy when he made statements during a sermon that the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes were divine retribution for sinful behaviour including murder and homosexuality.

[50][51] Tamaki's comments were condemned by leading New Zealand public figures including the Mayor of Christchurch Bob Parker, Prime Minister John Key, and the Anglican bishop of Dunedin, Kelvin Wright.

[52][53][54] One Auckland-based critic Aaron Smithson also organised a Change.org petition calling on Prime Minister Key to revoke Destiny Church's tax-free status.

The protests attracted thousands of demonstrators, including gang members on motorbikes,[clarification needed] young children and elderly, many of whom were not following social distancing rules or wearing masks.

The protesters were criticised for flouting lockdown restrictions and endangering public health by ACT Party leader David Seymour, Auckland Council councillors Jo Bartley and Richard Hills, and Jacinda Ardern.

[77][78][79][80] The New Zealand Police's delay in laying charges against Tamaki drew criticism, with a Change.org petition calling for his prosecution attracting 65,000 signatures by 4 October.

The Stuff report also identified Jenny Marshall, Destiny Church's director of operations and Tamaki's assistant, as the owner of TFRC's web domain.

[88] In addition, Stuff reported that Brian and Hannah Tamaki maintained links with Groundswell NZ's Pukekohe and Auckland coordinator Scott Bright, who donated vegetables to the TFRC and participated in an anti-lockdown protest in his personal capacity.

[92] On 8 January 2022, Tamaki addressed an anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine mandate rally in Christchurch's Hagley Park, which he described as a "family picnic" rather than a protest.

[98] Following nine days of imprisonment, High Court judge Paul Davison ruled in favour of Tamaki's appeal that the decision to remand him in prison was wrong.

Davison granted Tamaki bail but barred him from attending, organising, supporting and speaking at future anti-lockdown protests and ordered him to reside at home on a 24 hour curfew.

[99][100] In early November 2024 Tamaki, his wife, his executive, and one other man faced trial at the Auckland District Court on charges of organising a series of large public gatherings between September and October 2021 in contravention of Level 3 restrictions at the time.

Police kept peace between the two rival groups and sealed the Southern Motorway's ramps at Khyber Pass Road to prevent TFRC protesters from marching onto the highway and disrupting traffic.

According to Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell, protesters, counter-protesters and the public were generally well behaved with no reported problems, arrests, or trespass orders being issued.

[113][114] In March 2023, Tamaki blamed pornography, abortion, and gay rights for the devastation in the eastern North Island caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

[122] On 15 April 2024, Ford O'Connor, a member of Destiny Church who is married to Tamaki's granddaughter, pleaded guilty to vandalising the Karangahape Road rainbow crossing in Auckland in late March 2024 and was fined $16,093 to cover the repair costs.

During the sentencing, Tamaki defended O'Connor, saying that "he undertook a political protest against the excessive rainbow-washing that is occurring across New Zealand right now, at the expense of our taxpayers and our ratepayers.

In response, Destiny Church said it would continue to advocate for children's well-being and accused the New Zealand Herald of promoting crowdfunding for the drag performers' legal case.

The following day, he and Pastor Derek Tait led a protest by Destiny Church members against Te Tahi Youth health service in Christchurch, which helps transgender people access healthcare.

Protest groups Queer Endurance In Defiance and the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition denounced the conference for allegedly promoting transphobia and said it was contacting the Council in order to cancel the event on safety grounds.

[127] Following a safety review, Te Papa allowed the event to proceed, but said it would monitor the situation and expressed support for the LGBT community.

The Make NZ Great Again rally caused traffic disruption on New Zealand State Highway 1 after several participants exited their vehicles and marched on the motorway.