George Floyd protests in New Zealand

The George Floyd protests sparked a strong response among New Zealanders, in particular among the indigenous Māori people who activists say face structural discrimination similarly to African Americans in the United States.

[3][4] Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand politicians James Shaw and Marama Davidson both stated they believed US President Donald Trump was racist when asked by press gallery journalist about his inflammatory tweets.

[9] On 1 June, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters criticised protesters in Auckland for violating the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 regulations regarding limited social gatherings.

[16][17] In response, the Māori Party's co-leader and Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Debbie Ngarewa-Packer called on the Government to establish an inquiry to identify and remove what she regarded as racist monuments, statues and names associated with New Zealand's colonial era.

Calls to remove statues were opposed by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and National Party Member of Parliament Simeon Brown, who described them as a "wave of wokeism" and "erasing history.

"[19] On 13 June, a statue of Captain James Cook in the North Island town of Gisborne was vandalised with graffiti promoting Black and Māori rights and swastikas.

[23] In addition, statues of Queen Victoria and Scottish poet Robert Burns were targeted by protesters in Dunedin in mid-June due to the former's association with British colonialism and the latter's alleged complicity in slavery.

In response, Victoria University of Wellington historian Dr Arini Loader and former Labour Party candidate Shane Te Pou disputed Malone's attempts to draw a moral equivalence with colonial figures such as Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, arguing that Te Rauparaha had supported a local church and that other iwi including Rauparaha's former victims recognised his historical importance.

[1] [28][29] The Auckland event was organised by several African New Zealanders including Mahlete Tekeste, African-American expatriate Kainee Simone, sportsperson Israel Adesanya, and musician Mazbou Q.