Right wing Canadian speakers Lauren southern and Stefan Molyneux may have had their event cancelled last night, but they still sparked heated scenes on the streets of Auckland today.
A group of around 30 people turned out to defend the pair's right to speak, but tensions flared when up to 100 counter-protesters turned up.
One side wanting to give the controversial Canadians the right to speak in the country after the Powerstation cancelled Ms Southern and Mr Molyneux's event hours before they were due to speak.
"I'm here because a travesty happened yesterday where a private event was sabotaged by people that actually hate freedom of speech so I'm here to stand up for the people," one protester said.
Others say Ms Southern and Mr Molyneux are simply spreading hate and division which needs to be stopped.
"I came from a country who survived terrible wars, ethnic cleansing and genocide and I'm happy to be in New Zealand to give birth to my child," a counter-protester from Bosnia and Herzigovina said.
Dr Huhana Hickey, a member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal who watched the protest unfold from a distance, said people "had every right" to see the pair speak.
"It's the same way as if I want to go to a Buddhist temple or a church – I can go," Dr Hickey said.
However, she said the alt-right couple should be challenged and have their views debated in public.
"We need to be able to discuss why people feel disconnected, why people feel this anger. Is it because there's a shift in numbers of, say, white people to people of colour, or is it that the ideology or capitalism or all that ideology is starting to fail?"
Mr Molyneux has since posted a video to YouTube deriding Powerstation's decision to cancel their event, saying, "Free speech is under significant attack and it's crumbling in particular in places like New Zealand".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealanders are hostile to their views.
"I think you'll see from the reaction they've had from New Zealanders that their views are not those that are shared by this country and I'm quite proud of that," Ms Ardern said.
Police are currently investigating claims of a bomb threat at the Auckland venue the pair had planned to use.
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