Bloody awesome day at New Zealand’s ‘Let Women Speak’ rally.

The nor’wester had a great time bumping and bouncing us through the skies over Canterbury, as Canterbury’s nor’westers are prone to do, on our way to the Let Women Speak rally in Auckland. A few heart-stopping plunges of the aeroplane were a small price to pay for showing that we women aren’t too keen on backing down to trans - i.e. anti-women - activists. After mobbing Kellie-Jay Keen and the Let Women Speak rally attendees in Albert Park, Auckland, on March 25^th, led by a particularly vitriolic male activist whose name I’ll only mention if absolutely necessary, this was our ‘come back’ day.

Ostensibly, the rally, organised by Standing for Women NZ – Local, was to coincide with the court appearance of the man who threw juice on Kellie-Jay at Albert Park. However, Kellie-Jay felt compelled to cancel her trip at the last minute due to safety concerns, but still supported us at the 20^th Sept rally in St Patrick’s Square, Auckland, via live-stream in what were the early hours of the morning in the UK.   

I and three other women travelled together to Auckland, where the weather did a rather un-Auckland thing and turned on a beautiful day without rain. Despite being a group of four, we still had a level of anxiety about what we would encounter at the rally venue. When we arrived and saw the significant police presence there, we were able to relax and enjoy the day.

This time, the Let Women Speak rally at St Patrick’s Square garnered around 50 or so trans activist protestors – a far cry from the two thousand at Albert Park back in March. The media reporting prior to this rally was way down from the 158+ hit pieces about Kellie-Jay Keen in the week prior to her last visit. Neither did it seem that the afore-mentioned, but not named, vitriolic activist could be arsed whipping up the same bile against this rally as he did the last one, or going along to it. He claimed it was because he didn’t feel safe, but more than one of us wondered if he knew that his performance at Albert Park was a personal best, and couldn’t ever be beaten or equalled, as any clever showman would.

Whether or not Kellie-Jay’s presence would have brought more trans activist protestors to St Patrick’s Square, we’ll never know. The feeling is, though, that many who might have come along to protest her presence stayed away, because there just wasn’t enough interest in it without her. However, the 50 or so there still decided they’d try and storm the space where we were holding our rally, once it started, but the police held them back.

At 0.50 in this video clip, a voice from the trans activists’ side can be heard encouraging a push against the police line to try and break through it. The Zeitgeist on X: "Trans activists beclowned themselves again today by attempting to shut down another ‘Let Women Speak’ event in Auckland. This time, to their credit, NZ Police turned up in force to protect the women and ensure the event went ahead. https://t.co/2EEPO9Qg4A" / X (twitter.com)

St Patrick’s Square is split level, and early on the police designated the lower level for the trans activists, and the upper level for the Let Women Speak rally. It fortuitously enabled those attending the rally to look down on the trans activists whilst holding Women’s Rights Party NZ signs. A happy designation indeed.

At its peak, it’s estimated that around 400 were at the Let Women Speak rally. Every speaker was fabulous and courageous. Not everyone agreed with everything every speaker said, but we have the right to peacefully assemble and say it. After the speaker from Resist Gender Education spoke, their information cards were snatched up by multiple rally attendees. My own speech is from 34.55 – 41.10 on this livestream replay of all the speakers. The visuals and audio aren’t too clear at times, but the sound seems a bit better when your device is a little distance away - #LetWomenSpeakNZjustice #LetWomenSpeakAuckland #LetWomenSpeak - YouTube.

Next door to St Patrick’s Square, there was a building site, and a number of workmen watched from the site or came into the square to check out what was going on, and take videos and photos. I can’t guess what their actual thoughts were about it all, of course, but their body language indicated that it was the trans activists they found the most entertaining.

Naturally, such a successful day required a wee celebration at the pub around the corner from the square afterwards with new and old friends and acquaintances, before getting ourselves back to the airport for our return trip home. The nor’wester over Canterbury hadn’t let up during our absence, and punched our aeroplane into few gasp-worthy sideways slews upon landing. A fitting piece of excitement to finish off both an exciting and immensely rewarding day.

Thank you to the rally organisers, the police, the speakers, and the attendees. You all made it a highly successful event.