Anti-transgender rights campaigner Posie Parker failed to speak at a rally in Auckland over the weekend after a counter-protest overwhelmed the event.
But despite Parker cancelling her Wellington rally and fleeing the country, Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges told AM's panel on Monday he wonders whether Parker was the real "winner of the day".
"She's got more social media followers now and I do wonder if by resorting to throwing stuff… [and] some intimidation, if the counter-protest, if you like, did themselves a disservice in that way," Bridge said.
But The Period Place co-founder and CEO Danika Revell disagree with Bridges, saying she is proud of the people of Aotearoa coming out and standing for what they believe in.
Revell said the protests put light on an interesting line between free speech and hate speech.
"Yes we are allowed to say things but we are not allowed to threaten people and in [Parker's] rhetoric... the words that she chooses to use... the threats she uses to annihilate people - that's not debating, that's not sharing an opinion - that's aggression," Revell said.
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