WELLINGTON: Thousands of people took the knee outside the US consulate in Auckland Sunday as New Zealanders demonstrated for a second week to support the Black Lives Matter movement and highlight local discrimination issues.

As Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" played in the background, the protesters chanted "No justice, no peace" and "Ain't no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don't stop".

In Wellington, more than 2,000 people marched on parliament after gathering in the city centre to hear speeches on racial bias within the police, New Zealand's high Maori imprisonment rates and the push to remove statues of colonisers.

The city of Hamilton has already torn down a statue of the colonial military commander it was named after following threats from anti-racism protesters to topple the bronze sculpture of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, who they accused of murder.