Editing Brian Tamaki (section)

== Media engagement ==
At the [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] meeting of the [[Destiny New Zealand]] "A Nation Under Siege" tour, Tamaki attacked the media, the government, the [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green Party]] and Grey Power (a lobby group for the elderly), referring to the Greens as "pagans", Grey Power as "self centred" and the media as "modern day witchcraft".<ref>
{{cite news  | title = Tamaki attacks self-centred grey power and greenies | newspaper =[[The Nelson Mail]] |date=19 July 2005 }}
</ref>

In 2004 the ''[[Sunday Star-Times]]''<ref>Sunday Star-Times (NZ)/29 August 2004</ref> reported that Mr Tamaki "hijacked" $450,000 from elderly couple Barry and Marian Wilson. The Wilsons lent the money, which they had received from the sale of nautical clothing label Line7 in the mid-'90s, on the understanding that it was to be used to purchase a block of land in [[Rotorua]] for the construction of a church. It was reported that after almost 10 years and countless attempts to contact Mr Tamaki and his wife Hannah, the Wilsons had given up hope of ever recovering the full amount. The ''Sunday Star-Times'' asked Mr Tamaki for a response to a series of questions regarding the loan, but he declined to respond.

In 2004 ''[[Sunday (New Zealand TV programme)|Sunday]]'' broadcast a documentary of Tamaki and of the Destiny Church. Dr [[Philip Culbertson]] of the University of Auckland said: "As far as I can tell it's a [[cult]]".<ref name="Lineham">{{cite book |last=Lineham |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idsyAAAAQBAJ |title=Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle: The life and Times of a Self-Made Prophet |date=24 July 2013 |publisher=Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited |isbn=9781742539164 |publication-date=2013-07-01}}</ref>{{pn|date=March 2026}}

In July 2005 Tamaki had directed "highly offensive abuse" at [[Newstalk ZB]] host Mike Yardley while off-air during an interview on 20 July.<ref>
{{cite news   | last =Crewdson | first =Patrick | title =Radio host meets his Destiny  | newspaper = [[New Zealand Herald]] |date=31 July 2005 | url = https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/radio-host-meets-his-destiny/OPY3EADKXEJXWABVJCMT7G2PGU/  | access-date =9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029173730/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/radio-host-meets-his-destiny/OPY3EADKXEJXWABVJCMT7G2PGU/|archive-date=29 October 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> In his autobiography Tamaki denies that the abuse happened.

In May 2006 a poll ranked Tamaki the least-trusted of 75 prominent New Zealanders.<ref>
{{cite news  | title =Sir Ed tops NZ's most trusted, again  | work= [[1News|ONE News]] |publisher=[[TVNZ]] |date=26 May 2006 | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/725635 | access-date =11 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111124455/http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/725635|archive-date=11 November 2007|url-status=dead }}
</ref>
In June 2006 Tamaki expressed opposition to [[Sue Bradford]]'s private members [[Child Discipline Act|Child Discipline Bill]], which removed the legal defence of "reasonable force" for prosecutions of parents who have assaulted their children.<ref>
[http://www.challengeweekly.co.nz Home Page – Challenge Publishing Society Ltd<!-- Bot generated title -->]
</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Family Values in Jeaopard |url=http://www.familyvalues.net.nz/ |website=www.familyvalues.net |access-date=27 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421152825/http://www.familyvalues.net.nz/ |archive-date=21 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In May 2007 the [[Reader's Digest]] "Most Trusted People"' poll again ranked Tamaki as New Zealand's least trusted of 75 prominent persons, followed by [[Ahmed Zaoui]] and [[Don Brash]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/content/40020/ |title=Reader's Digest New Zealand: Who do you trust now, New Zealand? |access-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024135238/http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/content/40020/ |archive-date=24 October 2007  }}</ref> He was again ranked least-trusted in 2012 in a list of 100, this time followed by [[Hone Harawira]] and [[Kim Dotcom]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/new-zealands-most-trusted-people-2012 |title=New Zealand's Most Trusted People 2012 &#124; Reader's Digest New Zealand |access-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815111038/http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/new-zealands-most-trusted-people-2012 |archive-date=15 August 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In July 2008 [[TV3 (New Zealand)|TV3]] broadcast "Inside New Zealand: The Life of Brian", a documentary by reporter [[Ross Jennings]].<ref>[http://www.tv3.co.nz/tabid/214/Default.aspx?listingID=983975 Inside New Zealand: The Life of Brian], TV3, Thursday 17 July 2008 21:30. Retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>

In late April 2025, Tamaki and Destiny's "Man Up" domestic violence programme were the subject of a five-part [[TVNZ]] mini-series called ''Under His Command'' hosted by broadcaster [[John Campbell (broadcaster)|John Campbell]]. The series interviewed 22 former and current Destiny Church members, who alleged that the church's Man-Up programme encouraged male domination and tolerated violence against wives. The documentary also alleged that Tamaki utilised rage against the gay, transgender communities and immigrants as a marketing tool.<ref>{{cite news |title=John Campbell on Destiny Church: 'I've never encountered so much fear |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/24/john-campbell-on-destiny-church-ive-never-encountered-so-much-fear/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |work=[[1News]] |publisher=[[TVNZ]] |date=24 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250424195734/https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/24/john-campbell-on-destiny-church-ive-never-encountered-so-much-fear/ |archive-date=24 April 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>