Four people have been arrested in Tauranga after failing to move on from an anti-lockdown protest earlier today.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says the quartet were among a larger group of 20.

The protest was taking place outside the Tauranga Central Police Station and was one of a handful across New Zealand today.

'We have attended protest activity in Nelson, Tauranga and Auckland today,” says Coster.

'In Tauranga, we arrested four people following an anti-lockdown protest outside Tauranga police station. It was a group of around 20 and four declined to move on.”

Police say they made a number of attempts to engage with those gathered outside the station.

Charging decisions have yet to be made, says a police statement,

Coster confirms that four arrests were also made in Auckland. The crowd in Nelson dispersed.

'We have a low tolerance for unlawful gatherings particularly in the context of a Delta variant outbreak,” he says.

'People can expect we will move more quickly to enforcement action in that context.”

Coster also reiterates a need not to be distracted by the minority not following lockdown restrictions, in light of the seven cases of Covid-19 currently detected in the community.

"We will deal with them," he says.