Protesters block road at Auckland's northern boundary

Protesters gathered at the northern side of Auckland's northern boundary this morning, blocking the road.

The main northern border checkpoint on State Highway 1 was blocked for a considerable period of time, police said.

Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua released a statement saying southbound traffic had to be diverted due to protestors blocking the highway with their vehicles.

Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua uri and chief operating officer Antony Thompson said trucks carrying food and medical supplies were being held up unnecessarily "creating major risks to our communities and whanau of the North".

He said thoughtless moves like this put whanau in danger and urged members of these groups to think about the impact they were having on those they believed they were trying to protect

Thompson said protesters were using this as an opportunity to "grandstand their issue".

Police attended the protest and cars were towed away. Photo: Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua

Thompson told Morning Report the group arrived about 6am from the north and were stopped by police about 500m from the main checkpoint and were asked to move to the side of the road.

"A few of them parked their vehicles in the middle of the road to block the road and the traffic behind them

"It escalated from there, police came on board and they de-escalated the situation. We were really happy with that.

"The protesters still wouldn't move so they were moved backwards and a few of their vehicles were towed."

Thompson said it got the way of vaccination efforts in the region, with people pulled off their work on mobile vaccination units to support border teams.

That was "hugely frustrating", he said.

"We've got kaitiaki that work on the border that also assist with vaccinations - because it's a large operation."

He said a number of different groups and people were among the protesters.

Traffic was starting to clear by abut 8.30am but it was still slow moving, Thompson said.

Police said they worked to ensure lanes were open at the checkpoint so members of the public undertaking lawful travel across the boundary can do so safely.