The wife of far-right cleric Brian Tamaki isn't happy after a Sikh man "confronted" her for taking a picture of a woman carrying the kirpan, a religious dagger, in South Auckland on Monday.

The kirpan is one of five holy items baptized Sikhs carry as part of their faith. New Zealand's criminal laws don't explicitly allow it, but police's internal instructions are clear that practicing Sikhs can carry it in a peaceful manner.

Hannah Tamaki, of Destiny Church, says she was at a Starbucks in Papakura on the morning of April 14 when she noticed a woman at the checkout with the kirpan hanging from her waist.

"I realise now they knew who I was when they came into Starbucks," she posted on Facebook later. "Hence why she held her scarf back to flash that kirpan to me…hand on her hip."

"Am I allowed to carry my hunting knife in public," Hannah Tamaki commented with the social media post. (Supplied photo)

Tamaki pointed out the kirpan was "not concealed, not discreet". "[It was] openly displayed in a public place around families and children. Her husband was alongside her. I captured a photo of the dagger (but not of their faces)," she posted, calling for a ban on kirpan in public places.

Tamaki says she left Starbucks to visit a nearby nail salon when she realized she had been followed. "...her husband followed me in, filmed me, and confronted me for taking a photo of the dagger," she said.

"I calmly told him I was concerned. I asked him if I should be allowed to wear my hunting knife too? His response? 'We have a religious exemption'."

Anyone carrying a knife in public "without a reasonable excuse" can be jailed for up to three months or issued a fine of up to $2,000, according to the Summary Offences Act 1981.

The Crimes Act 1961 also prohibits possessing knives without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, with a penalty of up to two years in jail.

But Amritdhari (or baptized) Sikhs have, in practice, fallen in the "reasonable excuse" bucket. The use of discretion is a key tool in a police officer’s toolkit, an internal police instruction says.

"The law and rules do not always fit perfectly to every situation...Amritdhari Sikhs are not known to use the kirpan to harm themselves or others," it reads.

"As a general rule, a kirpan carried or possessed in a public place for religious reasons is considered by police to provide a reasonable excuse."

But that threshold has, in the past, reached its edge. In March 2015, seven Sikhs were denied entry into Eden Park for a cricket match after they refused to remove the ceremonial dagger.

More than a decade later, the kirpan continues to draw speculative commentary around the issue of equal rights for all New Zealanders. If Sikhs can carry a ceremonial dagger, then, as Tamaki wonders, "Am I allowed to carry my hunting knife in public."