He spoke to a crowd of about 300 on Saturday afternoon in Auckland. Another 100 people were turned away because the venue had reached capacity.
Some protesters were removed from the venue before Mr Bainimarama's arrival but others managed to get into the meeting and heckle. Reacting to the taunts, Mr Bainimarama told the crowd he did not worry about the devils, as they were a bunch of losers.
The politician - who led a military coup in 2006 - is campaigning for support for his Fiji First party.
Earlier, a clash broke out between supporters and opponents of Mr Bainimarama outside the building. Mr Bainimarama's opponents yelled insults about the coup leader, calling him a dictator, but his supporters shouted back that he was a good man.
About 20 protesters were escorted off the grounds by security guards.
The police were called, but there were no arrests. Source: Rado New Zealand International