Gang members helping iwi stop people breaking lock-down rules at checkpoints finally got a reaction from Police Minister Stuart Nash but only after he was directly questioned by the Epidemic Response Committee on Tuesday.
Nash was asked about community roadblocks by National MP Gerry Brownlee, who said he'd been alerted to an incident where a 70-year-old man couldn't get past a roadblock to buy some milk and instead was told by a gang member to go home.
Nash said that Illegal checkpoints set up by "ratbags and renegades" without police support will be taken very seriously but "where these checkpoints can operate with the blessing of the police, the local community, the local council, and key stakeholders, I'm quite comfortable for them to happen."
In an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on March 31, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash asked: “Can you assure the public that this kind of behaviour will be stopped, and will not be tolerated again?”
That letter was referred to Stuart Nash as Police Minister and no response has been received.
Hobson’s Pledge also submitted a formal complaint to the Police regarding the lack of action taken and as yet no response regarding an outcome to this complaint has been received either.
If isolation and social distancing are about health and safety, vigilante roadblocks are not simply about law enforcement, they are a public health issue. No one knows whether those on the roadblocks and those they stop carry Covid-19.
The Minister of Health, David Clark, and the Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, appear unconcerned about clusters forming around roadblock contacts and remain silent on this risk.
The picture published by Newsroom, below, showing a Mongrel Mob member raising his gang’s profile, was taken near Murupara on Highway 38 at a checkpoint operated by local iwi Ngati Manawa, Ngati Whare and Ngati Haka.
See https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/04/19/1135695/video-gangs-unite-with-iwi-against-covid-19
The Manawatu taniwha wants a feed
Building a new highway between south Hawke’s Bay and Palmerston North requires the consent of five separate tribes who are worried that the remains of some forebears may be disturbed.
Highway 3 through the Manawatu Gorge was closed in April 2017 after multiple landslips and the discovery that a large hillside was at risk of falling on the road.
Rangitāne o Manawatu said the highway would go through and beside wahi tapu (sacred place) and sites of significance.
One of the most significant was Te Ahu a Turanga peak, where a group of Rangitane chiefs and Turanga-i-mua – whose father captained the Aotea canoe to New Zealand from Rarotonga around 1250 - were killed and buried.
Although “ways to mitigate that impact” on an unmarked site, where chiefs allegedly were buried around 700 years ago, had not yet been identified, there seems little doubt that the Manawatu “taniwha” is probably seeking money.
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Our petition which asks Parliament to amend the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 to restore public ownership of the coastal area, put all claims through the High Court, and repeal customary marine title, while affirming customary rights has picked up 18,614 signatures. We need your support. The petition may be signed at http://chng.it/stXwrrtFLY Even if you have signed, you may follow the link to ask your social media friends.
What’s happening at Ihumatao?
Who knows what our government will do with Ihumatao under the cover of the Covid-19 scare when everyone has been ordered to stay at home. Our petition for the Government to allow both Te Kawerau a Maki and Fletchers to proceed with their lawful business, has collected 2951 signatures. If you have not done so already, please sign our petition at http://chng.it/xPN6P55k
Frequently asked questions
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