Photo: 123RF
The chair of Te Runanga nui o Ngāpuhi said nothing is off the table including "Ōpōtiki-style" drug raids to crackdown down on methamphetamine use in his rohe.
Ngāpuhi chairman Mane Tahere speaks during an earlier rally in Kaikohe (file photo). Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Mane Tahere met with Police Minister Mark Mitchell yesterday to discuss how police will respond to a methamphetamine crisis fuelling violent crime in the region.
Mitchell told RNZ's Morning Report programme gang crackdown similar to those in Ōpōtiki would be used to tackle the issue.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has met with Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi about an increase in violent crime and family harm. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
"The police and iwi know who they are, and we're going to start a targeted programme," he said.
Speaking to RNZ, Mane Tahere said methamphetamine use was becoming "normalised" in the North and some residents had "turned a blind eye".
"I get marae talking to me about it, whānau [and] I see it myself on the streets."
"I think what is called for here is some sharp disruption, raising of the consciousness and some action on all fronts, not just policing. It has got to be community, iwi and Māori-led [because] no one is immune."
Last year, Ōpōtiki-based iwi Te Whakatōhea made claims children were left to fend for themselves in the aftermath of the raids and called on police and government to work closer with Māori should similar police activity take place again.
Tahere confirmed raids, similar to those in Ōpōtiki, were mentioned in the meeting and said Ngāpuhi and the minister would meet over the next few weeks to "throw everything on the table".
"What is important here is the recognition that meth is desecrating our whakapapa, our homes and sacred places.
"It's time to stand up, speak out and reclaim our future [because] meth has no place up North."
With that in mind, Tahere said, whatever solution came out of talks with the police would be "multi-faceted" and needed to fit the short, medium and long-term health of the North.
"We're rangatira people and [meth] aint a rangatira kaupapa. These are the disruptive strategies that we have to deploy.
"Come on whanau, we know who's doing it and who's behind it. We come from giants, Rangatira, so let's start acting like it."
He said the community would have a big role to play in stamping out addiction and distribution.
"Get off the gear and get some help. If you're involved with distribution, go get lost.
"I know the reality, I actually know these people, and it's a hard conversation when you have to stand up to your own.
"At the same time, there is kindness and manāki that needs to be deployed," Tahere said.
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