Police Minister is pleased with police raid on gang – but Waititi brings breast-fed babies and racism into considerations
The big headline-grabber yesterday was Local Government Minister Simeon Brown’s announcement of his intention to appoint a Crown Observer to Wellington City Council.
Among the flow of media reports were –
- Giles Dexter (RNZ): Will the Wellington City Council intervention set a precedent?
- Glenn McConnell (Stuff):What’s so bad about Wellington? Pressure on to see the advice to the minister
- RNZ:Wellington council intervention: Mayor Tory Whanau accepts appointment of Crown observer
- Bridie Witton (Stuff):How Wellington’s Tory Whanau responded on the worst day of her mayoralty.
But there were goodies among the ministerial announcements for those with a bent for law-and-order news, too.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell whooped that Police had dealt “a significant blow” to the Mongrel Mob Barbarians in Opotiki with the execution of over thirty search warrants across the North Island.
He thanked the police officers involved for the outstanding work that had led to arrests and the seizure of property and drugs as part of Operation Highwater, a 10-month investigation in response to violent crime and offending in the town.
Mitchell made no mention of the ethnicity of the gang members who were arrested.
We were given a big hint, however, when the Maori Party denounced the raid as “state-sponsored terrorism”.
Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi popped up in Parliament this afternoon to demand of Mitchell:
Is he confident that bias and structural racism in the police force, as was found in the Understanding Policing Delivery report, has no influence on the conduct of police during raids in Māori communities, such as the raids in Ōpōtiki yesterday?
Mitchell replied:
Yes. I totally reject the premise that there is systemic racism and bias in our police force. I want to again acknowledge the outstanding work done by our world-class police force in Ōpōtiki yesterday, giving Ōpōtiki the space to rebuild after years of dealing with misery that gangs have inflicted on the community. I’ve been to Ōpōtiki several times and have met with local iwi and hapū, the mayor and councillors, and senior gang leadership. All of them expressed to me a strong desire for the town to take a different path than the one that it was on, and I hope that yesterday will be the circuit-breaker Ōpōtiki needed.
Waititi had other concerns:
Rawiri Waititi: If this Government’s objective is to crack down on gangs, why, then, were tamariki, kaumātua, mothers breastfeeding babies subjected to the police raids yesterday in Ōpōtiki and now are fearful that police actions are targeted, calculated, and planned to create an unsafe environment?
Hon MARK MITCHELL: Well, we don’t want tamariki being in a gang environment. It’s not the police officers that choose to keep weapons and drugs in the houses; it’s those gang members that choose to do that. We know that there’s been too much intergenerational harm related to gangs in this country. We should all be motivated to addressing that. The police’s job is to crack down on the violence and the drugs and the misery that these gangs peddle in our communities.
Rawiri Waititi: How can Te Whakatōhea have confidence that the raid in Ōpōtiki yesterday was not premeditated to coincide with te hui ā-motu in Christchurch when Te Whakatōhea leadership was in attendance?
Hon MARK MITCHELL: Well, I’m sorry, but that’s starting to move into conspiracy theory territory. The reality of it is I know that the member sought reassurance from the commissioner, and the commissioner gave him reassurance that that wasn’t the case. I have visited Ōpōtiki personally myself because I love Ōpōtiki. I think that it’s a beautiful provincial town and a beautiful part of the country. I don’t think it wants to be known as a gang town. I’ve met with local iwi leaders and they feel exactly the same way, and we’re all joined up, we’re all motivated in making sure that Ōpōtiki becomes a safe community that isn’t known as a gang town and it can enjoy a strong reputation in our country.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters entered the fray to ask:
… is it not a fact that the greatest victims of gang crimes are in fact Māori, and particularly in Ōpōtiki?
Hon MARK MITCHELL: Yes, unfortunately, Māori are grossly overrepresented in victimisations, being 60 percent more likely to experience violent crime and more than twice as likely to be highly victimised. A lot of that sits inside the gangs, and that’s why we should all be motivated to try and fix the intergenerational gang harm that impacts our young people and our children. We should be trying to fix that.
Children’s Minister Karen Chhour sounded tough on law and order, too, after 13 young offenders had gained access to the roof of an Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence in Auckland and refused to come down.
The last two had come down when Chhour advised they “need to know there will be consequences for their actions”.
It will be a bit more than putting their names in her naughty book, by the sound of it. A stint in boot camp, perhaps?
Today it was Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee’s turn to step up to the law-and-order plate.
The Government will introduce a single supervisor and a new funding model in a major overhaul of New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system.
But is the regulatory burden being toughened – or lightened?
The question is prompted by McKee saying:
“The changes will deliver a critical Government priority to reform key sectors where the cost of regulation is overly burdensome for businesses and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the AML/CFT system to meet international standards.”
The Government is introducing the changes following a Financial Action Task Force evaluation of New Zealand’s regulatory regime and a subsequent review of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.
McKee explained:
A single-supervisor model will replace the current three-supervisor model and will establish the Department of Internal Affairs as the sole supervisor of the AML/CFT system. Currently, supervision of different parts of the AML/CFT system are overseen by the Reserve Bank, Financial Markets Authority, and Internal Affairs.
An AML/CFT National Strategy and work programme will be introduced as part of the funding model. Legislation will require any amendments to the levy to be informed by the National Strategy and work programme.
McKee’s statement is among several posted on the government’s official website in the past 24 hours:
Latest from the Beehive
23 October 2024
Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden responds to NZCTU’s protest across the country and says this Government is delivering for all workers, including the over 85 percent of
The Government is joining the UK’s Bletchley Declaration on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, and for Digitising Government Judith Collins says.
The Government will introduce a single supervisor and a new funding model in a major overhaul of New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system.
The Government has today started consultation on a 50 per cent reduction to the annual charge for forest owners participating in the Forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Registry.
The Government is ensuring New Zealand attracts and retains the workers and skills it needs by returning open work rights to partners of high-skilled migrants.
Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello and Minister for ACC Matt Doocey have announced today that the Government has invested over $21 million in additional funding into Hato Hone St John.
22 October 2024
Today, Police dealt a significant blow to the Mongrel Mob Barbarians in Opotiki with the execution of over thirty search warrants across the North Island.
“The young offenders involved in the rooftop incident at an Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence in Auckland need to know there will be consequences for their actions, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour says.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has today announced his intention to appoint a Crown Observer to Wellington City Council.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
No comments:
Post a Comment