IWI leader sounds alarm about Northland’s drug crisis

Police minister Mark Mitchell said the “growing problem” of the use of methamphetamines is not exclusive to New Zealand.
Photo: AFP/ Juan Pablo Pino

A Northland Iwi leader is sounding the alarm about what he calls a growing crisis of methamphetamine use and he wants urgent government help to help deal with it.

The President of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi Ongāpuhi Mane Tahere said that government intervention was necessary to contain the tide of violent crime, family damage and “the devastating impact of the use of methamphetamine.”

Tahere raised community concerns in a letter to government ministers and was organizing a meeting with police minister Mark Mitchell.

He described the current situation as a “worsening of the crisis” and said Morning report that increases in drug use were aggravated by Northland’s existing social deprivation.

Therefore, the solution needed to be multi-finals, he said.

“Everyone has to play their role in the worst of the crisis we see.

“You just have to spend a few minutes in one of the main centers and you will see some kind of incident that is fed by drug abuse or one of these compound problems.”

He wanted to see an repression of supply, but also an increase in engaging social services to try to help those who use drugs to get out of them.

“For us, what we really want is a focus increased by the central government.

“Feel with us and really are the social investment pipeline.”

The community also needed to start calling people, he said.

“There is no secret and we need to talk about it, around the supply and who is doing it.”

In a statement to RNZ, police minister Mark Mitchell said the “growing problem” of the use of methamphetamines was not exclusive to New Zealand and that he was anxious to personally discuss the issues in Northland.

“I recognize the concerns raised by NGāpuhi and the role that our local community leaders and IWI play alongside the police to resolve the issue.”

The vice -compliance of the northern police districts, Jill Rogers, said the methamphetamine caused significant damage, especially in regional communities, and police were aware of the issues raised by NGāpuhi.

“Gathering the community to face these issues is the only way we will start approaching them.

“We congratulate you on conversations about working together to solve these problems and the best way to deploy our resources so that our community feels safe and safe,” she said.

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