How many times in the past have National promised to sort the gangs?
“Apparently an opinion survey by Ipsos showed that the public now views National as the party most capable of managing the crime/law issue.”
Bryce Edwards – Political Roundup 15/07/2022
Let’s not forget The National Party has spent more time in Government than any other party since they were formed in 1936 through an amalgamation of the Reform and Liberal parties, which had previously been in government until a major loss to Labour hence the decision to unite. In 2020 National had held office for 47 years longer than any other party.
For most of the 20th century, National was more often in government than out of it.
In July 2010, in an address to the National Party Conference, John Key said he was, “…proud to be leading a government that is making New Zealand a better place.” Later in the speech he said, “We’ve declared war on P and we’re cracking (presumably no pun intended) down on the gangs that sell it.”
This was illustrated in a great cartoon ‘Gangs’. “*#@* ferocious pussy cats eh bro?” There is a gang member and his dog peering over a huge fence, topped with barbed wire, with the word ‘Gangs’ painted on it, and comment sarcastically on three cats on the footpath who represent ‘Councils’, ‘National’ and ‘Labour’ which purr, meow and hiss gently. There is a newspaper on the footpath with the headline ‘We’d crack down on gangs- Key’.
https://digitalnz.org/records/23219318/gangs-ferocious-pussy-cats-eh-bro-12-may-2008
Nor should we forget National Leader Simon Bridges in late November 2019, declaring that under his prime ministership his government would disrupt and harass gangs every single day he was in the job! Hmm, how did that go?
Interesting fact: Rob Muldoon liked drinking with the gang members and was a patron of Black Power. At his funeral in 1992, Black Power performed a haka in Sir Robert’s honour!
So, the current Police Minister, Chris Hipkins tells us the government wants to “…hit gangs where it hurts.” He does go on to say that they need to engage young people with something useful to do to keep them out of trouble. Ya thunk!? Of course, just recently National’s Leader Chris Luxon has announced they would introduce a jobs coaching scheme and that it should be run by Iwi. Good grief, is sense starting to prevail? Do you think he and Hipkins might get together, share their thinking, and create a jointly supported plan? Or will they use the topic for political fisticuffs?
You may think that I am a Labour supporter having a go at National. Not the case.
My comments simply illustrate that governments overtime have always been making promises when the Gangs profile became politically uncomfortable, that are clearly superficial political survival answers, focused on symptoms but not causes.
Ironically, the most intelligent and ‘cause’ focused comment has come from Denis O’Reilly of Black Power. He argued that gangs are symptoms of much deeper problems, many of which stem from our history as a country and that they arise from colonialism, neoliberalism, and socioeconomic inequality.
And that is not the first time he has commented, endeavouring to bring sense and perspective to the ‘issue’ of gangs. In 2017 he talked about ‘gangs being convenient whipping boys’ in an interview with Dale Husband. In that piece Denis notes that back in 1984, “Phil Goff called me into his office and said: We’re not going to be funding bad New Zealanders into work when good New Zealanders aren’t in work.”
https://e-tangata.co.nz/korero/denis-oreilly-the-gangs-have-been-convenient-whipping-boys/
Dale notes, “Social scientists can look back at that time and see that, when the work schemes stopped, the prison population began climbing. And that’s what we still live with today. When all the work schemes were pulled away, the boys became criminalised a fair bit and we are still cursed by that now.”
I suggest we stop playing politics, repeating the continuous political failures, and start the simple process of root cause analysis to deal with the problem, and not the politically convenient symptoms.
The importance of open, considered debate and discussion on any topic cannot be underestimated. It helps us learn and understand. Putting forward ideas & even provocative thoughts takes courage & care. Receiving other & opposite opinions takes patience & understanding. Doing all of that well creates a continuous, exciting & exhilarating learning environment.
It is okay for rational disagreement, and regardless of how confronting, dignity, not their politics, illustrates the better person, .
