By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting
Whanganui iwi leader Ken Mair has condemned political criticism of Green Party and Te Pāti Māori representatives who met with the Mongrel Mob.
Mair says the backlash over the visit to a Mongrel Mob pad near Auckland had focused on political optics rather than whether the meeting could help address the harm affecting communities.
The controversy raised “a fundamental question about the kind of leadership we expect in Aotearoa”.
“Real leadership is not measured by how loudly politicians condemn those who have been marginalised, ostracised or rejected by society,” Mair said.
“It is measured by their courage to stand amongst them, listen to their experiences, confront injustice, challenge harmful behaviour and help create genuine opportunities for change.”
Green MP Hūhana Lyndon, Green Party Māngere candidate Michel Mulipola, and Te Pāti Māori MPs Oriini Kaipara and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, attended a hauora (health) and wellbeing day hosted by the gang. News of the meeting emerged on social media posts last week.
Criticism from other political parties was swift.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins called the visit “bad judgment” and said MPs from those parties would not be given police or corrections ministerial roles if Labour was part of the next government.
National leader Christopher Luxon said politicians had to be “tough on crime” and “on the side of the victims”.
Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong said it was inappropriate for politicians to meet with gangs.
But Mair said engaging with gang members did not mean endorsing their behaviour.
“There must be no tolerance for violence, intimidation, the exploitation of vulnerable people or the destruction caused by methamphetamine,” Mair said.
“Victims deserve justice, protection and accountability.”
However, he said gang members were also parents, children and grandparents, and their tamariki and mokopuna should not be condemned to lives of exclusion because of the actions or associations of adults around them.
Accountability for violence and other harm could go hand in hand with efforts to create change, he said.
The meeting was described as a whānau, health and wellbeing hui, but Mair said public debate had largely centred on who attended and who appeared in photographs.
The more important questions were what was discussed, whether any commitments had been made and what opportunities existed to address the underlying causes of harm.
He cited figures including Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dame Tariana Turia as examples of leaders who engaged with marginalised people while challenging injustice and destructive behaviour.
Mair said those leaders understood that engaging with people did not mean accepting their wrongdoing.
“They recognised that lasting change comes through dialogue, dignity, courage and the willingness to confront injustice and destructive behaviour.
“Political leadership should not be about deciding who is worthy of being heard. It should be about having the courage to listen, to challenge, to understand and to create pathways towards a better future.”
Mair criticised what he described as political grandstanding, saying it was easier to condemn people from a distance than to engage with them directly and challenge them to change.
“You cannot heal communities by abandoning them. You cannot restore dignity by humiliating people. And you cannot build a better future for our mokopuna by refusing to engage with those who need change the most.”
Awa FM – Te Reo Irirangi o Whanganui
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