Let’s talk gangs

• In 2024/25, at the Royal Commission on State Abuse, Luxon and Stanford were informed that gangs in Aotearoa New Zealand started from Abuse in Care victims, who had suffered violent sexual and physical abuse. This is not to excuse any criminal acts, but to understand the context and placement of trauma and abuse in society.
• It’s not enough to keep demonising and attacking gangs by itself. It’s important to find those pockets of people who want to leave gang life, and/or find a place that will facilitate rehabilitation.
• It was National that first thought of the idea of allocating funds for gang rehabilitation – but when Ardern implemented it, Luxon and Seymour used it to attack her as “giving money to gangs” – that was never the point, it was to facilitate the recovery from.
• If we’ve learned anything from the USA, it’s that punishment and violence is not the answer to punishment and violence. Circuit breakers must be multi-faceted, contextual and above all nuanced if we are to succeed.
• As John Key’s Chief Science Advisor said, crime is a multi-generational, complex issue that requires us to apply understanding and alleviate poverty, and that incarceration of one is the surest contibutor to their children becoming criminals later in life.

By the way, talking about gangs:

• Luxon and Mitchell artificially reduced gang numbers on the Register, while screeching “It’s not about the friggin’ targets” when asked about it
• Gang members now surpass police numbers, even with the culling, while gangs make doubled profits in a a rapidly escalating meth and cocaine crisis (200-300% up)

Last night, I watched a TVNZ news piece about the dire state of our hospitals. The reporter ended it with essentially: “This is a problem of decades and all political parties are at fault”

I couldn’t believe, but also could, she completely ignored the 12 month plus of doctor/nurse hiring freeze by this government, the funnelling of hundreds of millions to private healthcare while letting our public health get dismantled.

That’s “media” – and media driven by profs and advertising as its primary North Star. That all said, we all have our own agency, each of us, so if the National government gets in, I’ll be disappointed but not … disappointed in that Kiwis made our choice, for better or worse, this is it.