Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the "growing problem" of methamphetamine use wasn't unique to New Zealand. Photo: AFP/ Juan Pablo Pino
A Northland iwi leader is sounding the alarm over what he calls an escalating crisis of methamphetamine use and he wants urgent help from the government to help deal with it.
Chairman of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi Mane Tahere said government intervention was needed to stem the tide of violent crime, family harm and "the devastating impact of methamphetamine use".
Tahere raised the community's concerns in a letter to government ministers and was organising a meeting with Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
He described the current situation as a "worsening crisis" and told Morning Report that increases in drug use were compounded by Northland's existing social deprivation.
The solution therefore needed to be multi-pronged, he said.
"Everyone has to play their part in the worsening crisis that we see.
"You just have to spend a few minutes in one of the main centres and you'll see some kind of incident that's fuelled by either drug abuse or one of those compounding issues."
He wanted to see a crackdown on supply but also an increase in wraparound social services to try and help those using drugs to come off them.
"For us, what we're really wanting is an increased focus by central government.
"Sit with us and really excel the social investment pipeline."
The community also needed to start calling people out, he said.
"There's no secret and we need to speak up about it ourselves, around the supply and who's doing it."
In a statement to RNZ, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the "growing problem" of methamphetamine use wasn't unique to New Zealand, and that he was looking forward to discussing the issues in Northland in person.
"I acknowledge the concerns raised by Ngāpuhi and the role our local community leaders and iwi play, alongside police, to address the issue."
Police's Northern Districts Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said methamphetamine caused significant harm, especially in regional communities, and police were aware of the matters raised by Ngāpuhi.
"Bringing the community together to confront these issues is the only way we will begin to address them.
"We welcome conversations about how to work together to solve these issues, and how best to deploy our resources so our community feels safe and is safe," she said.
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