Will I Vote? Of course. Democracy. My voice, your voice. We need as many voices as we can hear to question our politicians and aspiring leaders about our future…except that some National Party Cabinet Ministers are saying …. we will not talk election issues with gang members wearing gang patches. National Party leaders are verbally attacking other politicians who talk with gang members. You, me and politicians have the right to vote next month, so do gang members.
There are ex-criminals who were once part of the police force. But if I need help, I still call the police. Political parties have a mixed criminal and scandal heritage. In August 2024, a jury found Tim Jago, guilty of eight counts of indecent assault against two teenage boys he had mentored through a sports club between 1995 and 1999. He was subsequently jailed for two and a half years in November 2024. Tim Jago served as the President of ACT New Zealand and chaired its board from 2019 until his resignation in January 2023.
The National Party, if it wants, and probably does not want, will recall:
· Gilbert Myles: Convicted in 2011 for attempting to obstruct the course of justice. He served as an MP for National between 1990 and 2000.
· John Banks: Convicted in 2014 of filing a false electoral return, though this verdict was later overturned.
· Roger McClay: Convicted in 2010 for defrauding two charities.
Judith Collins was first elected to Parliament in 2002 as the National MP for Papakura and served for 24 years. She held portfolios, including Attorney-General, Minister of Justice, Corrections, Police, Transport, Defence, and Science, Innovation and Technology.
Do you remember the Oravida Conflict-of-Interest Affair? Her husband, David Wong-Tung, was a director of Oravida. Documents revealed that Oravida donated NZ$56,600 to the National Party around the 2011 election, after which her husband was appointed to the board. In 2014, journalist Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics revealed Collins had passed sensitive information to right-wing blogger Cameron Slater in an effort to undermine Adam Feeley, then the Director of the Serious Fraud Office. Collins resigned from Cabinet in August 2014, and consistently denied the allegations. An inquiry cleared her of directly attempting to undermine the director. She was restored to Cabinet in December 2015.
Other parties have had numerous scandals too. Labour, Green and smaller political parties. I could go on.
But this week it is National Party Cabinet Ministers shouting about gangs, patches, gang behaviour and isolating them from politics and communication with politicians. Many people joining gangs are young people without jobs, without job skills and exposed to all the vulnerabilities many young people have. And who are behind bars – more Maori than other NZers. Who live in the poorest houses – Maori. Who have problems with Pakeha style education? And many young Maori miss out on jobs altogether.
Do we help them or do we as a society continue to ignore these young people and pay $200,000 a year as taxpayers to just keep one young offender out of sight inside a prison. I don’t know how many gang members are behind bars? Fifty… perhaps a hundred? Do your arithmetic and ask yourself if we need to think and act differently about how we help or don’t help young people!!!!!! It’s a question to be answered today and everyday … not in three, five or ten years when “the economic future is secure.”
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