LEAD: Warning to thugs

HINERANGI VAIMOSO
UNTIL Henare O'Keefe took the stage after yesterday's Hawke's Bay hikoi, he had remained cool and calm.
The usually smooth-talking Hastings district councillor and march organiser was reduced to silence and tears when he stepped up to see the entirety of the masses who were eager to say "Enough is Enough" to violence in the community.
More than 2000 people packed the Hastings city centre yesterday to round off what was the most overwhelming community response local MPs and councillors have seen.
Mr O'Keefe's call to arms came after his daughter's partner, Simon Campbell, was beaten this month during an attack in their Flaxmere home.
His daughter, Rebecca O'Keefe, was forced to hide in a room with their baby.
"My faith has been restored in mankind today," Mr O'Keefe said, as people clapped, cheered and wiped away tears.
"No amount of legislation, no number of social workers or policemen can substitute what has happened here today.
"God bless everyone and thank you for coming."
While Mr O'Keefe is widely known as the "ambassador of love", an all-round nice guy and foster father to nearly 200 children, he apologised on behalf of all parents who had deprived children of proper role models.
"To our children, I want to say I'm sorry. If you have been hurt in any way, shape or form, I'm so sorry," he said as he and many in the crowd shed more tears.
"This country is littered with fathers. But there's not a hell of a lot of daddies. Where have they gone?"
He then laid a challenge to the hundreds of children and teens in the crowd to stand up and break the cycle.
Mr O'Keefe told his family they were the unsung heroes of the cause, the "sacrificial lambs", and the "catalyst for action".
National MPs Chris Tremain and Craig Foss and Labour MPs Russell Fairbrother and Rick Barker were short and sweet on delivery, with strong messages of hope.
Mr Foss referred to the many "deaf ears" in Parliament who needed the 2000-strong alarm clocks that turned out yesterday to push for tougher sentencing.
"We're going to reclaim our homes, family by family, child by child, neighbour by neighbour, home by home," Mr Foss said.
"Today's the day we harden up on those who try to make our lives hell."
Perhaps the most direct speech came from Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who was unequivocal about where the blame lay for much of the violence.
"To the Mongrel Mob, we are heartily sick of this," Mr Yule said.
"This community is not going to tolerate this type of behaviour we have experienced in the last four weeks.
"You live in our community, you have for the past 50 years.
"Behave yourselves because this community is not going to accept it any more.'