Dawn vigil follows twins' death

Police are to hold a torch-lit dawn vigil on a south Auckland hill next week to raise awareness about family violence.

The vigil on Mangere Mountain on Tuesday is in the same suburb as the house where three-month-old twins Chris and Cru Kahui were staying before they were taken to Middlemore Hospital with multiple injuries.

The babies died in hospital last Sunday.

Police have interviewed the twins' parents and still have to talk to about 12 family members who, they said, were being treated as witnesses, not suspects.

They have appealed to family members to tell them who caused the injuries.

Counties Manukau district commander Superintendent Steve Shortland and Maori Party MP Pita Sharples will head the vigil, due to begin at 5am.

Mr Shortland said the aim was to use Matariki, the start of the Maori New Year, to call for a new, united approach to combating family violence.

He said each torch would represent those killed as the result of family violence.

"It's a chance for everyone to reflect and gain an understanding of what the human cost is to the community if we let this violence continue," he said.

"We can't stand by and let children believe it is normal behaviour to see their father abuse their mother or for the children themselves to be on the receiving end."

Mr Shortland said family violence accounted for 42 per cent of emergency response calls and officers had dealt with over 10,000 family violence-related jobs in the past 12 months.

These jobs ranged from arguments over who was cooking the dinner to serious injury or homicide cases.

Of 12 homicides in the Counties Manukau area since last July, nine were domestic related.

Maori and Pacific Islanders made up 50 per cent of both offenders and victims in family violence cases.

- NZPA