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Cabinet minister Shane Jones has accused Waitangi Day organisers of allowing gangs to use the day for recruiting.
Mr Jones said he was appalled to see Tribesmen gang members had set up in a tent next to Te Tii Marae and were giving away food and drinks.
It was thinly disguised use of Maori culture to recruit members.
He was also critical of the presence of a group of young gang members who were taken to Waitangi by older members. The trip - to reconnect the youth with Maori culture - had the approval of police iwi liaison officers.
But Mr Jones said he was "dubious" about whether such a trip would change gang behaviour and attitudes, suggesting it might be better to "take them straight to Ngawha Prison and short-circuit their inevitable journey".
"The adults who bring these young terrors north need to commit to disbanding gangs rather than trying to seduce northern iwi into believing that marae culture and gang culture can co-exist."
Denis O'Reilly, chairman of the Consultancy Advocacy & Research Trust which supported the trip, said Mr Jones was making cheap political points. "Every middle-class voter is going to nod, but is this showing good leadership? Is this really the answer for our country when under this Government we have more Maori in prison than we've ever had before?
"We do have a troublesome situation, but [Mr Jones] is just ceaselessly cracking at gangs. What's his answer?"
