South Auckland community leaders hui on whānau safety over Christmas

Manukau Urban Māori Authority CEO Tania Rangiheuea

South Auckland community leaders met today to discuss how they each can help provide safety for their community over the Christmas period.

Manukau Urban Māori Authority Kaiwhakahaere Matua - Muma CEO, Tania Rangiheuea, hosted leaders and business groups at Nga Whare Waatea Marae this morning to discuss how they can help the South Auckland community over the Christmas holiday period because of the recent ram-raids and youth offending.

Rangiheuea invited local marae leaders, ethnic wardens, Pasifika wardens, NZCP (New Zealand Community Patrols), Māori wardens, NZ Police and also members of the Indian business community to gather and discuss how they could best work alongside one another to provide safety to the South Auckland community over Christmas.

The Nga Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere.

“A key issue that will be discussed is community safety - how we keep our community safe from violence and other serious incidents. The hui is for any significant incident that arises during the holiday season that requires a community response. The aim of the collective is to advocate community connectedness, i.e. Māori, Pasifika, Indian and others are seen to be working together as opposed to addressing incidences on their own”, Rangiheuea said before the hui.

She said community safety and how we keep our community safe from violence and other serious incidents were priorities, as Christmas can add even more stress on to struggling whānau.

“That is why the community patrols are on board, along with the Indian leaders, who are mobilising their people to team up with the community groups,” she said.

The collective will work with police and patrol main streets where incidences are likely to occur.