Former Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira with part of the "border crew" conducting checks at Waiomio, south of Kawakawa on State Highway 1. Photo / supplied
Former Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira with part of the "border crew" conducting checks at Waiomio, south of Kawakawa on State Highway 1. Photo / supplied
OPINION
In the beginning
We started checkpoints in the north because we wanted to help protect our kaumātua and kuia, our whānau, hapū, iwi and our communities, Māori and Pākeha, from Covid-19, by stopping people and turning back those who pose a threat to our health and wellbeing. And we also did it because we knew nobody else would do it for us.
We didn't ask anyone for permission, but right from the get-go we worked with Police Inspector Rick Whiu, Iwi Liaison Officers (ILOs) and local police, and while the relationship wasn't always great, it was always open and honest.
The first checkpoint at Waiomio went really well thanks to police resources and personnel, and the publicity from that saw other communities take up the challenge to do something themselves or ask us for assistance.
Within a month checkpoints had been established at Ngataki, Waitiki, Kaeo, Matauri, Waitangi, Kaikohe, Mangakahia, Opononi/Omapere, Rawene/Kohukohu, Mangamuka, Panguru, Pawarenga, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Kaimaumau, and other locations across the north.
There were concerns about how checkpoints were initially run (we'd never done it before, everyone was a volunteer, no training, no gear, no resources, and a public engagement strategy that wasn't too flash). But with regular advice from ILOs, cones and signs from traffic mates, whirlwind tours to talk to crews about what to say, how to say it, and who to say it to, and PPE gear from friendly sources, we ended up with really positive teams delivering a message of protection and safety, right across the north.
Joint iwi/police checkpoint at Waiomio, south of Kawakawa. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Sure we got complaints, but given the level of racism in Northland and the fact that all of the checkpoints were kaupapa-based, Māori led, and iwi supported, it's no surprise that most complaints came from Pākeha offended that Māori would dare to stop them travelling out of their level 4 zones.
Matt King and other National MPs used the checkpoints to kickstart their election drive, and their campaign was ugly, mean-spirited and malicious.
They didn't talk to police about how checkpoints helped keep rural communities safe; they moaned about "vigilantes", "gangs" and "illegal roadblocks" instead. They whined about police for working with us, they whinged about iwi for supporting us, and they attacked our crews who'd put their own health on the line and worked hard every day to keep their old people safe.
And while they talked of many complaints, not one led to any more than advice and assistance from the police.
And they never once mentioned how Pākehā were breaching level 4 every day – travelling out of zone, travelling without paperwork, going fishing, going shopping in family groups, going to see friends, going to buy alcohol.
"Who the bloody hell do you Māoris think you are?" was one of the more polite comments we got, sneering, obscene language, racist abuse, closed fists, the fingers, speeding through checkpoints, bowling over the cones, nearly running people down – we had it all.
A senior policeman in Wellington rang me three weeks in to say he was surprised he'd had no complaints of abuse, and when I told him what we'd had to put up with, he burst out laughing! "No mate! I was talking about complaints against you!" We laughed, but the truth is our frontline people put up with a lot and never once retaliated.
And how many complaints? Two per cent at the start, 1 per cent by the end of level 4. We didn't lay complaints ourselves — we just turned them back with a smile and a wave!
Social worker Kim Ellice talks to a motorist at the Kaikohe checkpoint. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Support
Ninety-eight per cent of locals supported the checkpoints, and crews boasted daily of the sandwiches, cakes, fruit, hot meals, muffins, smoked fish, wild pork, coffee and tea that we got from everyone — aunties, cousins, Pākehā neighbours, even the police dropped kai off (and swooped back for lunch later!).
Every day whānau would toot their horns, give us the thumbs up, take the piss, or give us a positive yell, and that encouraged us to keep going.
And even though iwi were a bit slow to step up, Aupōuri and Ngāti Kuri gave full support from day one, Ngāpuhi and Whangaroa stepped up, and by level 3 we had full iwi backing. And that's as it should be.
In the same way that iwi are Treaty partners, so too do they have a role in helping protect our kaumātua, kuia, and whānau from Covid-19, and ensuring the Crown matches iwi endeavour with government resources. So it was great that at the start of level 3, Tai Tokerau Border Control, Te Kahu o Taonui (Tai Tokerau Iwi Chairs) and the NZ Police agreed to work together to run 24-hour checkpoints and Covid-19 community patrols across the north. We've built a really good rapport, and we've had huge support from Māori and Pākehā, and plaudits for our part in helping keep our Covid-19 statistics low.
Ngāti Kuri's Sheridan Waitai and Constable Leon Shepherd at a roadblock at Ngataki, about 50km north of Kaitaia. Photo / David Fisher
Māori and Covid-19
The Ministry of Health says the elderly, and people with underlying medical conditions, such as a compromised immune system, high blood pressure, liver disease, cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, respiratory problems and diabetes, are at greater risk of dying from Covid-19.
Tai Tokerau Māori are 34 per cent of the regional population, and they have high vulnerability to infectious diseases like Covid-19.
The population has significant deprivation and poverty. Education is largely decile 1, housing is poor and over-crowded, wages are low and unemployment is high. There is a major drug and alcohol problem, high domestic violence and suicide statistics among youth and higher than the national average across all age-groups.
Māori in the region suffer disproportionate rates of the comorbidities, including cancer, heart, respiratory, liver and kidney conditions, diabetes and obesity, that a disease like Covid-19 exploits.
They are also subject to racial discrimination and prejudice, including in health care. The cumulative impact is high weakened immunity, which all means that Tai Tokerau Māori are a fertile ground for Covid-19 to wreak havoc.
Our kaumātua, kuia and our communities are precious. They deserve our protection.
Levelling out
As we head towards level 2, checkpoints and our communities, whānau, hapū and iwi are already talking about what happens next week for whānau wanting to come home, locals wanting to travel, and outsiders wanting to come north. Do we stand down completely or keep working with the police?
So before anything else happens let me congratulate all those who stepped up to defend our communities on checkpoints across the Tai Tokerau.
Your dedication and commitment in the face of abuse and ill-will, through all hours of the day and night, in every kind of weather, and without two red beans to rub together, showed that when the going gets tough Māori can step up, and you have done your whānau, hapū and iwi proud.
Should Tai Tokerau face any threat to its safety and wellbeing in the future, we can look on these times as a guide to action.
To those who make the big calls — we will stand by your decision and support you in any way we can. We began this exercise to defend our people, and we will stay the course until that goal has been achieved. Let us know and we'll be there.
