Mob rule' won't be tolerated

The Te Rangi Aniwaniwa school community has vowed to stand against 'mob rule' following an incident in Kaitaia's main street on Friday evening, when 10 teenage girls were accosted by what police described as some 20 drunk 'kids.'

One of the students told the whanau, "They ran out of the park and asked us if we wanted to fight. I said leave us alone, we just want to go home. Two boys ran ahead of us and stopped us. One of them said 'This is my town.' I was grabbed by the hair and I was punched in the face many times. I was crying. I just heard a lot of yelling and I couldn't see anything.

"A bystander who tried to intervene was beaten by some boys in the group while his wife and children were in the car."

The "ugly mob" then turned on themselves, but one of of the "mob" followed the girls and hurled insults at the parents, saying 'You can't touch me. I'm underage.'

Infuriated whanau members met at Te Rangi Aniwaniwa on Tuesday evening; "All our children have a right to walk around Kaitaia safely, without fear of being assaulted or intimidated," one said.

"These girls are our taonga and should not be subjected to this kind of treatment. If the police are undermanned we will have to look after our kids ourselves."

Concerns were expressed that younger students, identifiable by their uniforms, would be targeted, and criticism of the police, who had reportedly regarded the incident as a drunken brawl and told everyone to go home, was expressed to iwi liaison officer Te Uri Reihana.

The police were seen to have done little to intervene, although three arrests were made. Several of the victims would be lodging formal statements.

Meanwhile, for the next month Te Rangi Aniwaniwa whanau will take specific safety measures to protect the students, and will encourage other whanau and schools to consider doing the same.

A fathers' support group will patrol Kaitaia on Friday nights to keep all youth safe; all children will be delivered to and picked up from events, practices, movies and doctor appointments in Kaitaia; children will not be permitted to walk to McDonald's after sports.

The kura will gather the names of those who attacked the girls on Friday night, and nominated whanau members will endeavour to meet with their parents in a bid to curb their behaviour.

Kura whanau have undertaken to support each other, and remain disciplined while police charges are processed. Parents will monitor Facebook, and shut down anything that may fuel retaliation, and Aniwaniwa students have been advised to stay out of Kaitaia over the school holidays.

"Kia kaua nga tamariki e whakahihi ki etahi atu," the whanau said in a statement released after the hui.

Meanwhile the whanau are calling a community hui and a 'Reclaim the Town' march on Friday next week (July 19). Everyone will be welcome to rally in the old Pak'nSave carpark, to walk to Jaycee Park and reclaim it for the community.

The hui also raised a series of questions, including Who is supplying alcohol to the children? Where are the parents of drunken youths? How bleak is the town's future if the mobs are not dismantled? Can the broken lights in the park be replaced so people can feel safe? Should the community wait for a fatality before it stops out-of-control behaviour?

"Most kids are sensible; walk away from your mates. Only ugly people and losers do things like this," a whanau spokesman said.

"Lastly, a final warning - no one is to touch our kids again."