Why New Zealand Has So Many Gang Members
“For a quiet country, New Zealand has a peculiar problem with gangs. It is reckoned to have one of the highest membership rates in the world. In a population of 4.7m, police count over…
Tag Archives: Black Power
Other Side of Paradise
“New Zealand, a country that routinely tops international lifestyle indexes, may not be the first place you would associate with gang culture – but violent gangs have deep roots in society,” Rebecca Kesby writes…
Honour the Past, Enjoy the Present, Prepare for the Future
I love this time of the year in Hawke’s Bay, although it’s been a little bit different than usual weatherwise. I don’t know if these are natural portents of times to come or results…
Love is the word for Mumday
We are in what looks to be the last few weeks of a protracted ‘Indian Summer’ in the Bay. It’s been very dry. We’ve had a few ‘close to frost’ mornings which killed the…
Let He Who is Without Sin
When I was a young activist in Wellington I attended a function in Auckland at which the lead presenter was a bloke from Brazil called Paulo Freire. At the time I was much into…
Debating the Warrior Gene
The Mongrel Mob feature in an episode of BAFTA award-winning BBC documentary Ross Kemp on Gangs, in which Kemp explores the history of the gang, formed in Hastings in the 1960s. He follows members…
“Those that have ears let them hear”
In the wake of the tumult and tragedy of the past week with the murder of 2 year old Jhia Te Tua a journalist asked me about the good side of gangs. I told…
Road Trippin’
Welcome to the world my new mokopuna Bella O’Reilly and Te Roera Junovich. Welcome to Aotearoa the land of your mums’ and dads’. Thank you …
