The Northland town of Kaikohe and surrounding rural areas are in the grip of a worsening methamphetamine crisis, a Ngāpuhi leader says. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
A drugs and social crisis afflicting Northland is deepening, a Northland iwi leader warns - including the tripling of methamphetamine use in just one year.
Mane Tahere, chairman of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi, said urgent government intervention is needed to stem the tide of violent crime, family harm, and "the devastating impact of methamphetamine use".
"In the past few weeks alone, we've seen three homicides and countless incidents involving drugs, highlighting the severity of the situation," Tahere said.
The crisis was not new but it was getting worse, he said.
Wastewater testing carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) had confirmed Northland's status as the 'methamphetamine capital' of New Zealand, as well as showing a sharp rise in use in the past year.
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ESR found on average 326g of meth was consumed per week in Northland during the first quarter of 2024.
That figure climbed steadily throughout the year, more than tripling to 1117g by the fourth quarter - making Northland's per capita use the highest in the country.
Figures for 2025 were not yet available.
Ngāpuhi chairman Mane Tahere speaks during an earlier rally in Kaikohe (file photo). Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Tahere said ESR's findings backed up his own observations and reports from concerned marae around Te Whare Tapu o Ngāpuhi ["the sacred House of Ngāpuhi", or Ngāpuhi's tribal area].
Marae representatives had told him they were struggling with whānau on meth taking over buildings within their communities and brazen thefts of hot water cylinders, water pumps and copper piping.
"Last Thursday, I was driving through Kaikohe and saw a youth openly partake in meth… It's really becoming quite visual."
Tahere said Armed Offender Squads callouts and three homicides in Kaikohe and Whangārei in recent weeks were all linked in one way or another to poverty, drug use, or other social determinants of crime.
As bad as they were, Tahere said the official figures for meth use only told half the story.
In the valleys around Kaikohe, where the problem was particularly acute, people relied on septic tanks so drug use was not picked up by wastewater plant testing.
The many factors compounding the problem included the increasing cost of living, funding and service cuts, and an under-resourced police force.
Tahere said family members had alerted police to escalating violence days before last month's homicide at Mangakahia Road, south of Kaikohe, but officers were unable to respond until it was too late.
"With only six officers on duty at any given time to cover vast areas like Kerikeri, Paihia, Kawakawa, Kaikohe and Hokianga, the safety of our people is at risk… That's a huge concern."
An iwi leader says Kaikohe police are not resourced to deal with the area's drug and social problems. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Tahere said existing government programmes such as Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) took the right approach by combining social and economic intervention with targeted enforcement.
However, support needed to be "ramped up" and the funding, currently administered by the Ministry of Social Development and police, should be provided directly to iwi.
Tahere said iwi organisations already had people on the ground, had the local connections needed to be effective, and knew where the problems were.
"We have local NGOs and over 200 staff from Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi Group working tirelessly to combat these issues, but more resources are urgently needed," he said.
"We need the proper resources to empower our whānau, marae, and hapū to fight this epidemic. We're ready to escalate this work but we need the government to stand with us," he said.
Only then would Ngāpuhi be able to "really move the dial" on the meth crisis, he said.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell sad he acknowledged Ngāpuhi's concerns, whch had been raised with him directly.
"I also acknowledge the role our local community leaders and Iwi play, alongside police, to address these issues. I welcome the opportunity to discuss in person," he said.
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