Cyclone Gabrielle: Police minister Stuart Nash told Hawke’s Bay residents are arming themselves during post-cyclone crime outbreak

Some residents are prepared to arm themselves to defend their property during a post-Cyclone Gabrielle crime spree, a public meeting heard on Tuesday night.

Police Minister Stuart Nash, who is also the Napier MP, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise, Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and Police Superintendent Jeanette Park were among 200 people at the public meeting held at Crab Farm Winery, in Bay View, Napier.

Organisers of the meeting made it clear they did not want the meeting politicised. They said the intent of the meeting was to share truthful stories and feelings relating to safety issues within the community.

“Our community needs to get factual because there’s been lots of rumours. I’m sick of people saying that it’s not really that bad when we know it is,” said organiser and Bay View resident Louise Parsons. “You’ve got people wanting to bear arms, it’s not about bearing arms - it’s just about wanting to be safe.”

Multiple people at the event criticised the use of the 105 Police number, saying that it was “useless”, and reporting crime online had been frustrating due to widespread communication outages across the region.

Some residents also spoke about organising rostered shifts to patrol their communities. Others spoke of how they feared for their family’s safety and had considered moving.

“I feel less safe in Napier than I did in London,” said a recent expat who had moved to Hawke’s Bay with his family.

Another resident commented that when he went to buy ammunition for hunting at his local store, “they had virtually sold out of shotguns”.

“A lot of people are armed, and you are dreaming if you think we’re not.”

Locals commended the first responders on the ground, saying that the local police force were “heroes”, but criticised the role of the Government response as they felt like it was “working over them and not with them”.

Police Superintendent Jeanette Park, Napier MP Stuart Nash and Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise at a public meeting about crime concerns following Cyclone Gabrielle. Nash did not speak at the meeting, but made it clear he was there to listen. Photo / Paul Taylor

Nash and other community leaders did not speak at the meeting, or respond to speakers who said they would arm themselves because of what they say is an opportunist crime wave in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle which has devastated the region.

After the meeting, Nash told Hawke’s Bay Today he agreed there were still widespread safety issues across the region.

“There were some very harrowing stories there and I absolutely agree that people need to feel safe in their homes in these heightened times of stress,” he said.

“I buy into the fact that in hindsight we could’ve done some things differently. I’m going to sit down with the district commander tomorrow and look at what can be done immediately and then we can look at what lessons can be learned for future times.

“I also acknowledge that having the Police Commissioner coming out and saying ‘What are you talking about, stats haven’t changed,’ is probably the wrong message to the people of Whirinaki and Bayview.”

More than 2000 people in mainly rural areas are still without power, and hundreds of homes have been abandoned since flooding swept the region.

Cherie Kurarangi - Wahine Toa Mongrel Mob women's chapter - was among those at a public meeting to discuss crime concerns following Cyclone Gabriel. Photo / Paul Taylor