Heavyweight with Dave Letele screens on Thursday, August 3, 8.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+. Photo / Supplied
Heavyweight with Dave Letele screens on Thursday, August 3, 8.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+. Photo / Supplied
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says legal drugs, alcohol and illegal substances such as methamphetamine in South Auckland are keeping the boys on the beat busy, and wonders if allowing so many booze outlets in poorer areas is good for the community.
In an interview for Heavyweight with Dave Letele, which screens on Thursday on TV2, Coster tells the community advocate Letele that alcohol and drugs are at the heart of social problems and behind most family harm call-outs.
Friday, Saturday and now Sunday are big call-out nights for police in that region.
“But for drugs and alcohol, we wouldn’t see a large proportion of what it is that we see, that police deal with,” Coster said.
He said because bottle shops are peppered throughout the South Auckland region like dairies, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are especially busy.
“If we look at Counties Manukau, there are so many liquor stores scattered around, in communities, like corner diaries,” he said.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster: "People get angry, people hurt each other." Photo / Melissa Nightingale
“That harm we see, well — right through the week but particularly Friday, Saturday nights, Sunday — we are going to families where there’s been alcohol consumed for long periods of time. People get angry, people hurt each other.”
Whilst other shows have touched on the impact of alcohol and illegal drugs in New Zealand, in Heavyweight with Dave Letele, Letele (Ngāti Maniapoto-Samoa) views the issues through a Maori-Pasifika lens and as someone who has battled his own issues with drugs and alcohol use.
He has seen the impact on family members and whānau first hand.
Letele’s dad was the president of the Auckland chapter of the Mongrel Mob and he could easily have followed into the gang life, but has battled his own demons to stay on the straight and narrow.
Like Coster, Letele is also concerned about the number of bottle shops in South Auckland and was surprised by Coster’s reaction.
“You go into any deprived area and look at the difference in liquor stores, bars on the window — ‘looks like s**t’ — and they are on every street corner like a dairy,” Letele said.
”I admired Commissioner Coster’s honesty about the drugs and alcohol in South Auckland.
“But how can this be allowed to continue?
Coster added: “Meth is a huge problem. Latest data shows 14kg of meth consumed a week in NZ (July-September 22 data) causing social harm of about $15 million per week. Very significant and much more acute in areas that are already dealing with a range of other problems.”
New Zealand ranks in the top five for meth use, according to a 2022 Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission report on wastewater testing from 28 countries.
“The impacts of alcohol are highest in poorer, more-disadvantaged communities. Research shows that higher alcohol density increases the likelihood of drinking to excess. Density is higher in lower socio-economic areas. And so a cycle perpetuates. That density and proximity to alcohol outlets are related to a range of indicators of harm.”
Heavyweight with Dave Letele, Thursday, August 3, 8.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+
Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for 12 years for Te Whānau o Waipareira.
