Kaitaia community hoping to have Māori wardens patrolling again after hui

Māori wardens may soon be back on the streets of Kaitaia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Māori wardens could soon be patrolling Kaitaia streets again.

A hui last Saturday at Kaitaia Marae was attended by eight people interested in warden roles, with a further three, who were unable to attend, expressing interest on social media, marae secretary Margaret Thomas-Amani said.

Thomas-Amani said the idea of restarting the warden programme came after she realised there was a need for Māori wardens (wātene) in the community again. The hui was the second meeting about it.

“I found other people were missing the Māori wardens as a presence, their monitoring - the need in our community was quite vast.”

To become a warden, volunteers must have 200 hours of supervision in the role with a warranted wātene, meaning a large commitment from volunteers.

“We are formulating the Kaitaia faction again from interested individuals from the Kaitaia community but it is early days,” Thomas-Amani said.

“It is not a small task and takes ongoing commitment from those in our community who have the heart of all people at the core.”

A Māori warden group began in the Far North town in the late 1990s/early 2000s but wardens have now been absent for several years.

Thomas-Amani said it was important to get the younger generation participating, with age a possible factor in declining volunteer numbers.

Wardens traditionally operate out of a marae, Thomas-Amani said, and Kaitaia Marae - formerly the Kōhanga Reo whare on Pukepoto Rd - was used as a base.

There are about 900 Māori wardens around the country. They are supported by Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) and police, who provide training and uniforms.

Wardens have some legal powers and responsibilities under the Māori Community Development Act 1962. They provide security, support, traffic and crowd control, and first aid.

Māori wardens are established in other parts of Northland, including Kaikohe and Whangārei.

There have been increased calls for community patrols in the Far North in recent months, with crime in the district rising by 10 per cent in November, compared to the same month in 2021.

Kaitaia Business Association chairwoman Andrea Panther said Far North business associations had been lobbying since last year to have Māori wardens on the streets.

“All of us are wanting it, not just Kaitaia,” Panther said.

There had previously been concerns about safety with an ageing workforce of wardens, she added, and they needed to make sure they were not put at risk.