Harawira draws the line at shooting

"I get threatened with violence, and I get death threats, but when somebody starts taking shots at my office then that's another matter altogether," Te Tai Tokerau MP and Mana Party leader Hone Harawira said after shots were fired at his electorate office in North Road, Kaitaia last week.

He had laid a complaint with the police in Kaitaia, but they had no major concerns yesterday that a seriously deranged gunman was prowling the streets.

A senior police spokesman said the damage appeared to have been done with a slug pistol, the chief suspect being an individual who had been seen in Kaitaia with such a weapon on more than one occasion prior to Mr Harawira's windows being targeted.

It was believed that three shots had been fired some time last Thursday night.

Mr Harawira said the safety of his staff, and the people who visited his office, was of huge concern to him, however.

"Politics can be a tough game, and you can get hardened against some of the nasty and mean-spirited attacks against you, but shooting into an office without knowing who might be inside is more than scary, it's life-threatening, and I hope the police catch the perpetrators soon," he said. "I've got a job to do, and I've got some very good staff helping me to do it, and we won't be put off by threats like this," he added.

Mr Harawira noted that the office was in a residential area, and just metres from a playcentre.

He was considering asking Parliamentary security to install tougher glass.