Black Power Auckland President “Puks” wants justice for those who were damaged by the state as children. Photo / Ben Dickens
Black Power Auckland President “Puks” wants justice for those who were damaged by the state as children. Photo / Ben Dickens
Warning: Includes details of sexual assault
The leader of Black Power Auckland has told the Herald redress for victims of historical state and faith abuse can’t just be about “shut up money”.
The final report from the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry will be released publiclyon Wednesday, more than five years after the terms of reference were first announced.
A joint submission from gangs to the commission, obtained exclusively by the Herald, details harrowing stories of abuse, where adults entrusted with the care of children normalised violence, and how those experiences led some to join or form gangs for “protection” and a sense of “family”.
The submission, Arewa Ake te Kaupapa, was the outcome of a hui last year attended by more than 200 gang whānau, including members of the Mongrel Mob, Black Power, Head Hunters and King Cobras.
“Gang whānau are a product of the state,” the submission states.
The Waitangi Tribunal estimates between 80% to 90% of Mongrel Mob and Black Power members spent time in state care.
The submission, compiled with help from Auckland University professor of indigenous studies Tracey McIntosh, said the state intervened in proven cases of abuse but there was also “systemic targeting” of some cohorts and neighbourhoods.
While some had loving home environments, many did not.
The submission said survivors came disproportionately from poor and Māori communities. Former government statistician, Len Cook, estimated that in the late 1970s, 7% of all Māori boys and 2% of all Māori girls were living in state institutions of some kind.
“For some, the family home was not safe, and too often neither were the state and faith-based institutions they were sent to,” the submission said.
One gang member was sent by the state to live with his uncle.
“One particular beating was so bad, my spirit honestly left my body. What saved me was falling under a table so he couldn’t continue to kick or hit me.”
Another revealed the sexual violence he encountered at Epuni Boys’ Home.
“I was actually raped. One would hold me down on one side, one would hold me down on the other side, bend me over and, you know. Nobody believed a word I said.”
A wahine gang member who detailed her experiences said her gang community gave her a sense of security.
“I was born and bred around the mob. It was safe. I was safe until I was put in the home and raped there.”
Black Power Auckland leader: “They thought it was normal”
“Puks”, the president of Black Power Auckland Aotearoa, met the Herald in South Auckland to discuss the implications of state abuse on gang whānau.
Black Power Auckland Aotearoa president “Puks” discusses state abuse. Photo / Ben Dickens
“How the hell is one meant to function in life generally? For a lot of them, the abuse and violence they went through, they thought it was normal,” he said.
Puks did not enter state care himself, but his wife did, and so did many whānau in his chapter. He said most suffered traumatic experiences.
He wants justice for those who were damaged as children.
“You can’t put any timeframe on things when it comes to pain and trauma. It takes as long as it takes. You know, the right measures need to be put in place, the full wraparound. Not just financial ‘shut up’ money.”
Puks led a wānanga focused on dealing with trauma at Matai Whetū marae near Thames on Friday.
In video provided to the Herald, he told a room of Black Power whānau that he knew many suffered “deep hurt” and acknowledged a lack of tools to navigate traumatic experiences.
“The old adage, ‘Shut your mouth and harden up’, well that may have worked for some. But for the majority, it doesn’t work. It don’t work.”
Puks, who “doesn’t like titles” like president, said he was trying to carve a new path for his chapter. He’s encouraging “those who are willing” to talk about their past to help the healing process.
“We have a lot of young bros; we have a lot of older bros too. It is open to all of them. Masculine vulnerability, there is nothing wrong with it, bro,” he said.
Puks had a transient life as a boy, living with family in various places around the North Island after his parents split up.
“The long-term effect was that we were unable to settle. So, we went through our younger years when it came to education and schooling shifting from school to school.”
He said the Black Power provided stability.
“Wrap around, aroha, a sense of belonging. You know, you felt secure.”
He admits to having brushes with the law, including being jailed for a home invasion. But he’s adamant he’s no longer involved in criminal activities.
“That isn’t happening now.
“I don’t belong to a criminal organisation. I belong to Black Power, to my family,” he said.
Feke Taito, former King Cobras member: “You become violent. Every answer is ‘smash him’”
Feke Taito became a ward of the state at the age of 13. He said violence became a way of life at Ōwairaka Boys’ Home.
Former King Cobras gang member Feke Taito in a Herald interview about state abuse. Photo / Ben Dickens
There was “Sunday boxing” in the recreation room, where he was ordered to beat up other boys who’d misbehaved. The housemasters would watch on, he said.
“It was entertainment [for the housemasters],” he said. “No gloves, just your fists. At the time it was about survival. It was either that kid or me.”
Prejudice also shaped his experience. He described the casual racism he encountered when he asked his social worker to fill out a form so he could see a dentist.
“She wrote it for me and gave it to me and said, ‘That is the problem with you people is that you don’t know how to use your toothbrushes’. In my head, I did not even know what that meant.”
Other interactions just didn’t feel right. He said his housemaster would stand outside the showers when boys left the cubicles.
“You stand there and there’s this white man standing with a towel, and you know something is wrong here.”
When Taito left state care, he was in and out of jail for violence and burglaries. He formed a meth addiction which spanned 10 years.
He was charged with grievous bodily harm after leading a raid on a group of skinheads.
“A couple of their boys got put in a coma and I got put into jail.”
Taito has five sons, one daughter and 19 grandchildren. Four of his own boys spent time in jail too.
“The saddest thing about that was that one of my sons was born when I was in jail, and then his son was born when he was jail. And that is the intergenerational (issue) we’re talking about. We have got to break it. We have got to stop it.”
All his boys are now out of jail and working in jobs Taito helped set up upon their release.
Taito holds a university degree in sociology and Māori. For the past five and a half years he’s worked for the Royal Commission helping commissioners reach marginalised communities like gangs, prisoners, and LGBQIA+ people. He was instrumental in organising last year’s unprecedented gang hui on state abuse.
Black Power Auckland president “Puks” and former King Cobras gang member Feke Taito in South Auckland after discussing state abuse. Photo / Ben Dickens
Taito hopes resources like counselling and scholarships for young people are made available when the Government formally responds to the commission’s recommendations.
And he wants resources to be in the hands of those who know their communities best rather than completely state-controlled.
“It needs to be fair, it needs to be inclusive and it needs to accommodate a variety of services. A lot of our whānau work with each other. That is how you heal them.”
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won the best coverage of a major news event at the 2024 Voyager NZ Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald in July 2024.
