Residents confront Key over dead end comments

National leader John Key talks to residents from McGehan Close, Mt Albert, Auckland. Photo / Chris Skelton

National Party leader John Key has faced a barrage of criticism from residents of an Auckland street he labelled a dead end.

About 20 residents from McGehan Close, in Owairaka, confronted the MP today to view their anger at his comments.

My Key made the comments at his State of the Nation speech earlier this week where he said McGehan Close was symptomatic of a growing dead-end underclass. He added the street is terrorised by youth gangs and ingrained with hopelessness.

McGehan Close has been plagued by problems with gangs. Five years ago, a man was murdered during a night of ethnic brawling. More recently, two young people killed themselves in the space of a week.

However, the residents said Mr Key should have visited them before he made his comments and that put-downs will not fix the problem.

Who us? The 'underclass' of McGehan Close rises up