How the Mongrel Mob became an issue in the NZ election

Politicians are not often seen with gang members, but it has been a different story ahead of New Zealand's general election next month.

A tit-for-tat scandal has forced parties on both the left and right to address photos of MPs and candidates alongside confirmed and alleged members of the notorious Mongrel Mob and other gangs.

Here is what we know about the controversies, the Mongrel Mob, the reaction and what impact it could have on the November 7 election.

It started earlier this month after photos were posted online of a meeting of Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party) and Green Party MPs and candidates with Mongrel Mob members at a "gang pad" in Auckland's south.

In an Instagram post, Māori Party MP Oriini Kaipara said the meeting was about "the health and wellbeing of the Mob community", adding that "being present doesn't mean endorsing everything".

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the party did not endorse violence or crime but would engage with gangs to better understand and address social issues.

The National and Labour parties criticised both minor parties, with the National Party saying they were courting gang member votes.

Then last week, a video emerged appearing to show Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni campaigning alongside Mongrel Mob members.

She said it was a whānau ("family") event attended by some gang members but resigned as Labour's candidate, complaining it had been "turned into a political weapon, used for political gain and media clicks". She now says she will sit as an independent if elected.

Soon after, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, the National Party's leader, was also forced to defend a photo of fellow MP Tama Potaka with Mongrel Mob members.

Mr Potaka told reporters he was asked for a picture by an old school friend in 2024. Mr Luxon said Mr Potaka was not campaigning at the time.

Mongrel Mob life member Harry Tam, who was at the event with the Greens and Māori Party, also posted two images.

One featured Mr Luxon himself with members of the Black Power gang. The prime minister said it was taken at an official event offering an apology from the Crown to survivors of abuse in state care.

The other showed Labour leader Chris Hipkins with a man Mr Tam said was a gang member. Mr Hipkins said he could not recall the photo, but noted the man was not wearing a gang patch, the displaying in public of which was outlawed in 2024.

The Mongrel Mob was formed in the 1960s and is the biggest street gang in New Zealand.

Greg Newbold, a University of Canterbury emeritus professor and gang expert, said they were known for illegal activities, including drug dealing, and had an "anarchistic" approach with no central structure.

"They have an ethos of 'all for one and one for all', and the central belief is total commitment to the gang," Mr Newbold said.

He said it had more than 1,000 patched members and could have a total membership of more than 3,000 people if associates and "prospects" were included.

He added that gangs were generally a product of poverty and "disaffection with mainstream society".

A New Zealand royal commission's report from 2024 found that historic abuse in state care had contributed to some gangs forming and abuse survivors joining them.

Members of the Mongrel Mob contacted by the ABC did not respond to requests to comment.

In a statement to the ABC, Mr Luxon from the National Party said law and order had become central to the campaign because the Labour Party was "soft on crime", and the Māori and Green parties wanted to associate with gangs.

Labour's Mr Hipkins said that the National Party wanted to talk about anything "except for the cost of living, health care and jobs, because … the National Party has failed on all three of them".

Independent victim advocate Claire Buckley works with victims of gang violence.

She was "furious" at the Green and Māori parties for meeting with the Mongrel Mob and said the victims she supports were "apoplectic".

"The fact that they went to the gang pad and had their photographs taken inside the gang headquarters says … 'we're not really here to talk about the hard questions, we're actually here just to have a chat and a cup of tea,'" Ms Buckley told the ABC.

She said she had no issue with politicians working to solve gang-related issues, but it needed to be done differently.

"Find out what it's going to take to get them out of the criminal and gang lifestyle … don't try to score political points by doing it and don't publicise it in a way that makes it seem like it's cool," she said.

"We struggle to get political traction for victims' rights, and yet it looks like these political leaders, of all stripes, are happy to get alongside these guys."

The Green Party declined to comment, and the Māori Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Richard Shaw, a professor of politics at Massey University, said the gang issue had been more prominent at this election than previous ones.

He described it as the "gift that keeps on giving" for New Zealand's political right, who had historically campaigned strongly on law-and-order issues.

However, he was not sure how much it would impact the election outcome, with the photos of the prime minister with gang members making it more "complex".

He said voters would more likely make decisions based on the cost-of-living crisis, an issue that had been pushed "to the sidelines to some degree" by the focus on gangs in recent weeks.

The cost and availability of housing had not featured as prominently at this election in comparison to the past three, he added, because houses had increasingly become more affordable for first-home buyers.

He said the political "tit-for-tat" on gangs was a "zero-sum game" that lacked thorough policies to address the problems related to them.

"I wouldn't characterise it as an evidentially informed policy discussion at this point. I'm not clear that we've ever had such a thing in the long history of gang-related policy," he said.