Why the hating on Mongrel Mob drug rehabilitation programme best sums up the gleeful ignorance of NZ
The collapse of the Mongrel Mob rehabilitation programme says more about New Zealand’s addiction to performative punishment than it does about gangs. Because once people heard “Mongrel Mob”, most stopped listening to whether the programme actually worked.
I think that the vast chunk of Kiwis who were screaming about funding a Mongrel Mob meth rehab programme never knew where the money came from.
They were furious that taxpayer dollars were being spent on rehab programmes for the people who were peddling the meth in the first place.
That narrative structure was difficult to counter, especially because it wasn’t true.
The money was never taxpayer money
What most didn’t understand was that the money wasn’t taxpayer dollars but was instead from the misuse of crime fines.
This was gang money paying for gang rehab.
And did the programme work?
Yes.
That’s the uncomfortable part for many people.
It actually worked.
What really happened at Mongrel Mob’s methamphetamine treatment programme
The Mongrel Mob-run Kahukura programme tackling methamphetamine addiction became a political football, funded by Dame Jacinda Ardern’s Government, and cancelled under Christopher Luxon’s. Senior writer Derek Cheng looks at what actually happened. Did it succeed?
…spoiler alert, it worked.
But that’s the point.
It didn’t matter that it worked.
It didn’t matter that the funds were from the proceeds of crime and not tax dollars
All that mattered is that it was closed down because National wanted to look tough on crime and the angry rednecks who love that bullshit just wanted to see Gangs get the bash rather than a rehabilitation service that actually worked for them.
National would rather look tough than reduce harm
My fear about this Government is that they are incapable of differentiating between Mongrel Mob, Comancheros and 501 syndicates.
Getting angry criminals off drugs using money collected from selling drugs is a smart use of money to target and tackle the worst agents of addiction.
Burning the programme to the ground for counterproductive outcomes just to win the publicity war highlights how far we have yet to go to be able to have adult discussions on the nuance of crime and punishment.
We keep demanding solutions to meth addiction, violent crime and social collapse — right up until somebody proposes a solution involving people we despise.
Then suddenly rehabilitation becomes politically unacceptable.
That contradiction tells you everything about how shallow New Zealand’s “tough on crime” debate really is.
Maybe they should have called it by white supremists for white supremists then government would have doubled the funding
Some kiwis are bloody naive you can’t change people without help and help needs resouces and resources cost money. The money used to help meth use and issues comes from the proceeds of crime namely meth. Why has the current government taken almost three years to do this. Oh! that’s right it’s almost election time.