Deep Dive — Gang Run, Government Funded Rehab in New Zealand
News of the government funding a $2.75 million Mongrel Mob meth rehab program in Hawkes Bay broke yesterday. Since then, every article produced by the media has been sensationalist, emotionally charged and in some cases just plain wrong. This piece examines the facts of the program in an unbiased way, looking into those who are running it, where the money is coming from and what the program actually entails in the hopes of allowing the reader to form their own opinions, free from the spin that is pervasive in our media landscape.
So, what is actually happening? A company called Hard2Reach has received government funding for an inpatient rehab program based in the Te Tapairu marae in Waipawa. The aim of this program is to help meth users quit the drug and get back on their feet, and it is closely tied with the Mongrel Mob ‘cluster’ the Chaindogs. The government has approved funding over $2.75 million for the program over 3 (or maybe 4) years, and it will be overseen by the ministry of health.
Hard2Reach Research and Consulting Limited, or H2R, is a community focused organisation founded in 2014 and run by Angie Wilkinson and Harry Tam. H2R attempts to reach what they call ‘Hard to Reach’ communities, such as gangs and other marginalised groups, and provide them with support and access to resources such as mediation, legal help and now rehabilitation from drugs. They have held over 25 hui across the country with the leaders of the aforementioned communities with the purpose of bringing together these marginalised groups and resolving disputes. H2R also creates what is known as ‘Section 27’ or ‘Cultural’ reports. Under the sentencing act a defendant has the right to request one of these reports, and they provide the court cultural context which can be used when making a sentencing decision. Since 2018, according to their website, H2R has created over 30 of these reports, leading some defendants to receive up to 35% reduction in their sentences for crimes such as distributing meth, robbery and the assault of a police officer. They have also worked alongside many government and private organisations such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and St John New Zealand.
H2R has two directors, who are also the only shareholders, being the aforementioned Angie Wilkinson and Harry Tam. Wilkinson and Tam are also the sole shareholders and directors of H2R Charity Limited, a company which was founded in late 2019 and has little information online. Angie Wilkinson appears to run most of the business side of the company, and has a proven track record in a wide variety of senior policy advisor positions. Her previous position was at the Office of the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People and she has also worked for the Department of Conservation, Ministry for Maori Development and Stats NZ. She reportedly volunteers with a refugee resettlement group, but has very little media and online presence. The other director, Harry Tam, has a more well documented life. He has been a vocal and consistent advocate for the more marginalised groups in New Zealand, especially gangs, being a Mongrel Mob member himself. He was convicted for domestic abuse in 1994 and held positions as a policy advisor for both the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Department of Corrections in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. He often appears in the media and has a good relationship with both gang members the policy makers, which makes him an invaluable asset for any government when trying to fix the gang issue. Tam was appointed to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historic State Abuse in 2019, but was stood down after allegations of abuse from his former long-term partner (Both before and during his time with the Royal Commission) surfaced. In his role with the commission, Tam had the ability to hire staff. He did this three times, appointing Rangi Wickliffe and Gregory Molony who both had prior convictions and mob affiliations. He also appointed Troy McHugh, a former Papamoa community patrol volunteer.
The program that H2R is running is light on details, and some media outlets have been reporting different facts. What they can agree on, however, is that H2R intends to run a meth rehabilitation program based at the Te Tapairu marae. Patients will live on site, having care and support provided for them on their journey to recovery. They will be able to leave the marae to participate in Fishing trips, exercising at the local gym and going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They will also be working on the local community gardens, which is on the property of Sonny Smith, the head of the Notorious chapter of the Mongrel Mob. Smith was released from prison in January 2013 after an assault on a rival gang member with the release board writing “he is willing to change and he has considerable pro-social support”. Sonny’s wife, Mahinaarangi Smith, is the program facilitator. A trial run of this rehab program was run for a few months in late 2020 at the same marae, but details of this are scarce.
The price tag for this program is what gives many pause, it being $2.75 million of taxpayer money. This money is from the Proceeds of Crime act, seized from criminal gangs or individuals and redistributed to the community in approved ways. This funding is applied for by groups who believe they can make a difference in their community and is then reviewed by the Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Health. After this, recommendations are made to the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance, for their approval. Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that she signed off on this program, and has faith in it succeeding. While the initial cost seems steep, it is not all given to the program at once and there is constant oversight performed by the Ministry of Health for the duration of the program. Inpatient rehab is expensive, and this program does not appear to cost significantly more than other programs in New Zealand. If using the information from Stuff.co.nz, the funding is for 10 participants on 8-week programs, three times a year for 4 years. This comes out as $2865 per patient, per week. If using the information from the NZ Herald, which says that the program runs for 10 weeks, 3 times a year for 3 years, each patient costs $3055 per week. From online sources, rehab in New Zealand costs around $11,000 for a 30 day stay, or $2567 per week. It must be kept in mind that the H2R program requires funding for administration, management and other normal business operations, so these numbers may not be an accurate reflection of how much H2R will spend on each patient.
H2R has a proven track record of working with the government and marginalised groups on programs similar to the rehab which has just been funded. A large amount of people involved in the project are gang members, and many have committed antisocial crimes in the past, but we should be cautious judging people based solely on their previous actions. The government systems designed to provide checks and balances when giving groups money has decided that this is a worthwhile project, and the people running it can be trusted. Whatever opinion you form, just keep this in mind. Gang violence is going up, gang membership is going up and so is the use of destructive drugs but remember, in the words of Andrew Little, “We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem”.
