Follow our leaders’ debate live blog | Sep 19 2023

A candidate for the Green Party told an audience in the Maungakiekie electorate last night that victims of retail crime deserve “big hugs”, after being asked how to ensure community safety.

Sapna Samant, who is number 30 on the Greens list, was one of four political candidates invited to attend a meet the candidates event in Ellerslie. Also in attendance were Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan and National’s Greg Fleming.

After being asked about priorities for policing and overall safety in the community, Samant appeared to pledge an unusual approach to dealing with victims of crime. “In terms of the policing I know there has been so much talk about an increase in crime and my heart goes out to all those businesses that have been affected very badly – and definitely big hugs from me,” she said.

“You might say ‘what’s the point of hugs’? Each of these issues that everybody wants to conflate and bring together are completely different. Ram raids are different from any other crime and so we have to look at all these issues separately.”

She added: “There is going to be safety hubs at least in central Auckland so we can replicate those hubs in Ellerslie and Maungakiekie. We have to be able to create restorative justice which is a wraparound service for people… and make sure we are looking after our youth. That is how we would be making sure there is less crime on the street.”

The “safety hub” initiative was trialled in the Auckland CBD during the Fifa World Cup, but is not a Green Party policy.

Samant’s response received a lukewarm round of applause, with some in the audience seen shaking their heads at the answer.

Meanwhile, last night’s event also saw an unannounced appearance by a candidate from the fringe Rock the Vote party, which is part of the Freedoms NZ umbrella movement. During the question and answer session, candidate Eric Chuah suggested, to much laughter, that both Labour’s Radhakrishnan and National’s Fleming would make into parliament even without winning the electorate.

Attempting to frame his statement as a question, he said: “the question is: all of you are going to get in, should you not have someone like me?” None of the candidates were given the opportunity to respond.

At number 66, Fleming is unlikely to make it into parliament unless he wins the Maungakiekie seat. Radhakrishnan, at 15, would be more likely.