Gang hui photos pull law and order into election campaign

Photos of Green Party representatives with patched gang members at an election hui have brought law and order into the 2026 election campaign.

Mongrel Mob lifetime member Harry Tam posted the hui photos on social media on Tuesday afternoon. By Wednesday morning, Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara had shared photos of herself with Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Greens' Hūhana Lyndon and Michel Mulipola at the whānau, health and wellbeing election hui, according to RNZ.

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson doubled down amid outrage over the visit. National criticised the Greens for being open to funding the Mongrel Mob to address drug addiction, according to the NZ Herald.

National said a Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori coalition would undermine everything National has done in law and order. Labour leader Chris Hipkins ruled out the Greens and Te Pāti Māori from key law-and-order roles in a future government after MPs posed for photos with Mongrel Mob members.

The dispute is playing out while law and order ranks lower as a voter concern than at the last election. In the September Ipsos Issues Monitor, it was ranked the eighth most important issue facing New Zealanders. In June 2023, when Labour was last in government under Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, it was the number-two issue, with fear about rising crime at a record high.

RNZ political editor Jo Moir described the 2026 campaign as close.

Parliament has been dissolved, formally ending the term and starting the campaign period for the November election, according to Reuters. A recent poll put the ruling coalition on 61 seats in the 120-seat Parliament, a majority of one, with the Opportunity Party on 6.1 percent.

National confirmed in its fiscal plan unveiled on Monday that there will be no tax cuts in the next term of government. NZ First pledged more funding for the Coastguard. Tighter polling has stoked investor concern about policy changes, including a redefined mandate for the central bank.