Police Minister Stuart Nash has been criticised by the Chair of the Pandemic Response Committee Simon Bridges and the Leader of the Act Party David Seymour for not taking a tougher stance on rural checkpoints in the East Coast, Central and in the Northern regions.
They claim Police are supporting the inappropriate behaviour.
National MP Gerry Brownlee raised an East Coast incident where an elderly man was stopped at a checkpoint by a supposed gang member and was told he wasn't allowed to continue his trip to get a bottle of milk.
Minister Nash says while that particular incident was not appropriate, the shared policing of checkpoints in especially remote areas between police, iwi and local councils are welcomed. However, if they are set up by 'ratbags' or 'renegades' without the support of the local community or police, Police will take the situation seriously. He says, "When people are trying to block main arterial routes, that's not on."
Seymour says public members in the North have been intimidated and detained at checkpoints, asking for assurance that Police are working with them and enforcing zero-tolerance so public needing to travel under COVID regulations can do so.
