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Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha says COVID-19 checkpoints are legal as long as they are working alongside local police.

The checkpoints or community safety zones in Taitokerau, Tairawhiti, Te Whānau ā Apanui and most recently Taranaki have drawn fire from some politicians, although Northland MP Matt King did take up an invitation to spend time at one.

Mr Haumaha says he’s proud of the way district commanders have reacted and how iwi and Māori communities have stepped up in what could be seen as an expression of treaty rights.

"And those treaty rights were put to us around the protection of communities. If we think about some of those principles, working in partnership, that's exactly what the police are doing with their local communities. Our local communities stepped out to protect their families, protect their whanau in small settlements around the potential spread of the virus and also providing a service people would feel safe with, and of course, that's what the police are doing, working alongside our communities so that they are feeling safe," he says.

Wally Haumaha

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